My review of “Inception” received a lot of attention and criticism back when the movie came out this past summer. All I was doing was being honest, but many people had a problem with that. Oh well, I stand by that review. In fact, here it is again:
The first thing I need to say about “Inception” is that it’s not for kids. And not because of bad language or extreme violence or adult subject matter. It’s because the movie is very complicated to follow, and kids (myself included) and probably many adults, just won’t get it.
Director Christopher Nolan’s previous film – “The Dark Knight” worked for everybody. Movie fans from 8 to 88 enjoyed his twist on the Batman story. Trust me, there will be no Leonardo DiCaprio action figures at Walmart promoting “Inception”. This story, of a man who runs a business that gets into people’s dreams to steal their secrets, will appeal to only a certain group of movie-goers, who love fantasy, sci-fi, mysteries filled with special effects, flashbacks, flash-forwards and everything in between.
It’s tricky for me to review a film like this. It’s very cool to look at. There are loads of scenes that are amazing, visually. And the soundtrack is great. Composer Hans Zimmer does an amazing job, especially since he wrote the score without seeing one frame of the film.
However, one of my major pet-peeves with films is when conversations among characters are used to explain what’s going on. And this movie takes that TO THE EXTREME! The Ellen Page character is only in the film so that she can ask questions and then get answers to help the audience follow the plot. Without her, no one, not even Christopher Nolan, could make sense of things.
And, believe it or not, even though most of the time it’s impossible to know what’s going one, the ending is very predictable.
The movie should be easier to follow on DVD. If there’s a scene you didn’t understand or a conversation that doesn’t make sense you can always scan back and watch it again. But unless you have a 50″ TV or larger you won’t be able to fully appreciate the look, which is the best part of the film.
On The Official Kid Critic Report Card, “Inception”, gets a C.
Yes, the movie is loved by many critics and moviegoers and it will get loads of Best Picture nominations come awards season. But for me, I said it before and I’ll say it again: it’s not a bad dream, just a really weird one.