You must learn to dream a little bigger, darling

[ebonlock]

Yeah I'm slow when it comes to seeing films, really slow, but I finally got to see "Inception". Aelf and I headed over to check it out in IMAX this morning and for the first time in ages we both looked at one another during the end credits and said, "I'm so glad we went with IMAX, this movie was so worth it!" Let me just say this, I haven't been as impressed with a film in ages. The story was superb, the characters gloriously complex and well rounded and the effects stunning.

While I'd seen and heard so much about the effects I've gotta' say I was a little worried they'd overpower everything else. I've seen a lot of movies that were all about cool effects and big explosions but I promise you this one balances image and story masterfully.

I know there's a lot of debate about how to interpret the plot itself. Did any of it actually happen? Was it all just a dream? Did Cobb ever actually escape limbo with Mal or was this some even deeper level? But honestly I like the basic plot that's given to us, Cobb and Arthur assemble a team to break into Fischer's mind at the behest of Saito in order to keep Fischer from taking over his dad's empire and becoming an energy superpower unto himself. Cobb hires Eames who points him at Yusef and he picks up young architectural student Ariadne to round out the team. Things go cockeyed during the inception and while they do ultimately succeed Saito slips into limbo and Cobb descends after him and while he manages to get Saito out he remains trapped in limbo (though a rather pleasant one) at the end. I like the simplicity of it, it's elegant and if I'm totally honest, leaves room for a sequel which would probably make me very happy.

I really enjoyed all the characters but must admit Arthur, the point man, totally blew me away. His calm rationality and the fact that he ends up as straight man to the debonair and devil-may-care Eames drew me in but the fight in the hotel really put him over the top for me. Both the zero-G battle (and I must know how that was done, I really must) and the outmaneuvering of his pursuer on the staircase kick so much ass.

I will also admit that at least part of the appeal was that there was absolutely no doubt in my mind that Eames was throwing him against the nearest wall and having his wicked way with Arthur as soon as the camera turned away. Being me I poked around online to see if anyone else had the same idea, and apparently just about everybody in the fandom is slashing the two like there's no tomorrow. And to that I can only say, yay!


Will I see it again in the theater? Maybe, though it's unlikely because time is just so rare a commodity these days. Will I own this movie as soon as it comes out on DVD? OMG, yes! In a heartbeat.

Comments

[jakejr.livejournal.com]

Rotating hallway for the fight scene.

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

Rotating hallway for the fight scene.

Yep, but the zero-g bit where the guys go flying at each other and wrestle rolling around. I couldn't work out how they could do that with a harness. Aelf commented that they'd used rotoscoping so maybe they did some of it under water.

[jakejr.livejournal.com]

Ah. Well, they aren't telling how they did some of the stuff in that segment, like the floating cluster of sleeping bodies. There's some kind of secrecy pact.

[ebonlock.livejournal.com]

Pfft, it'll come out eventually, it'll have to but I won't look forward to finding out on the special features :(

[missjones.livejournal.com]

Ask Larissa. She knows something about this. She said something to me about how it was filmed, but for the life of me I can't remember what it was.