Thread: I saw Inception

Yeah, it was a trippy movie.

It was a very good (if slightly overrated) film!

I watched it with a few other people and most of them didn't quite understand the whole "layers" concept the first time around, so they had to watch it again after. They enjoyed it the second time, too.

It's got some interesting plot points and characters, even if the validity of the LDing-related aspects are pretty far off in some places.

Oh, and I'm moving this to Entertainment.

I thought it was ok, but no more than an 7/10. It gets props for the original concept when we live in a time where every movie plot is long slog through old ideas, but so much time was spend explaining everything, you'd think Ayn Rand co-wrote it (this is a joke for those who know about the last chapter of Atlas Shrugged). The love story aspect was at most acceptable, but it didn't give me any emotional response, unlike Bicentennial Man, Forrest Gump, and Moulin Rouge.
The acting was pretty good.

Originally Posted by kookyinc

(this is a joke for those who know about the last chapter of Atlas Shrugged).

The actual joke here is how you apparently never made it past the 'final chapter' to discover that there are actually a few more; though I wouldn't blame you at all.

You're pretty much right about everything. For me it was very lacking in emotional resonance (the only actor who did anything for me was Cilian Murphy), there wasn't any kind of message, the action sequences weren't generally interesting... I think the best way to put it is that it was very interesting as a potential framework for a movie, but it simply wasn't filled with anything substantial. I had at least gone in anticipating some kind of really smart plotting that would disorient the viewer and take a lot of thought to figure out, but the movie was very simple and didn't make me think.

For me the most unfortunate thing about the movie was that my friends told me it would blow my mind.

Never tell me that, I'm the worst kind of film critic. Because of this, and because Nolan made it, I had some crazy high expectations. Like that... it would be a good film.

It was good, maybe even the best to come out that year. But that's not saying much, 2010 sucked for movies. And besides, Nolan usually ends a film really well (except the two batman films) and this time it was like... he went for something open ended but completely lacking in satisfaction. It was almost like he had so much fun playing with these concepts he forgot to bring them to their final conclusion.

But I'll admit, that one weird kid from angels in the outfield and that weird looking guy from 28 days later did a fantastic job. Everyone else sucked though.

Originally Posted by Xei

The actual joke here is how you apparently never made it past the 'final chapter' to discover that there are actually a few more; though I wouldn't blame you at all.

If I said I skimmed the book, I'd be giving myself too much credit.

Originally Posted by Xei

You're pretty much right about everything. For me it was very lacking in emotional resonance (the only actor who did anything for me was Cilian Murphy), there wasn't any kind of message, the action sequences weren't generally interesting... I think the best way to put it is that it was very interesting as a potential framework for a movie, but it simply wasn't filled with anything substantial. I had at least gone in anticipating some kind of really smart plotting that would disorient the viewer and take a lot of thought to figure out, but the movie was very simple and didn't make me think.

I would say the most interesting concept would be Maude's disbelief in reality thing, but I feel like that philosophical goldmine was ignored. Depending on definitions, that could be considered a message or a theme, but its presence in the movie seems too insubstantial to genuinely be considered.

The last scene always manages to give me chills. This is one of my top movies (for particular reasons I won't go into).

Originally Posted by kookyinc

I would say the most interesting concept would be Maude's disbelief in reality thing, but I feel like that philosophical goldmine was ignored. Depending on definitions, that could be considered a message or a theme, but its presence in the movie seems too insubstantial to genuinely be considered.

Um, this is what I was going to say, except it was a major theme. It was the theme of almost the entire movie. It's in the title in fact!
Inception. The fact that an idea can be planted in your head and it can fuck with your entire life, and even end it.
Just an idea.
And you can even plant it there yourself.

Originally Posted by tommo

Um, this is what I was going to say, except it was a major theme. It was the theme of almost the entire movie. It's in the title in fact!
Inception. The fact that an idea can be planted in your head and it can fuck with your entire life, and even end it.
Just an idea.
And you can even plant it there yourself.

