Plot: Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) makes money by interogating prisoners in their dreams and stealing their secrets. He uses drugs and a science-fiction machine to create an elaborate fictional world to convince them into talking. Cobb is himself a fugitive, and becomes involved in a risky corporate espionage scheme involving planting memories. As the movie unfolds, we learn Cobb has emotional problems of his own involving his wife Mal (Marion Cotilliard), and these complicate completing the espionage. He forms a team with Arthur (Joseph Gordon Levitt) and Araidne (Ellen Page.)
Review: Inception is a clever and original movie that mixes action sequences and a spy story with an emotional love story that occurs in flashback. It has a complicated plot, which was easy enough to follow in broad-strokes, but I'd need to see the movie another time to get in detail. I thought that the plot made sense by end of the movie, though I did not follow it as it spooled out.
The relationships between the characters especially Cobb and Araidne carry the movie, and Ellen Page does a nice job. Mal's scenes were played with great intensity by Marion Cotilliard, and they helped carry off the science-fiction premises. I don't usually like Leo, but he was non-objectionable in this movie -- even above average.
I liked the movie. It was fun to watch, and had some clever messages about the realness of life. My wife liked to relate this story to the teachings of mystical religions or The Course in Miracles, which teach that all the world is a dream.
I liked the ambiguous ending. When you have seen the movie, check out the discussion on the meaning of the last scene, here.
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio,
Written and directed by: Christopher Nolan
Rating: 3.0+ flasks; maybe it should be higher certainly others are giving it great reviews. I thought it was strong, more in the range of Kick-Ass, Ironman 2 and Alice in Wonderland -- not as good as Dragon Tatoo or Toy Story 3. I reserve the right to raise this to 3.5 if I see it again, and I am interested in seeing it twice. Just that I want to see it again says something.
+More: Ariadne (the namesake of the Ellen Page character) is a figure in Greek mythology who helped her boyfriend get out of a maze by giving him a thread. It is thus appropriate that she was concerned with mazes and guiding Cobb through the maze.
Obviously, Mal is supposed to be bad -- a little too obvious. I can't figure out the reference to Cobb. His full name is Dom Cobb.
Even More: Check out this comic prequel on the Cobal job, which the movie begins with.
