I’m sure by now anyone reading this post has seen the mind-bending actioner that was Inception. I decided to wait a while and let the film develop in my mind before writing about it so here are my pros and cons.

Pros:
1. The Visuals. This film was beautifully shot (as one about dreams should be) and the art direction was top notch. That anti-gravity set piece was one of many awe-inspiring moments in this film as was the folding city.

2. Joseph Gordon Levitt, Marion Cotillard, and Tom Hardy. My love for JGL knows no bounds and he was great again in this movie as the point man. His chemistry with everyone was great and he had such a steely resolve. His best chemistry was with Tom Hardy, who stole every scene he was in as the Forger. Look forward to seeing more of him. The star of the show though was Marion Cotillard as Mal. Every time she was on screen the movie was better for it and she did tremendous filling in the back story.

3. Christopher Nolan. Only he could have brought this tale to the screen and the movie showed off his very consistent directing. The production was top notch and this was one of the few films where I actively sought out information rather than waiting for it to come to me.

Cons:
1. The script. As an aspiring screenwriter, I love listening to dialog and trying to learn more. But honestly this script was rather pedestrian. For a movie about dreams, it was awful “talky” ie relying on long monologues and speeches for explanation, when it should have been more visually oriented. It  did a disservice to the amazing cast. They were all merely one note characters (except Leo and Marion) and there were several gaping plot holes. Like why would Ariadne (Ellen Page), be the only one really concerned with Mal showing up and messing things up? Everyone has worked with Cobb, wouldn’t they be equally as concerned?

2.The direction. Action is best observed when we can see all the action. Why did Christopher Nolan have to pull in so tight all the time. Example: Zero-Gravity Fight.

3. The ending. I love a good twist at the end, but this ending didn’t really hit me with the same oomph as say The Sixth Sense. It forced me to think more about whether he was dreaming rather than how amazing the film had been.

4. The Hype. This movie, though very good, is NOT a masterpiece. Its an ambitious action movie with intelligence concepts but not as deep as the Matrix. I loved it and it was better than most summer movies, I just find it hard that this movie is the #3 film of ALL TIME on imdb.com. That’s crazy.

Grade: B+