Before I get started, if you have not seen Inception, there WILL be spoilers after the jump, so don't click "Read More" if you don't want to be spoiled!


  Today (though not part of the normal schedule, the Wednesday release of Transformers threw things off) we will go with a film that has had its theatrical run, and has been released on DVD.  Inception seemed to be last summers most awaited movie, possibly last years most awaited movie.  I remember being excited, and honestly losing sleep the nights before the release.  Not that I was building expectations in my head that it couldn't live up to, I just had no idea what to expect from this film.  Inception opened to fantastic reviews, and after over 8k reviews on rotten tomatoes, still has an 86% and a 93% audience rating, which makes this review really tough for me, because I really didn't enjoy this movie, and I know I'm in the minority here.

  There is nothing terribly wrong with Inception.  The performances are fantastic from everyone involved, there are emotional reasons to care about Leonardo DiCaprio's character Dom Cobb, not being able to see his children, and why he can't return.  The story is well thought out, and I like the fact that something so complex and demanding  is wrapped up in a heist style action story to help keep you focused.  But the movie is so cold, so dry, and to me it has the emotional stimulation equal reading a phone book, or listening to Ben Stein give a 150 minute lecture on the economy.   I wanted to like this movie, I've watched it multiple times thinking maybe I just wasn't getting it. As it turns out, that was not the case, I "get it" it just doesn't get me.

  Our story is about Dom Cobb, who extracts information about various corporations through his targets dreams, with the help of his researcher and point man Arthur, (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)  Cobb's work has become quite perilous with the appearances of his dead wife Mal coming from deep within his subconscious memories.

  Japanese businessman named Saito, wants to hire Cobb for one last job, and promises upon completion, he will help him to be able to be reunited with his children and able to return to the United States. What follows is vast amounts of exposition, detailing the differences in time in the dream world, and the reality world.  Five minutes of 'real' time equals an hour in dream time, and for each level (dream in a dream) deep you travel,  the dream time is exponentially increased. 


 
  As we travel though the various dream levels, director Christopher Nolan creates able to create 'mini' adventure movies, inside of his heist film,  one of which is an alpine adventure straight out Her Majesty's Secret Service.  Mal starts to turn up in the different episodes of the dream, and threatens the entire operation.  One of my favorite parts of the film, upon reaching the conclusion, all of the dream levels begin crashing down on top of each other resembling the toppling of a house of cards. That was just amazing to watch, and just altogether brilliant.



  The ending though is what everyone seemed to talk about in the weeks after the release of Inception.  Now I've tried to not spoil the details of the various parts of the movie, and present just an overview of the actual goings on in case someone clicked the jump to read more.  My reason for picking inception for this article, was to discuss the ending,  so one last warning, MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD.


  Saito is portrayed in the film as a VERY powerful and connected man, and he's promised Cobb that with one phone call, he can clear up all of his problems, and he can return to the States and be with his children.   After Cobb and Saito awake, that appears to be the case, and we see Cobb with is children, who look like they are dressed in the same outfits as in his memories.    Through the film Cobb is obsessed with his totem, which was originally Mal's totem, and is always spinning to see if it topples over (if it says spinning, then he is in the dream world.


  Cobb gives the top a spin, and walks away, and the camera shows the top spinning, it appears as if its about to possibly fall, and we cut to the credits.  People are left to theorize what happened.


  To me there is only one thing important about the ending of Inception.   Cobb spins the totem, and walks away to his children. To me, he has accepted reality as whatever makes him happy, and being with his children is what he wants as his reality.   I also believe that is what we are to take from the film.  Was the last scene a dream about being reunited with his children? If that's the ending that makes you happy, then yes, accept that as the 'reality' of the ending. Do you prefer that Saito was able to reunite Cobb with his children, and his problems are solved?  That's fine too!  The reality of the ending that makes you happy, is all that matters.


  I think that puts a nice little bow on an otherwise cold film.  The visuals are outstanding, the dream episodes are fleshed out well, and work as 'movies within a movie' each effecting the success of the next. But I just could not drudge up the emotional connection to Cobb, Mal, and his children.  Most reviews refer to this as intellectually stimulating, but I really do not get that from this movie.  Everything you need to know, is explained in the continuous exposition, that seems to never stop.  It's almost as if they are deathly afraid of losing you, and don't trust you to follow along. Being told step by step by characters in the movie what is going on is not stimulating at all, and doesn't force you to really follow as closely as you would, if it were up to you to discover certain aspects of the film as it goes along. The film is complex in its conception, but pretty basic in its execution.  It's basically the gun for hire, coming back for one last job with the promise of his previous actions being forgiven upon completion.  The only part where you are left to ponder and that stimulates intellectual conversation is the ending, but I think I've found a pretty good way to look at it.


   Again, I am in the vast minority of people who didn't really enjoy this film, and I don't want to turn you away from it, I know several people who have it as one of their absolute favorites.I just think this would have been a much better book.


  No star ratings for DVD's   I'll give them letter grades. For this one i'm going to give more than one.


  Conception of an idea, and bringing a new idea to the stage for once? A+  I love the idea of hte movie, and the fact that the studio let it happen (of course, Dark Knight had a bit to do with this)

   Execution C The firs act is so slow for me, that it turns me off to the rest of the film.

Labels: DVD