Inception

Exceptionally well done movie. I plan to see it again soon. For what it's worth, the people I know who didn't like it don't care for interesting thought provoking movies in general. Not a criticism, just an observation. Some people just want to be entertained. I don't care for American Idol or simplistic chick flix. Different strokes.

If you see it at the IMAX, don't sit too close.
 
A good movie IMO should have a good/great director, good/great acting, and good/great script. It should also leave you walking away from the movie discussing it with anyone else that saw it. For me it did just that. Same feeling had when I saw Being John Malkovich or Mystic River. These may not be great movies in the minds of some but they give me exactly what I am looking for when I go to a theater.

Perhaps I am a moron but when I left Inception felt like I needed to see it a few more times to understand what the heck happened. A good movie also remains good when reviewed more times. I can't say that yet b/c I haven't made it back yet. I imagine my experience will be different the 2nd and 3rd time around as well as I will be focusing on the small details more....similar to when I watched Sixth Sense 2nd time around.

For those that didn't enjoy it I would just say move on and perhaps the next superhero movie will strike your fancy. Maybe the sequel to the star trek remake will be coming out soon....who knows.

Very original script IMO.
 
Here's an article I found linked elsewhere with which I pretty much agree:

The Link

I didn't hate "Inception."

I was disappointed that I didn't enjoy it.

I saw and said it was clever and original and I thought many other viewers would dig it, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

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Yeah I really do think the rest test of a movie is how it holds up when you see it again later; especially when it's more than just a day or two later; weeks or months. Just thought of that when someone mentioned some movies need to be re-watched to figure them out, and someone else brought up Star Trek sequel, which I liked at first but I watched it again 2 months later and noticed a bunch of stuff that made it much less enjoyable.

So ... final verdict on Inception delayed until I see it again this fall.

In reply to:
Click to expand...
 
I hadn't thought of the gaming angle, though the film is obviously supposed to be a puzzle.

I felt like I understood the whole thing first go. All the potential uncertainties of reality, the fact that, like Decker in Blade Runner, Leo's character might be something other than he thought, i.e., the top never stops spinning because he is in limbo, etc.

There is alot of that kind of stuff to consider. But it seems like wank to an old geezer like me.

The idea that people who don't like the film are somehow averse to complexity or daring in their film going experiences seems laughable to me. Inception was cotton candy hidden in a set of russian dolls locked in a Matrix lunchbox, shoved under a pile of Psych Today mags. It is also dismissive to assume that people who like it are simply into explosions, slicked back hair, gunplay, etc., as I suggested earlier.

It is interesting that there is a sharp divide, i.e., people see distinctly different things when watching the film. I am young enough to see what some people might like, but not able to actually experience it as pleasurable or interesting. I kept instinctively groping for some purpose and could not grasp it. Maybe the gaming mindset is the key, the thrill of trying to figure out what was happening (they told you exactly what was happening, so it is hard to believe people couldn't figure it out, though I do believe there reached a point where a certain set of viewer expectations or predilections simply gave up waiting for substance to rise out of the slo mo shards of glass, etc.).

Feh, to each their own.
 
From the people I've talked to, those who are longtime fans of science fiction and fantasy (and specifically novels rather than movies), and are consequently extremely familiar with the typical theories, standards, and limitations of alternate reality themes and subject matter, found it to be fairly simple.

But people who were less familiar with such themes, found the movie to be quite complex and more difficult to follow. As my wife and I were waiting in line, we overheard a nearby couple mentioning it was their second time to see the movie because they didn't feel they understood it the first time. We talked to them for a bit and they warned us not to go to the bathroom or we'd miss so much we'd never catch up.

Personally, I didn't think it was complex, but I'm also quite familiar with such themes, from decades of reading similar fiction.

Still, I thought it was enjoyable. Intellectually interesting enough not to be considered simply an action film, but certainly not so complex that the majority of people won't "get" it.

For anyone who is still on the fence, I'd recommend it, chances are you will like it.
 
Mrs. AstroVol and I are complete opposites when it comes to movie interests, and we both loved it. The only thing we disagree about is the ending. She says the ending clearly was ______, and I say it was intentionally ambiguous.
 
What I really liked about it is the way the actions sequences played out -- and really the whole movie -- felt like a dream. I don't know if it was just because I was sucked into the plot and thinking about dreams a lot or if the director did a really good job of creating thedream illusion, but it was a really great experience. I've been having some sleep problems for a while and vivid dreams have been a casualty of them. This movie reminded me what it is like to dream and was the best movie going experience I've had in many years.
 
I am still confused by the two completely different views of this movie.
One side says that the movie was very complex. The other side says that it was simplistic.

I fall on the side that the movie was EXTREMELY simplistic. I believe that the entire plot of the last 1/3 of the movie was specifically (without any doubt) revealed and then played out with ZERO surprises.

