September 2011 ~ ashish SAYZ

Inception is cinema with brains.

Director : Christopher Nolan

Cast : Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cottilard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Dileep Rao and Michael Caine.

5 minutes through and you realize that Christopher Nolan has something amazing to offer with Inception and believe me it's a piece of craft that's beyond excellence. As you spend a little more time you learn that its not just a simple spectate this film demands but some serious attention so as to enable one an easy passage through the World Nolan has created. The World which is notional and full of whimsical situations, with things hard to believe...made believable by the ace director and by the end of which you are bound to say that no one on Earth but only Nolan could have pulled this one off and that too in such a fascinating manner. So what is that makes Inception stand out of the box. First things first; The plot revolves around Dominic 'Dom' Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) who is a professional thief, specialized in conning secrets from his victims by infiltrating their dreams. Cobb is hired by a business tycoon named Saito (Ken Watanabe) with the goal of influencing competitior Robert Fischer's (Cillian Murphy) actions via his dreams. Cobb along with his partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) assembles a team consisting of Ariadne (Ellen Page) - a young architecture, Eames (Tom Hardy) - an identity forger and Yusuf (Dileep Rao) - a chemist who formulates the drugs needed to sustain the dream state. But there is someone who will challenge Dom's abilities as an extractor who is none other than Mal, Dom's projection of his deceased wife who is a manifestation of his guilt about her real suicide.

Inception is a path breaking film for sure, not because of the spectacular visual effects or a mind boggling background score, but for the sheer imagination of the director. The very original concept of Infiltrating someone's sub-conscious is honestly showcased in the film. Which is hugely supported by a very strong screenplay again by Nolan himself. I recon Inception one of the most original pieces of Imagination ever brought on screen in a long time and easily one of my all time favorite films.

The hugely talented Christopher Nolan is at his best with Inception. In fact with the kind of movies he has made including the likes of Memento, Insomnia, The Prestige and The Dark Knight have made him the best director of his generation. He continues his association with his best crew members like Hans Zimmer, Wally Pfister and Lee Smith. Where Pfister and Smith do their best in Cinematography and Editing, Zimmer comes up with a unique musical score with variety. Infact Zimmer's work is undoubtedly one of the best things in Inception. The visual effects will blow your mind, but in a good way.

Inception shows the range of Nolan's imagination and tests the concentration and intelligence of audience every other moment. No second thoughts on the fact that you will miss the lead if you miss a single scene in this Sci-fi Thriller Heist Action movie. Hence I recommend just fasten your seatbelts and set yourself for this exhilarating ride, since the strong screenplay will never allow you to have a break in this 150 mins movie. Of the cast, Leonardo DiCaprio raises the character of Dom to next level. Inception is a film that's made on a huge scale, similar to that of DiCaprio's earlier film Titanic. The remaining cast also does a nice job but frankly speaking it's Nolan who took my all attention throughout the film. My rating for Inception is without a buzz 4.5/5. Watch Inception to enjoy cinema with brains. Such films are rarely made.