Review of Inception (2010) by Fritz K — 14 Jan 2014

Not made for IMAX. Has similar problems as "the Matrix".

On the plus side, the film has its share of Sci-Fi philosophy and an unconventional construction, but many action elements appear oddly derivative and there seems to be a decided lack of authenticity and "heart" behind the plot.

Central elements of the plot appear overly contrived, especially in regards to the action within the various dream-layers.

1) With very few exceptions the dreams take place in entirely consistent "realistic" architectures and urban spaces.

2) There is a lot of gun-fighting/car chasing and killing in the dreams - I really don't think this is what goes on in people's dreams at all. Virtual reality/games yes, dreams, no.

3) The action in the dreams feels strangely derivative some are inspired by "the Matrix", another one is a true-to-the detail computer game scenario, then we have a picture book James Bond-type "evil fortress" showdown etc.

4) Despite its rigid construction, there are quite a few illogical turns in the movie.(for example, why does the gravity only affect the respective next dream level, and not all?).

What is to be admired is the stringency by which everything plays out - as consistent as the architecture of the virtual cities that prevail in the dreams. Watching the movie often feels like being inside of a machine.

Along with this machine-like feeling of the movie as a whole goes a noticeable lack of emotional connection between the viewer and the film's characters: It feels like watching chess pieces move than the interaction of human characters.

This is comparable to the construction of Nolan's earlier efforts, for example "The Prestige", which has an equally rigid, humorless chess-like layout.

This emotional disconnect becomes especially apparent in the extended dialog scenes, that tend to sound like "on-screen narrations" despite the fact that the characters are talking to each other.

There are a few dialog scenes that end up becoming complete stand-stills, even while the music suggests that the drama is already building again!

Another interesting aspect is the curious imbalance between glossy male power-suits and strangely dysfunctional female characters:

The lost wife and the protege psychotherapist girl seem somewhat secondary and lost among the male CEO-types that surround them.

But let's get to one of the assets of the film: The layer of Sci-Fi philosophy.

The film does make people discuss about dreams, the subconscious, etc.

What in fact if we could indeed lock ourselves up and manipulate each other in dreams like that? Pretty hot idea!

I really like it if a movie makes me think about things like that.

In "Inception", this does play out along similar lines as in "The Matrix":

While there is a sugar cube of philosophy in the movie - just so it tastes better - the gun/chasing action the substance of the movie.

Once the reality-background of the story is established, the finer philosophical details quickly get buried beneath overbearing and loud action elements that exhaust the viewer on the physical level and are in fact potentially dangerous to your hearing.

Similar to the Matrix, we see struggling opponents floating across the screen in interesting frame compositions. Some eye candy among that for sure!

Overall...

I want to watch it again, just to traverse its complex structural clarity again.

I do not think it will become a classic - too much of it does not ring "true", appears too distant from the viewer's experience: The characters to unfamiliar, the human drama too cold and cartoonish.

Human relationships, (wife/father/kids etc.) feel mostly pretended, like cardboard stand-ins, for the warmth the film doesn't have in the well-timed clockwork of its heart.

One good moment that stood out for me was an unexpectedly appearing freight train - if only once in all this misguided consistency and stereotyping, the power of dreams to produce the unexpected non-sequitur manifests itself.

Real dreams have so much more anarchy and malleability than the glossy chess machine world that unfolds in "Inception".

But overall it was certainly one of the more watchable blockbusters in recent history, and I might be negatively over-reacting to the hype that surrounded the film when it came into the cinemas that might have blown my expectations out of proportion.