I have posted this thought on here a couple of other times. I continuously return to this message thread to see if someone will change my mind, since soooo many loved this movie. I honestly want to love it too, but I just found it uneventful and too simple.

Can someone PLEASE enlighten me and explain what was so complex about this movie? My mind is wide open.

Again . . . What was so complex?

* It cannot be the sequence of a dream inside of a dream inside of a dream, because that was repeatedly explained . . . Wasn't it?

* It cannot be that his wife entered the dream to disrupt things, because we were told that this would happen, and it did. This would have added some entertainment to the film, but the surprise was revealed and even showed to us in a pre-dream scene with the wife.

* The issue of time and timing could not have been the complex issue, since this was also explained in at least two different scenes prior to it playing out EXACTLY as explained.

I can only try to explain this by mentioning two other movies:

1. If halfway through THE SIXTH SENSE, it was revealed that Bruce Willis was dead, then I would have been disappointed by that flick too.

2. In OCEAN'S ELEVEN, the proposed plot is revealed throughout the movie, but (unlike Inception) something disrupts the plot and the entertainment changes to how the cast overcomes the SURPRISE issues that they face. You throw out the presented plot and you join the cast in reaching the unexpected ending.
 
UTDude, since you politely said "please," I'll explain again why I found the movie complex.

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I "got" the flick.

I understood it and I agree that it had a simplistic plot which went just as they expected the mission would go.

Things happened just as the characters outlined that they might/would.

I said it was complex (and IMO needlessly so) because I found it too layered, too repetitive and, in addition, the dialog was too hard to hear.

I got the plot and the point of "Inception."

I understood the ambiguity of the ending, but decided that particular "payoff" wasn't worth my time or the effort that I'd expended..

I get that the moviemakers decided not to wrap this interesting film up neatly in the end.

I said I thought viewers should see it and am not surprised others liked it.

And I said it had a clever premise, decent acting and some OK action.

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But even a simplistic movie, that for my taste was too long, too repetitive, too slow and too hard to understand because I couldn't hear all that was said, can wind up being too complex for some intelligent viewers to enjoy.

I didn't think the good things about "Inception" made up for the bad things and I didn't dig this movie.

Heck, I posted a link to an article from the LA Times that theorizes why some people really dug this flick and some felt it just dug a hole.

Hey, I'm sure most of the people who would dislike this film didn't and won't ever even go to see it.

I gave it a try and was personally disappointed.

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I'm not trying to change anyone's mind about the movie and it's fine with me if others liked it.

I'm simply reporting how my wife and I felt.

Just to recap, I thought the complexity lay in the involved, repetitive, long, slow moving way the writer and director chose to tell the simple story.

And, when the "ambiguous" ending failed to reward my patient hopes, that sealed the deal for me.

The lengthy, layered, somewhat confusing journey didn't engage my interest and so that cinematic trip was too complex for my wife and I to enjoy, especially after we were given the non-explanatory ending.

She completely hated it and found it a boring, total waste of her time.

I willilngly gave my time and didn't hate it, but left disappointed.

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Others found the layered journey was exactly what they enjoyed.

I can understand that and I hope you can understand my point of view..

I found "Forbidden Planet" from back in the sixties, which still holds up pretty well, and possibly even "Predators" seen recently, despite all its faults, two sci fi adventures more to my personal liking..

Anyway, since you asked, that's a repeat, rehash and recap of why I found "Inception" complex.

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I think those that were hoping for some grand revelation at the end got too caught up in that expectation and missed the aspect of the movie that was the most enjoyable. To me, it was like a roller coaster. You can look at a roller coaster and see what's going to happen, but the knowledge of what's coming doesn't take away from the experience of the ride. I think those that sat back and relaxed, got more out of it. The ideas in the movie were nothing new -- Kant came up with the reality is dream idea long ago -- and the plot was nothing special. It was simple, but simple done really well, and so if you just let yourself get caught up in the game they were playing and then sensation of dreaming...then you enjoy enjoy it. If you come in with high hopes for some very sophisticated story telling and plot twists, then I could see why you would be disappointed.

Maybe the sound mix distracted you, and it through off the dream illusion that made the film so enjoyable? I didn't notice any problem with the mix, but I have really good hearing.
 
Finally saw it. Loved it. It's what I go to the movies for. Total entertainment, but it makes you THINK also. Takes you out of reality for 2 1/2 hours, and puts you in another world. An artistic and intellectual joyride.

Also, the CAST was great, from top to bottom. That needs to be mentioned more in this thread. Loved Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, James Gordon-Leavitt, Cillian Murphy. All of them were outstanding. And of course Leo was the anchor to the whole thing. What a terrific actor he has become.

SPOILER

And the ending? My take? It looked liked the top was beginning to wobble, and would have tipped over in a few more seconds.
 
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