Review by Martin Sestrimski

Inception 2010

"Inception" is a film Christopher Nolan had wanted to make for many years at the time of its creation. Understanding that he needed more experience to be able to pull it off, he ended up directing his first two highly-acclaimed Batman projects to understand the process of crafting such a massive movie. It paid off, as "Inception" is an ambitious release that has continued to receive praise ever since it came out.

The narrative revolves around exploring a person's subconscious through dreams, and it does a fantastic job at doing as much with this concept as it can. Thematically, it unfolds bit by bit, with Leonardo DiCaprio's portrayal of Cobb providing an enticing humanity that runs parallel to the fast-paced suspense. "Inception" doesn't waste a second and it requires a great deal of attention at times, but it fully rewards its viewers for sticking through.

Besides Cobb as the protagonist, I found myself attached to the rest of the cast as well, even those that did not receive substantial development. Interestingly, "Inception" functions as a heist film at its core, and each person plays a specific role that makes them stand out. Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy) was surprisingly interesting and I ended up caring for the conclusion to his arc. Marion Cotillard was excellent as Mal Cobb and played very well off DiCaprio.

The action in "Inception" is magnificient to watch, relying on its incredible special effects that are appropriately trippy and unconventional. Even a decade later, it stands the test of time and dare I say looks as modern as it did back then.

My major issue with "Inception" comes in its last act, where I believe it begins to come across as genuinely pretentious. It loses its grip of logic, moving from sci-fi into pure fantasy. The ending is decent, but I'm not certain it fully lives up to all of its potential.

I loved "Inception", I've never seen a film quite like it. It was genuinely a fascinating concept that I found to be brilliantly executed, even if it did fall apart a little by the end. A must-watch for Nolan fans and I'd highly recommend it to just about anybody else, especially science fiction and action fans. Just know it is anything but a casual watch, you'll want to take in everything you can from it!

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