Inception
Cidu Bill on Jul 28th 2010
The more people try to explain to me why I thought “Inception” was overrated because I just didn’t understand the subtleties (and Nolan’s genius), the more I’m convinced it’s not overrated as much as merely a POS. A visually stunning POS, but still…
Filed in Bill Bickel, Christopher Nolan, Inception, movies | 40 responses so far
The Bad Seed Jul 28th 2010 at 07:47 pm 1
I’m still on the fence, but I definitely liked it in either case. I found the complex intricacies to be inconsequential to the story and my enjoyment, unlike Memento, but it was definitely fun and pretty. I’ll def be seeing it again before I decide whether it’s BS or a heartbreaking work of staggering genius.
katie Jul 28th 2010 at 08:01 pm 2
I also thought it was overrated. I just got finished discussing this with some friends - it has nothing to do with not understanding the hidden subtleties. No, I got it. A dream within a dream, etc. What’s real and what’s not? That was fairly obvious to me also. A van filled with people falling into the river below for 45 minutes? I don’t think I need to see that again.
Singapore Bill Jul 28th 2010 at 08:35 pm 3
I haven’t seen it, but I feel the same way about “Donnie Darko” and the new “Battlestar Galactica.” I have found the fans of these things to be very condescending. This has lead to me actively hating the stuff rather than just dismissing it as not very good.
furrykef Jul 28th 2010 at 08:41 pm 4
*whaps Singapore Bill’s wrists with a ruler*
“Has led“. Sorry, pet peeve of mine.
mdt48302 Jul 28th 2010 at 08:54 pm 5
I thought it was an excellent movie. Although I get so tired of seeing films that have very intriguing premises and then completely pooch the execution, maybe it only takes a moderately competent job to please me.
Not perfect – I wondered about all the excessive James Bond crap, but then I figured out that they feel for a mass-market success, they have to put in a bunch of shooting and snowmobiles and junk to please the less cerebral segments of their audience. This is a film where I’d expect the director’s cut to be SHORTER than the theatrical release, rather than longer.
1958Fury Jul 28th 2010 at 09:00 pm 6
I loved it, but I’m really starting to hate other people who loved it.
Jeff Lichtman Jul 28th 2010 at 10:00 pm 7
I thought it was a pretty good action flick, but nothing more than that. I didn’t see any deeper meaning or emotional appeal that raises a movie from good to great.
Cidu Bill Jul 28th 2010 at 10:07 pm 8
Jeff, one of my problems with Inception was that it thought it was deep. Avatar, at least, had an implicit agreement with its audience: “We’ll give you a lot of action and neat stuff to look at, and if you promise not to worry about the plot holes, we won’t pretend this is a Thoughtful and Meaningful Film.”
apricoco Jul 28th 2010 at 10:11 pm 9
I loved it. As a person who is usually a non-lover of anything that falls into the action genre the intricacies kept me entertained. I thought it was visually stunning, the ending was good, and the sub-plot was done nicely. The chase scene in the snow was a little bit of a letdown, but since I always hate that sort of thing I’m not a good judge here. Overall, it’s a win for me.
Elyrest Jul 28th 2010 at 10:40 pm 10
“one of my problems with Inception was that it thought it was deep”
This is how I feel about a number of movies (and their rampant fans) in recent years. I like movies, but I rarely ever want to discuss them with most people. It’s like having a discussion with a philosophy major - it’s going to be painful and they are going to do most of the talking.
* Apologies to any philosophy majors here
Cidu Bill Jul 28th 2010 at 10:43 pm 11
And, Elyrest, if you don’t disagree with them, it’s because you’re not clever enough to “truly understand.”
George Jul 28th 2010 at 11:00 pm 12
I thought it was OK. Better than average, but not an all-time great.
I couldn’t help but think it was a lot like “Shutter Island” in a different wrapping. Leo being in both didn’t help matters any.
I thought it was uneven in back story. There seemed to be a lot of heavy detail in some areas, but gaping holes in others.
Maybe I missed something, but the part about waking up when the inner ear senses a fall bothered me. What if that plane hit heavy turbulence? It seemed like a huge risk to take.
Dave Van Domelen Jul 29th 2010 at 12:04 am 13
As three-layer nested dream sequence parallel storytelling goes, it was pretty straightforward and easy to follow, which I liked. It didn’t try to be obfuscatory for its own sake.
