{"id":22,"date":"2010-08-22T17:35:59","date_gmt":"2010-08-22T17:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/?p=22"},"modified":"2010-08-22T21:07:30","modified_gmt":"2010-08-22T21:07:30","slug":"inception-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/action\/inception-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Inception &#8211; 5*"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a rel=\"attachment wp-att-87\" href=\"http:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=87\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-87\" title=\"Intl_Main_1Sht_INCEPTION\" src=\"http:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Intl_Main_1Sht_INCEPTION1-300x246.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"246\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Intl_Main_1Sht_INCEPTION1-300x246.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/Intl_Main_1Sht_INCEPTION1.jpg 363w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>No film is ever \u2018perfect\u2019, especially at the time of release, though  many a film critic will have their favourites that nearly touch that  impossible mark. What these films become are examples of near perfection  in their own right, studied and lauded by all. <em>The Dark Knight<\/em> director Christopher Nolan many well have placed his latest work of  art, <a href=\"http:\/\/wwws.warnerbros.co.uk\/inception\/mainsite\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Inception<\/em><\/a>, in the same  sort of \u2018sci-fi royalty\u2019 category as other greats like <em>Blade Runner<\/em>,  <em>Aliens<\/em> and <em>Citizen Kane<\/em>. It\u2019s a bold statement to  make, but one that is totally justified. Written and directed by Nolan, <em>Inception<\/em> is the first original, cerebral masterpiece of mind-warping proportions  in a long time complete with superb casting and a style so slick it\u2019s  like poetry in motion to watch.<\/p>\n<p>Doubt anyone who claims to get what\u2019s happening in one viewing. This  film makes you work hard and demands a second sitting. But this is far  from laziness on the film-maker\u2019s part. It\u2019s the mark of game master.  Whilst trying to figure out whether you are still witnessing a dream,  within a dream, within a dream, or reality, each carefully crafted scene  has so much trickery and visual wonder in it that it would be a crime  not to revisit it. The only criticism might be that it\u2019s too clever for  its own good at times, trying to explain its concepts within the  narrative. But we are captivated by its ideas, transfixed like a  magician\u2019s stage volunteer, afraid to stop and question it for a second,  in case we miss anything crucial. That\u2019s <em>Inception<\/em>\u2018s power.<\/p>\n<p>Such a blockbuster needs a strong and magnetic protagonist, like  Harrison Ford as Deckard, or Welles as Kane. <em>Inception<\/em> has  DiCaprio as its helm, guiding us through his troubled world as covert  dream thief Cobb who has some personal demons that threaten to destroy  his last job to promised freedom \u2013 his life back in return for incepting  a dream\/idea into a heir to a corporation\u2019s mind (Fischer, played by  Cillian Murphy). His problems also threaten the lives of his loyal  counterparts who design and \u2018take part\u2019 in the inception process. It\u2019s  the ultimate in corporate espionage, getting the victim at their most  vulnerable when they are asleep.<\/p>\n<p>This is DiCaprio\u2019s finest hour (or make that nearly 2.5 hours of  twists and turns). He engages his audience completely, forever  unsettling us as to his character\u2019s true nature or intentions, and  demonstrating a raw vulnerability that keeps our empathy with Cobb  alive. Cobb must be a good person, surely, as he is a devoted father who  wants to return to his kids and see their faces again? In these more  comforting moments, Nolan has cast <em>Batman<\/em> stalwart Michael  Caine as Cobb\u2019s father, Miles, that reassuring figure of authority, our  anchor to reality \u2013 but just whose, is the big question?<\/p>\n<p>The rest of the stellar cast, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen  Page, Tom Hardy and Ken Watanabe as Cobb\u2019s team are the cream of the  Hollywood crop, an intoxicating union on screen that only adds to our  fascination. Thinking man\u2019s babe Page once again demonstrates why she  has an established career ahead of her, and Gordon-Levitt and Hardy give  such accomplished performances that these will only go to up their  studio credibility and longevity. Such a visually exquisite film needs a  natural beauty to counter balance its architectural awe, and French  actress, Edith Piaf songbird Marion Cotillard embodies the role of  Cobb\u2019s late wife, Mal, breathing life and grace into the part of the  haunting and complex character. She is like any latter-day screen  heroine in this, bringing a classical charm to the whole affair not seen  since Hitchcock\u2019s reign, combined with a fresh, contemporary  perspective to her role. You almost don\u2019t recognise the surgically  enhanced Tom Berenger as Fischer\u2019s late father\u2019s lawyer Browning, with  dying Fischer Senior played by Brit acting great Pete Postlethwaite.  This collection of fine acting talent represents what can be  accomplished in combination with a brilliant writing\/directing.<\/p>\n<p>Let your mind become the scene of the crime, open to <a href=\"http:\/\/wwws.warnerbros.co.uk\/inception\/mainsite\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Inception<\/em><\/a> with this summer film-noir  blockbuster. Borrowing Gotham\u2019s moody facades and Bond-styled action  sequences, Nolan has given us what we\u2019ve all craved in a long time \u2013 a  worthy and beautifully executed film that stands out on its own, so  mind-blowing that it will render you speechless as you walk out of the  cinema, like Cobb and co have been playing your mind as you watch.  Anything\u2019s possible\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>5\/5 stars<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By L G-K<\/p>\n<p><object width=\"640\" height=\"385\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/mmkQ7fw-l0g?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US\"><\/param><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\"><\/param><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\"><\/param><\/object><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>No film is ever \u2018perfect\u2019, especially at the time of release, though many a film critic will have their favourites that nearly touch that impossible mark. What these films become are examples of near perfection in their own right, studied and lauded by all. The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan many well have placed his &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/action\/inception-5\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Inception &#8211; 5*&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5,6],"tags":[51,56,53,49,52,55,50,58,60,59,57,54],"class_list":["post-22","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-action","category-sci-fi","category-thriller","tag-christopher-nolan","tag-cillian-murphy","tag-ellen-page","tag-inception","tag-joseph-gordon-levitt","tag-ken-watanabe","tag-leonardo-dicaprio","tag-marion-cotillard","tag-michael-caine","tag-pete-postlethwaite","tag-tom-berenger","tag-tom-hardy"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54,"href":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22\/revisions\/54"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmgaze.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}