The theme was the inception of the idea. The planting. I was referring more to the result as something that the movie should have focused more on, the increased skepticism of reality to the point of insanity.

Maybe. I thought that was focused on enough. Maybe a little more. But it was balanced nicely with the things that would appeal to laymen more.

Originally Posted by tommo

But it was balanced nicely with the things that would appeal to laymen more.

Indeed, but I'm too much of an ass to appreciate nice things.

Originally Posted by tommo

Maybe. I thought that was focused on enough. Maybe a little more. But it was balanced nicely with the things that would appeal to laymen more.

^ This

Christopher Nolan is good at making movies that while they ARE trippy, the average person can "get" it. (Think The Prestige, Memento, etc.) I feel like Inception is a revival of the late 90's... things like Fight Club, The Matrix, turning "makes you think/reality isn't what it seems" profitable. Some of the best mind-trip movies weren't profitable, which is unfortunate, but that's the way the industry works!

Originally Posted by tommo

But it was balanced nicely with the things that would appeal to laymen more.

Laymen at what, I wonder..?

Formula dictates each character has his own arc which surrounds the protagonist with the tension that places him in the climax.

When all is said and done with a film, whether it's in 3D or has giant fighting robots invading earth, for the audience to gain any satisfaction from it and not be put to sleep the protagonist must be undergoing a sympathetic trial through which the plot injects opportunities for him/her to perform actions which reveal which stage of the emotional ladder they're on.

Think about grief. What are the stages? Watch any movie where the character is dealing with grief (one that was good). The character has an action for each emotional stage of the journey in order to give a representation of the struggle. This is the emotional hook that connects us to the world we're watching and this is also the purpose behind drama: therapy.

I was quite impressed by Inception. I rarely listen to hype about movies, and I only watched this because it was about lucid dreaming. I would say it is one of the best movies I have ever seen. Maybe it's just because I like dreams.

I thought Inception was the most ludicrously overrated movie ever created. I think the trick of Inception is that it seems to make people feel smart. The mechanics of the dreams are easy to understand, just really complicated. So when people who generally don't get movies get Inception, they feel delighted.

Yes, especially irritating to me were talk show hosts and the like who did this kind of deferrential, self-depreciating 'I still can't work out what happened LOL' thing... I was just like, don't say that, if you understood the fucking Lion King you can understand this film.

I thought Inception was the most ludicrously overrated movie ever created. I think the trick of Inception is that it seems to make people feel smart. The mechanics of the dreams are easy to understand, just really complicated. So when people who generally don't get movies get Inception, they feel delighted.

Nolan basically took a used concept of layered realities (eXistenZ, Videodrome) and added his twist, made it marketable, and turned it into a blockbuster. I enjoyed it as a heist film, not as a "mind trip" because it wasn't a mind trip compared to many other postmodern films.

I wouldn't write it off like that.

Inception's problem was not the story, which was sound, but the hype and excessive intellectualism. I can understand hating the film in reaction to others saying it would blow your mind, cause it won't. But it's a good film. It is not Nolan's take on layered reality. It is a film he wrote which includes a theme that has been seen before. So is everything ever made. I honestly feel sorry for Nolan, one of his best films was destroyed by good reviews.

Yeah I agree with the above post.

It was an ok movie. That's about it though. It was an ok movie. Nothing more.

The ridiculous hype made me hate it for awhile

When I first saw the trailers I got excited - I could tell it was related to lucid dreaming. But something about it put me off - I don't know, I guess Leonardo DeCaprio walking around in a suit with his hair slicked down. Then I tried to watch it but it bored the piss out of me. It was all just dudes walking around in what looked like an office building in suits. I hate crap like that. I couldn't even make it to the good parts.

Originally Posted by Darkmatters

When I first saw the trailers I got excited - I could tell it was related to lucid dreaming. But something about it put me off - I don't know, I guess Leonardo DeCaprio walking around in a suit with his hair slicked down. Then I tried to watch it but it bored the piss out of me. It was all just dudes walking around in what looked like an office building in suits. I hate crap like that. I couldn't even make it to the good parts.

Don't worry. There are no good parts.