The Bad Seed Jul 29th 2010 at 12:35 am 14
I agree with Dave #13 that it’s actually pretty straightforward. I mentioned Memento above because that’s what the initial buzz compared it to, but there really isn’t any similarity. I went in expecting some big wild game-changing revelation like some other movies I’ve seen (”No Way Out” and “Crying Game” come to mind, but I know there are a gazillion others), but it almost played like a straight-forward science-fiction action movie involving alternate universes or time travel. Sure, it put a new twist on things and was artfully done, but is the basic idea any different than a “Nightmare on Elm Street” movie or certain “Star Trek” episodes?
I still enjoyed the movie, but maybe I’d have left the theater a lot more wowed if “Inception” had some big twist or HAD been told inside out or backwards like “Memento” (or the series “Flash Forward”), and you’d seen flashes of the falling van or other important items all along the way, but only found out exactly what/when they were gradually so that it didn’t all come together until near the end. As it was told, the details just really didn’t matter to me so much, although I know a lot of bandwidth is currently used up trying to dissect the movie down to the subatomic level.
Jeff S. Jul 29th 2010 at 12:49 am 15
I have one of the special editions of Memento, where you answer some questions and unlock the movie to put it in the correct order. I have done this 3 times now, and each time I have fallen asleep. It is a dull movie when viewed in chronological order.
I haven’t seen Inception yet, but I understand what you are saying CIDU Bill… I HATED the 3rd Matrix movie so much, I took #1, #2, and the Animatrix movie to the store and sold them the day after I saw it. One of the guys I worked with kept telling me I obviously didn’t understand the meaning behind them.
wordlass Jul 29th 2010 at 12:58 am 16
I read that this movie was like a cross between the Matrix and Memento.
The problem for me was that, just at the point when I had to really think hard about what was going on (during the aforementioned snow scene). . . I realized I didn’t really care enough to bother. I definitely think it’s a twofer, the second viewing to tie all the lose ends together, but I’m fine leaving them as they are.
But the hotel fight scene was pretty cool to watch!
Cidu Bill Jul 29th 2010 at 01:04 am 17
Well, to be fair, Jeff, if you watch Memento chronologically, you’re seeing the “whodunit” at the very beginning — and few movies will be interesting under those circumstances. The film was very carefully constructed to work exactly he way it was presented: That is “the correct order.”
And that’s the sort of care I didn’t see in Inception, with its “throw sh-t on the wall and see what sticks, and let the moviegoers interpret it however they like” structure.
The latest theory I heard is that the entire film is a dream (as opposed to, you know, every other movie) and therefore all the consistencies are intentional. And then somebody built upon this theory and called Inception a metaphorical look at Christopher Nolan’s moviemaking process, his own 8 1/2.
…um… yeah…
Cidu Bill Jul 29th 2010 at 01:09 am 18
“Spin your top.”
Rebecca Jul 29th 2010 at 01:12 am 19
Well, “overrated” is a very specific thing. If people are saying it’s the best movie ever, and you think it’s the second best, you think it’s overrated. It’s not really such a bad criticism. The higher your expectations are, the more you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.
Now you’re just peeved.
Pirk Jul 29th 2010 at 03:47 am 20
I agree with you CIDU Bill. not an awful movie, but not good.
Keera Jul 29th 2010 at 04:36 am 21
The movie just arrived in Norway and is getting rave reviews. From the comments here, I suspect another “Fight Club”, which also got rave reviews, but I felt cheated by the ending. Two things I hate in a story: The killer is just a psychopath (that way you don’t need motive or reason) or the explanation is it’s all a dream/someone’s insanity (that way you don’t need to plug plot holes or worry about logic).
So, should I brave the world of restless people who put their feet up on seats and talk during the quiet parts for this movie? Or just wait till it shows up on TV?
George Jul 29th 2010 at 05:19 am 22
It was pretty clear to me the whole film was a dream and the whole “going home” thing actually meant finally waking up.
It kind of annoyed me that the top wobbled at the end.
Detcord Jul 29th 2010 at 05:50 am 23
“Inception” hasn’t arrived here yet, but after seeing the cinema and IMDB trailers, I had already formed the opinion that this was a Matrix recast (I’ve not seen Memento so can’t compare). Now, Matrix 1 was good, if weird, and Matrix 2 was okay-ish, but No. 3 ended it for me. Thus Inception is not on my (admittedly constrained) list of movie must-sees.
Having read the many useful comments here, both pro and con, I feel very comfortable about missing it. Mind you, I’m not a Leonardo fan so the bar was already high.
Thanks for the tips - everyone.
