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Inception Review
Christopher Nolan returns with a genre-busting offering that's awe-inspiring.
Leonardo DiCaprio is Cobb, a fugitive ‘extractor’ on the run from the government. The best in the business, he delves into a person’s mind and extracts secrets locked deep within. He achieves this through ‘shared dreams’ technology; sometimes with a person’s permission, often without. Such technology requires teamwork, and friend and associate Arthur (Joseph Gordon Levitt) is the straight man to DiCaprio’s precarious prodigy.
Cast details
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Leonardo DiCaprio
Born: 11 Nov 1974
Hollywood, CaliforniaTop rated films View all The Departed - Blu-ray (2006) 
Blood Diamond - Blu-ray (2006)
But this isolated life is breaking Cobb. Haunted by his wife Mal (Marion Cotillard), he’s desperate to get back to his family. So when businessman Saito (Ken Watanabe) offers him a rewarding proposition, he takes the nigh-on impossible job of ‘inception’ – the ultimate heist: instead of stealing information, you plant an idea.
Cobb’s team comprises of bright young thing Ariadne (Ellen Page), a student who is able to ‘build’ the dream; Eames (Tom Hardy), the ‘forger’; pharmacist Yusuf (Dileep Rao); plus Arthur, and Saito, who tags along as a tourist to ensure the job is done properly. The mark is Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy), heir apparent to a powerful business empire.
Nolan is an expert in weaving tangled narratives, as he’s ably demonstrated in the past with The Prestige and his break-out hit Memento. And while the script is clever from the off, it is never bewildering. Nolan’s intention here is to entertain. And boy, does he do that: Inception is spectacular.
Nolan’s delivery of astonishing set-pieces at a constant pace is a masterly achievement , it’s a two and half hour film that never sags. Mind-bending Escher-inspired scenes twist cityscapes into impenetrable mazes, and a gravity-defying action sequence embroils Gordon Levitt in a tantalising race against time.
Marion Cotillard & Leonardo DiCaprio
It is a unique world, one that challenges ideas of time, location and occasionally logic, yet Nolan retains a firm grasp on his creation and on the structure of the film. It may feel like events are spiralling out of control, but the director knows exactly what he’s doing.
Ten years in the making, a film of this stature is an incredible accomplishment, especially given reports of financial worries across numerous studios. This was a risk that will definitely pay off.
Yet for all its cleverness and spectacle, the story is firmly grounded in a recognised reality. Cobb’s love for his wife and family elevates Inception from mere blockbuster fare to a moving, emotive level. The ensemble cast put in measured, occasionally masterly, performances. And as DiCaprio reinstates his position as one of Hollywood’s finest, charismatic Brit Tom Hardy confirms his talent and his buzz-building performance in Bronson last year – his star is surely set to rise higher still.
Whether a sequel will be in the pipeline, who can tell? The film never gives the game away, but it will leave your mind ticking long after you’ve finished watching.
Inception Reviews
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