Although Christopher Nolan’s epic sci-fi masterpiece Inception is about to turn 10, the film really hasn’t lost it’s luster in the intervening years. It’s unique concept and astonishing execution have yet to be matched, copied, or even challenged, and it’s impressive that such a technologically reliant movie somehow still feels timeless. When it was first released it seemed like it would become an instant classic, and the passage of time has only proven that to be true.
However, Inception isn’t a movie without it’s flaws. No movie can truly be flawless, and honestly when a filmmaker is trying to tackle something as high concept as Inception it’s literally impossible to avoid making some mistakes or leaving some plot holes. So here are 5 reasons why Inception is the greatest science fiction film ever made, and 5 reasons why it decidedly is not.
Best: The Practical Effects
The advancements that have been made in CGI in the past few years have been astounding, and this isn’t to say that a director or filmmaker can’t create an absolutely astonishing visual sequence digitally.
However, Inception was certainly helped by the fact that as many of the effects as possible were done practically instead of visually. Christopher Nolan obviously had some really big ideas for the film, and most directors wouldn’t even try to create real effects for scenes like the hallway fight. But the results in the movie are truly stunning, in large part because it’s so realistic and yet out of this world.
Not: It’s Too Much
There is definitely something to be said for creating a movie that is as artistic and thoughtful as possible. But one way in which Inception kind of falls flat is that it just includes way too much of everything.
On the one hand, it’s great that there is always something new to be discovered within the film, but on the other hand, it shouldn’t feel like half of the audience is going to miss what’s going on because there is just so much information being thrown at them. It’s pretty much impossible to catch everything in Inception, and movies shouldn’t be that overstuffed.
Best: The Killer Cast
It’s very easy to see why so many amazing actors were attracted to this film, because it is truly unlike anything else that had been made before. But it’s pretty rare that you see a cast as high class as this one.
Even great movies typically only hope to have a few big names on their marquee and are more than satisfied with that, but even the supporting cast and smaller roles in Inception are filled by world class actors that are often times the top billed of their own films, and that are award winning heavy hitters in their own right.
Not: Because It’s No Fun
There’s really nothing wrong with creating a serious movie, but when Christopher Nolan created this insane dream world in which anything is possible, it would have been nice if there were a few more moments of levity and lightness.
As the movie progresses we understand why there is such a pall over the mission and the possible results of said mission, and once it’s revealed that Cobb’s wife actually committed suicide as a result of inception it seems fair that everything is so dour. However, when the film is operating in such a wild fantasy land it’s a shame that it never really played with that.
Best: The Insane Visuals
Many of Inception’s visual effects were practical, but obviously there were some that had to be created digitally. However, what is so obviously striking about the film, regardless of how it’s effects were made, is how utterly insane and beautiful the visuals of the film truly are.
Dreams are an incredibly strange thing. They’re something that literally everyone on earth experiences, but that can be very hard to describe to someone else, let alone to actually recreate in a new image. But Inception absolutely nails the incomprehensible nonsense that a dream can be, and manages to form that into an actual story.
Not: Because Of It’s “Dream Rules”
This is kind of a difficult thing to decide on, actually. Because as anyone who has had a dream understands, dreams don’t operate under any kind of set rules, and the fact that the film confines itself to certain rules kind of kills part of what makes the idea of existing within a dream so fun in the first place.
However, in a movie that is as complex as this one, it’s easy to see why they may have wanted to lay out specific ground rules before getting things going, even if rules like the exponential increase of time as you get further into the dream state really have no logical basis.
Best: Because It’s Smart
Inception is absolutely a movie with it’s own set of flaws, but what made it feel like such a revolutionary and thrilling film is the fact that it is just a very smart concept and execution, and it shamelessly relies on it’s audience to be smart enough to understand everything that’s going on too.
In a world where most movies seem to be dumbed down for the sake of the lowest common denominator, it was great to see a very big blockbuster style movie that seemed to be designed around the idea that people could actually fully understand and enjoy something that demanded a bit more intellectual energy from them.
Not: Because It’s Too Hard To Follow
Maybe it’s a little hypocritical to praise the film for it’s intelligence on one turn and then say it’s too hard to follow on another, but hypocrisy be damned.
Inception does have it’s moments of down time to be sure, but once the story gets going it really seems to proceed at a breakneck speed without a lot of lulls, and at times there seem to be four or five different intense story lines going on at the same time. It’s great that the film is so jam packed, however if someone can look away from a movie for a moment and come back feeling totally lost then that’s a problem.
Best: The High Concept Premise
Many things about Inception stand out and have stood the test of time, making it one of the most intriguing and truly unique films ever made. And it seems safe to argue that very few writers could have even come up with the idea behind Inception, let alone execute it in such a visually stunning and intellectually stimulating way.
It also seems safe to assume that no movie like it will ever be made again, because the confluence of someone coming up with the idea, being able to properly make it into a reality, and having enough clout that a studio will actually invest tens of millions of dollars into the idea is a nearly impossible trifecta to achieve.
Not: Because The Concept Makes No Sense
Suspension of disbelief is an essential aspect of any movie viewing experience. And honestly, we couldn’t be happier to suspend disbelief for a movie like Inception. However, the biggest and most obvious problem with the film is that it’s entire premise really doesn’t hold up.
The subconscious mind is powerful, but the notion that one thought from one dream within a dream within a dream could completely change a person is a little absurd. And even if people don’t know that they’re dreaming when they dream, they know if they’re awake or not, and no one is really going to kill themselves because they think they’re dreaming.
