"Inception" Review

Dreams are a fascinating concept. They are entire worlds that aren't real, that exist only in our minds- but while we see them, we think they're real, and sometimes afterwards wish that they were. And probably the most interesting part is that we still don't entirely understand how they work.

Naturally, dreams are a very popular subject in movies, with the most well-known example (up to this point) being the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. While nearly all films with dreams as the centerpiece have complicated storylines, none can come close to the complexity of Inception.

What is Inception's plot? Well, that's a little difficult. The most basic synopsis is this: somehow, someone has developed the technology to allow a person or group of people to enter another's dreams. A man named Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) has begun using this technology to his advantage, becoming an "extractor"- essentially, a mercenary paid to steal information from a person's mind, in a process called "Extraction".

One day, Cobb and his team (Joseph Gordon-Lovett, Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao, Ellen Page) are hired by a man named Saito (Ken Watanabe) to perform "Inception" (implanting information into a person's mind) on a rival company's owner's son. Naturally, Inception is far more difficult than Extraction (and even thought by some to be impossible), and requires much planning and near-perfect execution. Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances and Cobb's uneven mental state cause the operation to go wrong, endangering the lives of the entire team.

To describe Inception any further would not only be a spoiler, but it would also be impossible. The film makes perfect sense when you watch it, but any attempts to describe it would be terribly difficult and confusing.

Leonardo DiCaprio has always been a great actor, but he is in top form as Dom Cobb, a conflicted and guilt-ridden soul still grieving the death of his wife. The supporting cast is great as well, particularly Ellen Page as Ariadne, new recruit to Cobb's team, whose job is to design the world of the dreams.

But of course, you wouldn't go see an action film for its characters, even ones as developed as these. And Inception has a remarkable atmosphere, with physics-defying set pieces (such as the streets of Paris folding in on themselves, or a hand-to-hand fight sequence in constantly shifting gravity), excellent and easy-to-follow cinematography, and a heart-pumping score by the always-brilliant Hans Zimmer.

Reportedly, Christopher Nolan took nearly ten years to develop his idea into a finished script, and let me tell you, it was well worth the time and effort.

I can't recommend this movie enough. It gets an

Awesome!