Inception (2010)

Christopher Nolan is a sure bet to direct a top draw movie, but what happens when he gets the chance to create a completely original flick?

Cobb must do one final job to get back home to his kids, to plant an idea into a corporate heir’s mind. “What is the most resilient parasite? An idea. Resilient… highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it’s almost impossible to eradicate.”

The complexity of Inception is one of its main selling points, with the main storyline intertwining and layering on top of itself for the majority of the film as the characters travel through the dreams and unconscious of their target. Despite its large ensemble and massive plot, the whole story is extremely streamlined, filling every minute with exciting action sequences and cleverly linked scenes. On top of this, Cobb’s wife’s side story holds enough substance, with her traumatic past, to create an independent film.

The film’s complexity allows each unique scenario to offer a slightly different twist on the characters, specifically allowing DiCaprio to portray Cobb as a confident tutor, a lonely recluse and a helplessly afraid husband; during these character changes DiCaprio maintains viewer engagement which is helped by his determination to get return to his kids and also his need to succeed. This is truly a standout performance for DiCaprio in what is already an impressive career so far.

After re-launching the Batman franchise to critical and commercial success, Christopher Nolan was given the opportunity of directing Inception, a script he’d been working on for over nine years. This superb blockbuster is packed with exciting sequences, especially in each of the distinct layers of dream space; they each seem to carry common attributes with a main goal in mind, while also having completely different locations, objectives and often character traits.

The lengthy script writing process certainly comes across in the film’s intricacies, and manages to provide an utterly fantastic ride. With four Oscars wins, three BAFTAs, a brilliant cast and enough character arcs and interesting story lines to keep you coming back for more, this is an absolute must for fans of the intelligent but action packed filmmaking Nolan has become so well known for.