Inception

According to MGM, the production of the next James Bond film has been ‘suspended indefinitely’, and rumours have been flying around suggesting that the 007 franchise may be turned out to pasture once and for all. I wouldn’t let it worry you though, because Quantum of Solace was rubbish and at least we still have Christopher Nolan. Now he is a director who knows how to handle action. Inception is so far ahead of the competition that it’s actually embarrassing.

It’s a high concept thriller about controlling the thoughts and actions of others through their dreams. Di Caprio plays Cobb, a troubled man who understands how to manipulate the subconscious of those he targets with the aid of his right-hand man Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and complex technology. They work as a team for whoever is willing to pay for manufactured dreams that tamper with the minds of their opponents. Dream territory is a dangerous place for intruders to be caught, and when a mind-heist goes awry Cobb resolves to bring his career to a halt, until he is emotionally blackmailed into One Last Job. As you will have noticed, the fundamental plot is hackneyed, but it needs to be - the complex detail that Nolan subsequently piles on top of the creaky storyline does make it tricky to follow exactly what is going on. Like Memento, Inception is a film that will reward repeat viewings.

Anyway: Cobb gathers an all-star cast of old-timers and novices together so that he and Arthur can safely access the mind of a business heir Robert Fischer Jr., played by Batman Begins star Cillian Murphy. Cobb’s benefactor/nemesis employer (Ken Watanabe) is threatened by Fischer’s company, and requests for the dream team to plant a career-destroying idea in his psyche, and so leave the business vulnerable to takeovers. Though this is a flimsy premise when one considers all the craziness involved in achieving this mission, what unfolds over the next two hours makes for quite a spectacle: kidnapping, car chases, explosions, a ski-slope shoot-out and an excursion into limbo all crop up.

And even if fighting and fleeing are not your primary interest in a cinematic outing, there is plenty of other stuff going on. Cobb’s own history comes to play a crucial role in the story, and Nolan cuts up the high octane goings on with a psychologically acute portrait of repressed grief centring on Cobb’s lost wife (Marion Cottilard). Though this narrative arc is predictable, it’s also rather moving.The mechanics of dreaming (falling sensations, the nature of the subconscious, the distortion of real-time and dream-time) are incorporated intelligently, and give a sense of cohesion to the dream-intervention concept. And Tom Hardy (as suave Brit team-member Eames) has enough in the way of brawn, good looks and well-timed wisecracks to make a resurrection of the Bond brand seem not only possible, but appealing. It’s practically an audition for Daniel Craig’s job, and it’s a mighty good one.

The most impressive aspect of Inception, however, is without a doubt the special effects and the sheer imagination behind them. This isn’t a 3D film, and you don’t have to wear silly glasses to be awed by the technical skill of its creators - everything looks real, even if it can only be CGI or some kind of stunt wizardry. An extended sequence takes place in what is purported to be zero gravity, and it is a masterpiece in itself and ticks every box – original, perfectly directed, perfectly edited, perfectly acted (by Gordon-Levitt) and wholly entertaining. This one scene alone is enough for it to warrant a five star review and you have to see it to believe it – preferably in a cinema. It’s that good. Inception feels like a classic-yet-cutting-edge blockbuster, and one that will likely be held as a benchmark for intelligent modern action films.

Last edited: 12th December 2010

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