Reel Time Updates: Inception

On Friday, July 16th, I and my regular crew hit the cinema for a 12:35pm showing of Christopher Nolan’s box office hit: Inception.

I’d been looking forward to this one since I saw the first trailer, though I probably would have gone to see it based simply on the fact that it was directed by Nolan. Or because Ken Watanabe is in it. Take your pick.

It was a great drama/thriller/brain-bender, and while there were adequately-spaced action sequences throughout, if you don’t like movies of some complexity that require a little thought during playback, you might want to sit this one out and just pick it up from Netflix or Redbox later on down the road. That way, if you end up falling asleep, you can do so in the comfort (and privacy) of your own home. The film was obviously a little too much for the viewer sitting directly behind us, as he yawned and muttered sleepily to his companion throughout the showing. Maybe he should have read the prequel comic before attending.

The Trailers: Unfortunately, it’s been over a week since I saw this one, and I typically try to rely on my (hardly reliable) memory for what was previewed before the film. I do remember seeing a lot of trailers that I’d never seen before. I remember: Due Date (starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Zach Galifianakis. Heard of, but never previewed); The Town (never seen or heard of); The Social Network (heard of, but thought it was just some kind of internet joke. It’s basically taking something mundane and trying to make it dramatic… either that, or trying to make people hate/distrust Facebook less. Or both); Tron Legacy (I’m a little iffy on this one. Still need to see the first one). And, yes, I’m going to try and start linking to the trailers I saw, because, otherwise, what’s the point?

My Take on Inception: Because of the nature of this film (it’s complex and makes you think), there are a whole lot of reviews out there discussing all the in and outs, the what-ifs and various aspects that Nolan touched on without going into further detail. One thing I will not discuss here is the controversial closing scene that everyone seems to be stuck on. At most, it was merely Nolan’s way of leaving an open window for a sequel. Beyond that, I don’t think viewers should let it change how they view the film as a whole.

Inception certainly lived up to my expectations, and they were relatively high (probably the highest I’ve had in a while), especially after seeing all the A and A+ reviews. Nolan presents the very unique concept of stealthing into and raiding people’s minds through dreams, and proceeds to strap that idea to a runaway freight train, taking it to its limits. Just when you think the film’s protagonists cannot delve any deeper into the minds of those they’re attempting to exploit, they do.

The score was superb. That “bass horn blast” I mentioned in my “Top 10” post? It was every bit as awesome as I expected it to be in theater surround-sound. I will almost definitely hunt down the soundtrack. It will be like giving my bass speakers crack.

Of course the casting was top-notch, and the visuals were excellent. I’m sure a lot of the film was green-screened, but the cast breezed through like pros, interacting well with the digital sets.

There was only one scene that I felt a bit let down by. (SPOILER ALERT) Throughout the film, DiCaprio’s character, Cobb, is haunted (both in and out of the dream worlds) by memories of his deceased wife, Mal, whose death he feels responsible for. She is painted as both villain and victim as she pleads with Cobb to remain with her in the dream world, and then tries to destroy him and his team when he refuses. Near the end of the film, when Cobb finally realizes that he must let go of his twisted, tainted memories of his wife, the tortured farewell scene was not quite as emotional as I thought it should have been. This is likely because we do not get to know Mal very well, or at least not beyond her status as Cobb’s unforgiving, relentless, and mostly memory-based personal issue. While the scene was very dramatic, and somewhat dragged-out, I just wasn’t feeling it when Cobb severed the crumbling, imaginary relationship he’d been failing to sustain with the person he loved and longed for the most. (END SPOILER ALERT)

If you haven’t seen this film, yet, you need to. Go see it on the big screen, and then pick it up when it’s released on Blu-ray (or DVD if you prefer inferior video/audio quality). It has great action, performances, dialogue, sound, visuals, and the story actually forces you to think. If this is Chris Nolan’s way of throwing us a bone between The Dark Knight and “Batman 3”, I, for one, am gnawing away with relish.

(Oh, and I snuck in a little reference to the reason it took me so long to get this post up. If you spotted it, congratulations! If not… you probably don’t need to know. *grin, wink*)