Conspirator
- Brian
- I went out there in search of experience To taste and to touch and to feel as much As a man can before he repents.
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On Seeing Inception
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Last Friday Gretchen and I went to the movies and saw Inception. It was the first time we had gone to the movies together since we saw Atonement at the Haydn Theatre in Vienna--it was our Christmas gift to each other for 2007. Inception has been the number one film at the U.S. box office the last two weekends and I have no doubt it will continue to be one of the top movies in the country because it really is an intriguing, engrossing film.
I don't really like to give a summary or synopsis of a movie's plot--you can easily find that elsewhere online--but just want to share my experience of seeing the movie. Inception is not really groundbreaking: the is-it-reality-or-dream motif around which the plot twists has been done many times before in The Matrix, Total Recall and others. In fact, Inception seems like an honest, blatant homage to The Matrix both in plot and with the special effects. But, this is one of the things that makes the movie work so well. It doesn't try to pass itself off as groundbreaking or original (though I'd maintain that it is an original interpretation of the dream vs. reality motif), it blatantly stands on the shoulders of the films and directors that came before it in order to deliver a great experience for anyone who enjoys movies that require thoughtful interaction.
In this regard, Inception is a collection of cliches, giving credit where credit is do, presented in fresh perspective: the aforementioned dream vs. reality motif, the thief conducting one last heist before he gets out of the game all together (in fact, the film is a heist movie at heart), the Matrix-esque fight scenes that have been copied countless times in the last decade, the main character who sets the rules for his team but never abides by them himself, the upstart apprentice who challenges the main character, the non-resolute ending, among other cliches. Inception takes all these things and places them in a world in which people can actively share in each others dreams while we learn the consequences that can accompany life in such a world.
At times, the plot is forced, especially early in the film. Also, early in the film, the dialogue is a bit unnatural as it is forcing the plot along. As a writer, that annoys me, but it's nitpicking. Besides, I don't know that, as a writer, I could write anything as ambitious as Inception anyway. If you're looking for something to do this coming weekend, I recommend this film. You won't regret it. Unless, of course, you're a geek.
I don't really like to give a summary or synopsis of a movie's plot--you can easily find that elsewhere online--but just want to share my experience of seeing the movie. Inception is not really groundbreaking: the is-it-reality-or-dream motif around which the plot twists has been done many times before in The Matrix, Total Recall and others. In fact, Inception seems like an honest, blatant homage to The Matrix both in plot and with the special effects. But, this is one of the things that makes the movie work so well. It doesn't try to pass itself off as groundbreaking or original (though I'd maintain that it is an original interpretation of the dream vs. reality motif), it blatantly stands on the shoulders of the films and directors that came before it in order to deliver a great experience for anyone who enjoys movies that require thoughtful interaction.
In this regard, Inception is a collection of cliches, giving credit where credit is do, presented in fresh perspective: the aforementioned dream vs. reality motif, the thief conducting one last heist before he gets out of the game all together (in fact, the film is a heist movie at heart), the Matrix-esque fight scenes that have been copied countless times in the last decade, the main character who sets the rules for his team but never abides by them himself, the upstart apprentice who challenges the main character, the non-resolute ending, among other cliches. Inception takes all these things and places them in a world in which people can actively share in each others dreams while we learn the consequences that can accompany life in such a world.
At times, the plot is forced, especially early in the film. Also, early in the film, the dialogue is a bit unnatural as it is forcing the plot along. As a writer, that annoys me, but it's nitpicking. Besides, I don't know that, as a writer, I could write anything as ambitious as Inception anyway. If you're looking for something to do this coming weekend, I recommend this film. You won't regret it. Unless, of course, you're a geek.
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