Catlover Jul 29th 2010 at 07:09 am 24
There is no spoon.
Matthew Jul 29th 2010 at 08:51 am 25
I really liked it? I know that it was supposed to be this cerebral, intricate movie that you have to view twice to truly understand, blah blah blah, and that it wasn’t, and maybe it’s just because of my enormous man-crush on Christopher Nolan, but what do you expect from a “summer blockbuster”? You know that to obtain the financing necessary for the dream sequences etc. Nolan needed a huge budget. In fact, he agreed to do the Batman movies just so that he could have the necessary big budget movie experience to make Inception. Is it the best film I’ve ever seen? Not at all. I don’t even think it’s the best Christopher Nolan film I’ve ever seen, but it has an interesting premise, good acting, a love story subplot that isn’t obtrusively shoe-horned in (rare), and makes you think at least a little bit, and judged independently of the hype, I think it’s great. I agree with Bill though, it wasn’t that intricate or deep. I wanted it to be weirder, more inaccessible and elusive, more abstract, but again, big budget blockbuster, right?
Karen Jul 29th 2010 at 09:58 am 26
I felt this way about Vanilla Sky. I hated that movie, and not just because it had Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz in it. It was just annoying.
Come to think of it, I felt this way about the Matrix movies, too. Or any movies that have layers of alternate realities. Ugh.
Jeff S. Jul 29th 2010 at 11:41 am 27
I have a really hard time with most dream movies, because I don’t believe my dreams are that sustained. I remember images and short scenes that repeat themselves several times during the dream, but nothing like a full length movie.
Tim Jul 29th 2010 at 11:44 am 28
Inception was very good movie, probably the best I’ve seen this year. Was it the best movie ever? No, and if it was relased a few years ago when there were some truely great movies out it would probably have been my third or fourth favorite. But, the movie had some stunning visuals, a complex storyline for a Hollywood movie (IE, you actually had to pay attention to what was going on and what was being said before the action started. How many Hollywood movies this year could you say that about?) plus it was a boat load of fun.
But, I do agree with 1958Fury, I’m starting to hate others who loved the movie. I have a few guys in work who want to discuss it and I’m thinking, “Geez, it was just a good movie, no need to discuss it to death!”
firedmyass Jul 29th 2010 at 04:03 pm 29
I normally try to be a rational adult and like or dislike a thing based on what I see as its intrinsic merits (or lack thereof). To dislike a thing because you are annoyed by someone who likes it is quite odd to me.
tiredcynic Jul 29th 2010 at 04:11 pm 30
I have to admit, I was a bit befuddled by all of the “ooo, it’s so deep, I didn’t understand it, it didn’t make sense” reviews. I didn’t think “Inception” was all that confusing. In fact, it was pretty straightforward. You had to pay a bit of attention, but still, it was all laid out, all handed to you on a nice shiny silver platter. Major exposition, major hints as to where you were, when you were. The only ambiguity was in the ending…and that was blatantly manufactured uncertainty, designed to leave you with a talking point, to get you to carry the movie out into the real world and keep the buzz going.
Was it worth seeing? Definitely. Was it as big a mind-frak as it’s been made out to be? Sorry, but no.
[obligatory disclaimer: I would qualify as a “geek/nerd/dork” who cut her teeth on Philip K. Dick and the like, so maybe I’ve just been exposed to these kinds of storylines enough that they don’t seem too “out there” for me.]
Cidu Bill Jul 29th 2010 at 04:22 pm 31
The problem is, tiredcynic, as a “geek/nerd/dork,” did you see anything in this movie that you hadn’t seen before?
tiredcynic Jul 29th 2010 at 04:30 pm 32
Other than the time distortion bit, not really…but since this was one of the very few movies that wasn’t a remake, reboot, re-imagining, or reinvention, I was glad to see it in the theaters. I agree with mdt48302 up there…there was a bit too much James Bond / Die Hard snowmobile shoot-em-up stuff, but I liked it. And being a nerd, I’m used to there being few SF twists that we haven’t seen before…I’m just glad to see a bit of uniqueness [as compared to the other offerings] when it comes to summer movies.
Like you and a bunch of us here, though, I am getting *very* sick of being told that it was subtle and nuanced and genius…it was a good movie, folks. That’s it. It just may not be something the “average person” has been exposed to before…that doesn’t immediately equal “genius”.
