I’m having an incredibly difficult time sitting down to write this Inception review. Much like Christopher Nolan’s Memento, this film sits with you far longer than the hours you spend in the theater, and it’s a film that takes some time to mull over—not only just the plot but the imageries as well. And if any critic tells you they can easily critique Inception with just one viewing is a bold-faced liar. It is a film that takes repeated viewings merely to scratch away at the layers of complexity that unfold before your eyes. If this sounds hard to digest, however, fret not, movie goer. Inception is definitely a summer blockbuster disguised as a thinky, sci-fi drama. It has all the action and visual effects you crave, but, unlike most of the movies this summer, it is wholly original and a fantastic voyage to embark upon.

Read more AFTER the jump!

I wish I could go into detail about the plot, but Inception is a film where knowing as little as possible is actually a good thing. It is the discovery that makes this film so fun to sit through. Each layer unfolds and presents another layer even more complex than the last until the final story is completely exposed to the viewer, and I would hate to take that experience away from anyone. However, I can give you the basic gist of the plot.

Inception exists in a world where people can enter into others’ dreams and steal secrets. Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his team are the best. When a businessman (Ken Watanabe) approaches Dom regarding a huge job involving inception—implanting an idea rather than stealing one—everyone refuses that it can be done. But this job is Dom’s only ticket back home to his kids after he is forced on the run because of an unexplained crime. In order to implant an idea inside a competitor’s heir (Cillian Murphy), Dom needs a crackpot team of experts to help, including his right-hand man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a forger who can impersonate anyone in the dream (Tom Hardy), and an architect who creates the dream world (Ellen Page). Along for the dreams is Dom’s wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard), who appears to be fighting Dom’s subconscious for some unknown reason.

Once you’ve come to terms with the science of this world and give into it, Inception becomes almost a good ole fashioned heist movie with blazing guns and frantic car chases. But, it is, of course, so much more than that.  The film is a feast for the eyes. It is visually stunning, and I’m not just talking about Cotillard. When Paris begins folding upon itself in a dream, the spectacle is superb. Inception’s visual effects, editing, and cinematography are all beyond incredible—perhaps even Oscar-winning caliber. The action sequences, which I was pleasantly surprised by the number of, are also breathtaking. Gordon-Levitt is a total bad ass in this film and fights off multiple henchmen while on a ceiling, and the whole scene is amazing to watch.

While the movie is a treat to watch, the acting didn’t really draw me in AS much. Leo is, of course, awesome, but he’s not really given much to work with. Neither is Michael Caine, Murphy, or Gordon-Levitt, who are all capable of acting their ways out of paper sacks. Cotillard is given the meatiest role, and she is the one who must center the emotional core of the film, which is ultimately a love story. However sweet that story is, I wasn’t as emotionally invested in that aspect as I could have been. I was too busy being awed by visuals and dissecting the various levels of the dream worlds. And, no surprise here, Ellen Page is still annoying as shit.

Inception is an original film—a rare treat these days—and it is a spectacular film from start to finish. You just might not want to take a bathroom break, or you just might miss one of those layers I was talking about…

--Darcie Duttweiler