'INCEPTION' - archive from 4th August 2010.

I saw 'INCEPTION' on Monday night this week, and wow, what a film! Directed, Produced and Written by Chris Nolan this film has a huge ensemble cast; strong performances from that cast; an original, intelligent, thought provoking story; stunning visuals; and action aplenty. As we know subsequent to its release this film received huge critical and commercial success, raking in US$826M in Box Office receipts and a further US$68M in DVD and Blu-ray sales off a US$160M budget. It was also nominated for eight Academy Awards of which it walked way with four golden statues - for Best Cinematography, Visual Effects, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing and along the way it picked up another staggering 158 award wins and 172 nominations. Along with his 'Batman' franchise success this film really established Nolan at the top of his game and ensured he could practically write his own name on almost any movie that came along afterwards.

The film centres around Dom Cobb (Leonard DiCaprio, on fine form) a skilled thief but not of the traditional kind. His particular set of skills surround extracting valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the sleeping dream state when our minds are at their most vulnerable. Because of this skill-set Cobb has become much in demand in the emerging world of corporate espionage, but this has come at a big personal price - having cost him everything he ever cared for, held dear and loved, and now he is a fugitive on the run. Now however, he has a chance to redeem himself.

Working with Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) also skilled in extraction, they are engaged by Saito (Ken Watanabe) to perform an 'inception' - which involves implanting an idea in someones subconscious rather than extracting it. Saito wants to dismantle an energy corporation that is being overseen by competitor Maurice Fischer (Pete Postlethwaite) who is on his death bed strapped up to various life support machines, so the idea needs to be implanted in the mind of his son & successor Robert (Cillian Murphy). The pay off for this job is that Saito will use his power and his connections to clear Cobb's name of a murder charge allowing him access to his children.

From here, Cobb & Arthur ready a Team that consist of Eames (Tom Hardy), as conman and identity forger; Yusuf (Dileep Rao), a chemist who mixes up a powerful sedative for a stable 'dream within a dream' state; Ariadne (Ellen Page), an architecture student who designs the labyrinth of the dream landscapes, recruited with the help of Professor Stephen Miles (Michael Caine). There is also Tom Berrenger as godfather to Robert and Executive Board Member of Fischer's company; Marion Cotillard as Mal Cobb - Dom's deceased wife who appears in various dreams during Cobb's process of extraction/inception; and Lukas Haas as Nash - one of Cobb's architects who betrays him, and is replaced later on by Ariadne.

As the film develops the Team enter several dream states that involve multi-tiered dreams and dreams within dreams as we go from rain soaked Los Angeles, into a hotel in the second level, and then into a snow capped mountain fortress in the third level all intertwined and with the Team split amongst the various levels and dealing with subconscious challenges, obstacles and potentially life threatening situations along the way. There is also another level where Cobb's wife Mal is believed to be in a state of limbo in a world they built together based on their shared experiences as man & wife, and which Cobb must access in order to free her even though she is dead in real life.

If you are confused by this complex plot then you can join the other 80% of those who saw this film initially, but don't let that get in the way of a good story and a cracking film. You really do need to pay attention to what is going on throughout the film in order to keep track of what is reality and what is a dream, and even the controversial thought provoking ending will leave you wondering and debating the question long after the credits have rolled. I loved this film, and still do, even after repeated viewings, and if you missed it on the big screen back in mid-2010 then shame on you, but, all is not lost and you can catch it on DVD, Blu-ray and download, and, you won't be disappointed.

A spectacle of a film in every sense that sits in my favourite top ranked films of all time for sure that offers solid, intelligent, well crafted adult entertainment at its best. A must-see!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-