Warning: If you have not seen the movie and intend to do so, then do not read the below content.
Grades:
Concept: A+
Plot: B - (not as seamless as it should be)
Execution: C +
Focus: B
Script: C
Characters: B -
Resolutions: B -
Beginning: A -
End: C +
Special Effects: B
Actors: B+
Types and Shadows: A
Inception is easily a likable film but it is not without flaws. From the beginning to end it is a ceaseless romp through that fantastic labyrinth called the mind. Isn't it a wonder that the Christ requested that we love God with ALL our minds? It is an intimidating task to bring ALL of the mind under the subjection of love. It is filled with treasures and sweets, but also unruly thorns, briars, insects, spiders, reptiles, shadows, endless deserts and -- unshakable memories.
Unshakable memories. This was the bane of Cobb, the main character. He is analogous to a conscious alcoholic who is trying to quit, but goes to a bar anyway with the unreasonable expectation of staying sober. He goes to the bar to do business, to chat with friends; to serve alcohol to others -- while forgetting that he is the ultimate alcoholic and that he too is susceptible.
Mal, his dead wife, is the alcohol which, though it offers momentary satisfaction, threatens to truly destroy him in the end. She is deadly habit that started out as a seed, which is still unseen by those in his natural world, but has grown into a massive, complex and hardened root system stretching 200 miles wide and deep below the surface.
Below the surface. Above the surface Cobbs is composed and a pillar of strength. Below the surface he is a man clinging to his ugly, malformed baby. A baby which kills anything that dares to peek below. The longer he clings to it, the uglier it becomes, and the more he becomes dependent on it for satisfaction.
Cobbs knew she was no longer real, but he clung to her anyway. A perfect example of knowledge not translating into action. At the juncture after knowledge is a fork in the road. Cobbs chose not to cling to his memories though they were sapping him. This somewhat implies that addictions have an element of choice. Is there a choice? We can choose to alter our environments which can reduce our likelihoods of being tempted. Cobbs chose not to do that. That's why friends are important.
Enter the friend. Ariadne. She is the first one to recognize that he has serious, unresolved issues with his wife. She was the first one who dared to peek below the surface. She is the first one who realizes how dangerous Cobbs is. All along they've been allowing Cobbs to drive the car while he himself was -- drunk. Though he a skilled at penetrating peoples' dreams, that is driving, he should not be doing it while he is subjected to an unruly subconscious, that is, drunk. He was not only a danger to himself, but also to others. Like the Ariadne in mythology, she helps him slay his minotaur with a fatal shot.
The movie has some powerful ideas which synchronize well with my current read of the The Shallows by Nicholas Carr. I fell like most of the concepts can and have been in explored in real life. However, I have a few issues with the movie.
1) It wasn't as seamless as it should be, and there were quite a few illogical transitions and dialogs. The movie generally lacked real focus and was not as well executed as I had hoped.
2) In quite a few scenes substance was sacrificed for action.
3) I like Leo, but he did not occupy this role as well as it required. A Keanu Reaves, or even a Cilian Murphy would have a done a better job. His acting was quite awkward and off-time throughout the film.
4) The role and significance of the "architect" was not brought to life. It should have been explored more.
5) Eames was cool. I like the concept.
6) It was a very predictable film. After avoiding like the plague anything that would give away the plot prior to seeing the film, I must say that I was quite bored and disappointing.
7) It was very hard to get emotionally involved in the film, which was a shame.
8) I don't blame Christopher Nolan, I blame the screenwriter -- which was, gasp, Christopher Nolan. The script wasn't that good. It was quite rushed, unfocused with low resolution. However, still leagues better than Avatar's 1st grade script.
9) Buildings crumbling and things blowing up didn't impress me. Sorry.
10) As one who dreams profusely, most of the dreams were not dream-like. I'm not talking about wispy nonsense -- but rather the disjointed yet convergent nature of dreams.
Some folks would like to compare this movie to the first Matrix movie, but there is really no comparison. Matrix was clearly well thought-out and hence more seamless. Matrix was better executed and more focused, and hence a better movie.
I will watch again. I'm more in love with the concepts than the movie itself. Tsk tsk Christopher Nolan -- you should have allowed this magnificent idea of yours to incubate for another 3-5 years.
i'd rather judge inception, like all other works of art, including avatar, by the intention of the artist, writer & director.
ReplyDeletehere are some of the rules i follow:
"The artist is the creator of beautiful things. To reveal art and conceal the artist is art’s aim.
The critic is he who can translate into another manner or a new material his impression of beautiful things.
The highest as the lowest form of criticism is a mode of autobiography." -- 1st Paragraph of Preface to A Picture of Dorian Gray
while your review of the movie is quite refreshing, i'm not sure it addresses the christopher nolan's intentions at all. one this for certain is that there was no thought of pleasing you when christopher nolan wrote the script. and fyi, the gestational period of this script was decades. he first thought about these ideas at 16-years-old; quite like avatar, whose gestational period began in the late nineties.
isn't it fascinating that you find both avatar and inception below par?
"Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault.
Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.
They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only beauty." -- 2nd Paragraph of Preface to A Picture of Dorian Gray
Make up for all flaws in execution using your imagination. Even Theseus in a Midsummer nights dream admonished his wife's criticism's of the tedious-brief play enacted by the hempen homespun rude athenians mechanicals at their nuptials when he stated that "the best and worst of this kind are but shadow's, if imagination mend them." of course his wife Hippolyta, in a temperament similar to yours, responded wittily by saying that "its your imagination then, and not theirs."
anywhoo... i'll end by pasting the prologue from shakespeare's king henry V as a tedious-brief summation of my case. no apologies.
Enter Chorus
Chorus
O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend
The brightest heaven of invention,
A kingdom for a stage, princes to act
And monarchs to behold the swelling scene!
Then should the warlike Harry, like himself,
Assume the port of Mars; and at his heels,
Leash'd in like hounds, should famine, sword and fire
Crouch for employment. But pardon, and gentles all,
The flat unraised spirits that have dared
On this unworthy scaffold to bring forth
So great an object: can this cockpit hold
The vasty fields of France? or may we cram
Within this wooden O the very casques
That did affright the air at Agincourt?
O, pardon! since a crooked figure may
Attest in little place a million;
And let us, ciphers to this great accompt,
On your imaginary forces work.
Suppose within the girdle of these walls
Are now confined two mighty monarchies,
Whose high upreared and abutting fronts
The perilous narrow ocean parts asunder:
Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts;
Into a thousand parts divide on man,
And make imaginary puissance;
Think when we talk of horses, that you see them
Printing their proud hoofs i' the receiving earth;
For 'tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings,
Carry them here and there; jumping o'er times,
Turning the accomplishment of many years
Into an hour-glass: for the which supply,
Admit me Chorus to this history;
Who prologue-like your humble patience pray,
Gently to hear, kindly to judge, our play.
Exit
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ReplyDeleteA wise man once said that we cannot judge a man's intention, but we can judge his actions.
<< one [of] this for certain is that there was no thought of pleasing you when christopher nolan wrote the script.>>
As an adult I can accept this. However, what I cannot accept is that Christopher Nolan is fully proud of this product. All good chefs have standards and though a few might savor his dish, a good chef knows (gut feeling) when his dish is sub-par. In Christopher Nolan's case, the money-machine of Hollywood watered down his script/film, and he would agree with me.
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Par: District 9, Matrix, Case for the Prosecution, Inside Man
Almost-par: Inception (par concept, but sub-par execution)
Sub-par: most movies
Ultra-sub-par: Avatar (I wasn't fooled by the spectacular visual into thinking this hogwash was epic).
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I would -- except that I paid $9.50 with the expectation that Christopher Nolan would deliver a high quality product as per the hype. I do not visit the movie theater often, and my $9.50 is precious.
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My urge to critique this film stems from the fact that my hopes were dashed. There was SO MUCH hype surrounding this movie and with good reason as only a brain like Nolan's can give the Joker of all characters such wonderful complexity.
Don't get me wrong, I liked the movie a lot, but it wasn't as epic as people claimed it to be. I felt like Nolan bowed to the gods of Hollywood who insist on trading in substance for action (Michael Bay) in order to garner widespread appeal. Nolan should have told them to shove it.
Outstanding concept.
Now to you D: it's clear that you didn't read my alcohol/drunk/addiction analogy.
fyi--inception has already grossed $0.6 Billion in less than a month. in other words, the top two movies of all time in terms of gross revenue (avatar & batman/joker), both grossing over $1 Billion, face a new and worthy challenger.
ReplyDeleteto ignore the unrivaled global reception of any of these 3 movies is to deny the obvious: people love 'em. humanity loves 'em. there is stuff in all these movies that resonates with humanity.
the question, therefore, shouldn't be whether these movies portray profound attributes of the human condition. that is a no brainer. humanity has spoken. the question ought to be this: "which attributes of the human condition resonate so profoundly with the audience of these 3 movies?" that is the question.
therefore, your harsh and unsympathetic attitude towards both avatar and inception betrays denialism.
My Dearest Dearest D -- McDonalds is a worldwide superfranchised that remains unrivalled to this very day. It is a multi-billion dollar business and billions of people like McDonalds.
ReplyDeleteBut guess what -- that doesn't mean it's any good and of the highest quality. It resonates with the majority because it is CHEAP and satisfies the basic appetite. Likewise with Avatar. Avatar satisfies our basic need for visual stimulation. Who cares if the script is sub-disney and the plot was devised by a toddler?
Love
Bev