Inception is the latest installment in the relatively short, but extremely impressive resume of Batman director Christopher Nolan.
While the scope and grandeur of this latest movie are almost along the lines of the Batman films, Nolan is heading back toward his Memento roots with a more cerebral film that has interesting effects and good action sequences but relies more on story and characters than on big budget spectacle.
His Batman endeavors were smart for the superhero genre, but Nolan's Memento, Insomnia and now Inception are much more cerebral films that really push viewers to think about the movie rather than just get enveloped by the flashiness and explosions.
Nolan knows how to walk the line between intelligent story and too smart for audiences though.
Inception is smart enough to build intrigue, but not so intellectual that it goes over the viewers' heads.
The cast is pretty recognizable, even the smaller roles are populated by the likes of Michael Caine, Cillian Murphy, Pete Postlethwaite, Tom Berenger, Lucas Haas and Marrion Cotillard.
The lead roles are well acted by Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page. but all of the performances are kind of overshadowed by the story, which is the true star of the film.
There are enough plot twists to keep the audience interested for the full two and a half hours without going too far and getting confusing.
Nolan does fall short of delving into some of the more interesting aspects of the dream sharing and information theft, which could definitely use some more exploration, but the length is already enough to remind you of how uncomfortable theater seats can be, so it makes sense to not have jumped all the way into those ideas.
Overall, it's a thoroughly enjoyable movie that gives you plenty to think about and will probably warrant a few more viewings in the future.
Inception gets an A-.
--John Berry, online editor--
Watch the trailer here.