Or perhaps it was down to the sheer amount of things happening all at once. The film does a very good job of making it all make sense within itself but in the actual experience of watching it it's like a freight train that just keeps hurtling forward. And if you're not perpared to do the leg work to keep up with it then you're going to be left behind. I have a feeling this will be one of those films that will need to be rewatched quite a few times to get every little nuance. And perhaps that will eradicate some of the issues I had with it.
Both a positive and a negative is that half the time while I was watching the film I was trying to work out the sheer technicality of it all, not just within the context of the story but just how in the world certain things were filmed. On a technical level the film is fascinating just to ponder never mind experience. I can't even begin to imagine how Nolan managed to write such a complicated narrative and make it simply function correctly much less be genuinely entertaining.
What's very satisfying to know is that Inception is a true original piece of work. Sure, the similarities to The Matrix (even in the basic plot and the mechanics of how the dream manipulation works) are undeniable. But this isn't a sequel, remake, reboot, adaptation or anything else of that nature. It shows that in a movie industry so often devoid of originality these days, there are still unique and original ideas out there.
Inception might not be the absolute masterpiece it has been labelled as, but perhaps it was unfair for anyone to expect it to be in the first place. It's still wildly inventive, fiendishly clever, often awe-inspiring and almost always entertaining. It takes the notion of the summer blockbuster and twists it, proving that this busiest of movie going seasons doesn't have to be about switching your brain off or leaving it at the door. Inception does quite the opposite. It engages you, it keeps your attention and above all it makes you think. Don't all the truly great movies?
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