Inception Film Review by Blase Biello

Inception (2010)

Blase Biello

Inception, in my opinion, is definitely on the list of top movies of all time. Almost anyone that I know loved Inception and were completely sucked in by the movie's multiple layers. Filled with action, drama, emotion, and total mind-@$%!, Inception doesn't sell viewers short in any aspect. A huge kudos to the casting directors of Inception to for the amazing ensemble that was created to make this masterpiece; Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt really make the movie the solid piece it is. 

The movie is very deep and contains multiple themes that the characters deal with throughout. One of the major themes that I found was the nature of reality and our perception of it. The main character, played by DiCaprio, often struggles on trying to figure out if he is in reality our if he is in a made-up world in his head. This internal struggle often explodes externally, sometimes compromising the mission at hand within the dream. Dealing with his perception, DiCaprio must balance out both worlds to ensure the safety of himself and his team. Another theme that I found extremely important was letting go of lost loved ones. DiCaprio stubbled with letting go of his deceased wife after she committed suicide. A part of him blames himself and wants to go back to that non-reality to live with her again. His own confusion also compromises the final mission, until he learns to deal with impulses and actually let go. 

The musical score/soundtrack of this movie is phenomenal. If I had to describe it with one adjective, I'd probably use Epic. The dramatic climatic score produces sounds I've never heard before which actually make you feel like your in the dream and the intensity flows through you. I really liked the ambient sounds throughout the dreams to, they were very clean sounding and you felt like you were inside a "dream-room". The dialogue between characters was also exceptional. Some of the characters acted with such passion that you felt an emotional connection. 

Visually, Inception is hands down amazing. The actors do an amazing job at filling in their characters and the special effects are so stunning. One of my favorite actors is the main character, played by Leo DiCaprio. I think DiCaprio was the perfect person for the role because of his acting capabilities. When he was upset and stressed out, I really saw it in him, it wasn't as if he was acting. When he was in an argument, you saw and felt the rage in his face. I really enjoyed the cinematography as well, the movie had a wide usage of shots ranging from wide to extreme close and panning to static. Kudos to the cinematographers for the crisp look that Inception has as well. The special effects were breath-taking to say the least! When DiCaprio and Page were sitting down and everything around them exploded- blew my mind. I had never seen anything like that before. And then as they were walking down the street; the whole street became animated and shifted itself to create a mirror of itself in the sky I was mind-blown once again. It was literally one of the coolest things I've ever seen in a movie. The special effects were amazing. The colors of the film were always so crisp throughout and I liked the slightly cool filter that seemed to be on a lot of the shots. The lighting was on point throughout but I never really saw any use of shadows or light manipulation to affect the tone, but its okay. The Mis-en-Scene was perfect, the created dream worlds were spectacular looking and the actors were dressed perfectly for their characters. The film is edited amazingly and I couldn't recommend any suggestions at all. 

I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't seen the movie so I'll leave the Act summaries short. First, The Set Up of the movie was very necessary in my opinion, for you to completely understand what going into dreams really was. This also gave the movie time to introduce its characters and close up any room for confusion. The first plot point came when DiCaprio was given the mission to do 'inception' on a CEO. Confrontation came when one of the people on the mission was shot and was at risk of death. Resolution comes when DiCaprio unlocks the secret and completes the mission and gains something he's been fighting for for almost a decade. The Aftermath leaves you wondering actually as to whether the entire movie was a dream and if the final scenes were actually reality. I liked that touch. Overall, Inception was an amazing movie and definitely one of my lifetime favorites and I recommend anyone that hasn't seen it, to watch is ASAP!