Saw INCEPTION over the weekend, having managed (barely) to avoid much hype, anti-hype and Nolan Backlash that apparently, will be SOP with every Christopher Nolan film from now on.
I liked it.
But then, I've liked much of Nolan's work that I've seen - I'd prefer if he stuck more to doing films like this and THE PRESTIGE rather than Batman Movies; but then, if he didn't do the Batman films so well and work the crowd up to a frenzy, then he wouldn't get to do films like INCEPTION.
Such a conundrum... which is so fitting. Nolan's quickly become somewhat of a polarizing figure, having come from the Indie world and diving into the Hollywood Blockbuster - being able to deliver on the box office AND making films almost too smart for Hollywood... obviously, something must be amiss.
I can say that INCEPTION is one of the best films of the year - time will tell if it fits in with the 'Best of the Decade' lists that people will be making over the next couple of years.
I also think that a good portion of the criticism against this film, such as the dream states not being very imaginative, exposition as dialog, not enough character development, totally misses the point of the film. For me, INCEPTION also functions as a metaphor for what Nolan does - filmmaking. Where you bring in an architect (screenwriter), and various specialists to create a world that can function on various levels... and usually extract money; but in the best scenarios, one can also implant ideas.
That's my take on it, anyway... and in this climate, it's a rare thing to go to a summer movie that actually allows you to chew over its connections and ambiguities. As much as I enjoyed this film and cast, I hope that any attempts to sequelize/prequelize this will be murdered in its sleep.
1 comment:
Andrew O'Hehir of Salon, whom I normally agree with, tore this movie up on the basis that the dream scenes weren't actually "dreamlike." That's true enough, but that seemed to be his sole objection, and it seems to be a case of forcing his expectations on the movie rather than taking it for what it was. Besides, since our ability to form memories during REM sleep is compromised, who's to say that these rather literal dreams won't seem pretty damn weird to the dreamer when he wakes up and half-remembers them? This is a plot-based speculative thriller with good action scenes and it's the best movie I've seen in a theater this year.
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