[and I absolutely *hated* that ending…so contrived. ugh.]
tiredcynic Jul 29th 2010 at 04:36 pm 33
[in other words, what Tim@28 said: I liked it a lot, in large part because of the comparison to what else is out there this year, it required a bit of attention to follow, but I really don’t understand people who make it out to be a huge big artistic endeavour to be overly discussed and rehashed. Good action movie with a relativity unique [for Hollywood] SF twist. That’s it.]
tiredcynic Jul 29th 2010 at 04:49 pm 34
[Gah…that should read “relatively”. And now I’m the annoying person who posts three times in a row. Sorry about that…]
mitch4 Jul 29th 2010 at 07:09 pm 35
There’s a well-thought-out review n the New Yorker that I largely agree with — some visually glorious moments, but it’s like he did everything he thought he could carry off, without asking Why. I don’t see this as offensive pretension, however; it’s just trying a bit too hard, but doesn’t make itself out as profound.
At the genre-plot level, I was bothered by how mechanical the whole big schema of the dream levels worked out to be, and especially how cause-and-effect (and thus un-dreamlike) each story level was. There seemed to be a simple linear multiplier for the rate of apparent passage of time — the script made a big deal out of it, and up to a point it’s plausible, but there was no good basis for calculating things out to the second, which turned out to be demanded. And why did some of those battles need to be fought? Couldn’t the nordic-ski adversaries just disappear, say?
Elyrest Jul 30th 2010 at 11:15 pm 36
Comic Riffs at the Washington Post has five Inception parodies posted.
1. “UP-CEPTION”
2. THE INCEPTION OF HARUHI SUZUMIYA
3. “INCEPCION”
4. “BILL & TED’S EXCELLENT INCEPTION”
5. “TOY STORY 3′S INCEPTION”
I can’t vouch for any of them because I haven’t even seen the movie.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/comic-riffs/2010/07/the_5_best_inception_parodies.html#more
erin Jul 31st 2010 at 08:55 pm 37
“Jeff, one of my problems with Inception was that it thought it was deep.”
YES.
I am tired of being told I “just don’t get it,” and that a re-watch will somehow change my feelings about seeing it from regret to idolization.
yeah, but the thing is, no matter how many “layers deep” this “twisty” movie “really” goes, I still won’t give one flying frack about the characters. they were either severely under-developed (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, the other people whose names I don’t care enough to look up) to the point of basically being defined by their jobs within the dream-heist (and what was the whole thing about the Asian guy fighting against them in the beginning? Nevermind, I’d rather spend my time pondering the lack of humor in The Family Circus), or they (Leonardo DiCaprio) were so irritating and actually a terrible person that my sympathies were in no way evoked. I was really hoping Leo would jump after his wife just so that this turd of a movie would be over.
the special effects were impressive sometimes, yes, I’ll give it that, but that’s still not enough to make me want to watch Juno and Jack Dawson twaddle about in the nightmarish fusion of Ocean’s 12 and Vanilla Sky.
and I’m still waiting for someone to explain to me when exactly my mind was supposed to be getting “f—ed.”
Araxie Aug 5th 2010 at 04:46 am 38
There are a couple of reasons this film disappointed me a tad (although I definitely would need to see it again to form anything close to a final judgement- I walked out of the theater having no idea what I’d just seen):
1) I realize now that I’m not particularly into plot-heavy stories, simply because I’m slower than average on that sort of thing, 2) I disagree w/ critics who say the film lacked emotion- the emotion was certainly there (DiCaprio himself didn’t sign on for the project until Nolan ensured that the film’s plot had more of an emotional drive to it), I didn’t feel it mesh w/ the rest of the story at all. That is to say, it felt shoehorned, and 3) I’m a chronic existentialist- I’ve taken no official college courses on the subject but I constantly question “the meaning of life and all that crap”- so any of the existentialist concepts featured/touched upon in Inception didn’t really impress me. My mind has already gone to those places, are beyond.
But I would totally watch it again.
Araxie Aug 5th 2010 at 04:53 am 39
…And, for the record, I’m defiinitely of the opinion that the movie (no matter how much it may seem otherwise) was not intended to be pretentious or condescending- it is simply the movie Nolan wanted to make, and that’s all. He plays w/ ideas, and whether the ideas are appreciated is up to the audience.
In my opinion, Nolan made better movies w/ a limited budget- his screenplays are generally complex enough that they don’t need to have other elements added, whether they be special effects or tons of characters.
Rufus Sep 22nd 2010 at 08:18 am 40
There sure seem to be a lot of people that hate things simply because other people like them. They hate them for no other reason. They strive so much to be different that they end up not deciding if they like something on its own merits.