Inception

[redfiona99]

Christopher Nolan is an evil genius.



Admittedly some of the best things about the film was the audience reaction. Because it was Orange Wednesday and the screen was packed, even the Premier seats. And it was like the director was playing us like a violin.



The 'kiss me' scene. And the 'dream bigger' bit. And 'I bought the airline, it seemed neater'.

And the ending. The entire audience when 'gnah', this after the spinning top where you had the audience willing it to topple, to the point of one lady doing the hand actions for fall over.



While I disagree with one friend who didn't like the ending, because I think it was the best possible ending, if not the one I wanted, I have to agree with the friends of mine who didn't like the pacing. I think it's in the middle section, mostly the scenes with Ariadne and Cobb.

That one complaint out of the way, onto the more general stuff.

- I still don't rate Di Caprio, and my major problem with him (other than his infinitely slappable face) remains the same, I cannot cope with his vowels. Mal should not sound like Mol.

- That is an awesome cast and, vowels notwithstanding, they played their roles well.

- I am very annoyed by the critics describing the side characters as badly motivated, because they're really not. I can imagine these characters in the real world, living and doing, with great ease. I think the long incubation time helped with that, because they're all solid people, even/especially Mal.



Ken Watanabe is just oh my gosh wow in this one. Saito is interesting, because he's a ruthless business man, and yet he goes along on this mad adventure of the impossible. I refuse to believe that that makes any business sense, because he has no way of knowing if the inception has taken root or not, even as he's there. I find this very suspicious. I'm of the faction that think that there is something else going on, either an inception on Cobb or a theft from him or something.

One of the interesting thing is that there are almost no antagonist in this and yet there's a really strong plot (see also; the critics, they are idiots). I mean yes, there's Saito at the start, but he almost becomes a spare (and useful) team member at the end, and there's Mal, but she's definitely more of a victim than a villain, and then there's the defences of Fischer's mind, but they're more mindless drones. There's no organised opposition, and that's one of the most interesting things about the film in terms of the writing. I spent the entire thing waiting for someone to betray the team and that didn't happen, and that was interesting in and of itself as a break from the cliches of the heist film.

Marion Cottilard was amazing. Scary and solid and absent and wonderful. Mal is far more interesting than her husband, because we only ever see the shade of her and she's so alive and vital.

Ellen Page's character was interesting, and no, I don't blame her for wanting to find out more about Cobb, and I don't blame her for trying to protect the others while keeping his secret (bloody hell, that basement scene was good). I loved the special effects for the Paris a la Escher scene, but the thing I loved the most is that it's the same building repeating because they're constructs.

I love that the difference between Arthur and Eames also includes how they go about fighting their opponents and organising their kicks.

Also, Tom Hardy - our next Bond y/n?

I am very pleased that he is getting plaudits because I remember seeing Star Trek:Nemesis and going 'why aren't more people hiring him?' and he was brilliant as Sykes in the most recent BBC Oliver Twist which I highly recommend in general.

I am also pleased re: Joseph Gordon-Levitt also getting plaudits, for similar reasons.

Cilian Murphy not playing a bad guy, yay! And the whole Fischer thing was interesting, because he was totally the patsy and Mr. Charles totally worked and yet he looked so much happier afterwards (and there may have been wibbling at the paper spinning fan toy). And he was an example of what I liked about this, everyone is the hero of their own story (possible exception of Arthur), we just happen to be focusing on Cobb's.

I appreciated that they didn't try to explain the how of the sleeping, because anything they would have suggested would be wrong, but I want to know more about this world what this technology means to how things work.

I could live with the ending being real or a dream, I am happy with both. I just want to know that everyone else made it out.

Comments

[angstbunny.livejournal.com]

YES, you nailed a lot of the things I loved about this movie. That it worked as a narrative even though there was no strict antagonist. I love what you say about everybody being the hero of their own story. Cillian Murphy made me wibble so hard with the pinwheel. Tom Hardy! Omg, I was like "..." when I saw his name at the end, and I was like OMG THAT WAS SHINZON????????? WUT WUT WUT???

I agree Mal does seem more interesting than Cobb. I like Marion a LOT more in this than in Public Enemies. And damn, was she fucking SCARY in certain parts.

Watanabe's Saito is definitely intriguing. Yeah, there's no way to truly know if inception took place even if he were there. Can we believe what he said his motivation is? Or is he even real at all? I love the theory that the whole movie is an inception on Cobb.

The ending, I agree. Either it was a dream or reality, it is still a happy ending for Cobb, so it doesn't really matter. But I do wanna know what happened to everybody else.

[redfiona99.livejournal.com]

Seriously, if you get the chance watch the Oliver Twist I mentioned because they get so much right. Like Oliver isn't this clean little angel. Tom Hardy's Sykes goes absolutely gaspingly mad and it's painful to watch.

>>And damn, was she fucking SCARY in certain parts.<< The bit in the basment hotel room! Ack! Whole cinema jumped, I swear.

>> But I do wanna know what happened to everybody else. << Someone else was talking, jokingly I hope, about a sequel, and how they only way you could do it would be as a prequel, and I'm thinking no, you could do a really interesting sequel of them trying to get him out and how do you prove reality/unreality.

[angstbunny.livejournal.com]

I heard he did a really good Heathcliff, too.

YES. The basement hotel room. GAH.

I'm in the prequel camp, tbh. As much as I want to know what happened to everybody else, I like the way it ended.

[redfiona99.livejournal.com]

We decided not to watch it because it was on ITV, and when they (and their publicity department) start saying things like 'a new take on' what they normally mean is a ruination.

I'm more in the I want no more of this because I like what we have. I think because I don't want more certainty, if that makes sense.

[angstbunny.livejournal.com]

Makes sense. That's how I feel, too.