Page 18 THE VILLADOM TIMES I, II, III & IV • July 28, 2010 ‘Inception’ features unusual imagery, action by Dennis Seuling “Inception” was one of the most eagerly anticipated movies in a summer filled with animated flicks, mindless action romps, a romantic trilogy involving a vampire and werewolf, and low-budget horror pictures. Generally, a film based on an intriguing idea, like “Inception,” is a better calendar fit in the fall, when school has resumed and viewers who are serious about their movies seek fare with thoughtful scripts, characters, and performances. Directed by Christopher Nolan (“The Dark Knight,” “Mememto”), “Inception” has a fascinating sci-fi premise: What if there were a means to enter the dreams of CEOs and steal valuable corporate secrets? Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is such a dream thief. It is illegal, but the money to be made from competitors is worth the risks. Cobb is haunted by dream images of his dead wife (Marion Cotillard), a malevolent, vengeful force who appears intent on sabotaging him when he enters others’ dreams. Cobb is a fugitive, forbidden to re-enter the United States, where his two children are being looked after by his father (Michael Caine). Saito (Ken Watanabe) comes to Cobb. Saito’s chief competitor, Maurice Fischer (Pete Postlethwaite), is on his deathbed. His son and heir, Robert (Cillian Murphy), will inherit the Fischer conglomerate. Saito wants the company broken up to diminish the threat to his own company’s survival. If Cobb succeeds in implanting this idea in Robert Fischer’s unconscious, Saito will use his influence to make sure Cobb can safely return to his children in the United States. The implantation process, called “inception,” is theoretically possible, but never has been attempted. Not without risks, it is a delicate operation and must be conducted with precision, timing, and the coordination of a carefully selected team. Cobb’s team consists of Arthur (Joseph GordonLevitt), Cobb’s sidekick and techno wiz; architecture student Ariadne (Ellen Page) to design the dreamscapes; Eames (Tom Hardy), known as the Forger because he has Joseph Gordon-Levitt (left) and Leonardo DiCaprio encounter real danger as they enter dreams in the sci-fi thriller ‘Inception.’ the ability to impersonate people; and drug expert Yusuf (Dileep Rao) to put both Robert Fischer and themselves into the dream state. They must traverse three increasingly deep levels of dream-within-a-dream to accomplish their task. Unforeseen obstacles along the way threaten to keep them all from ever returning to a waking state. Director Nolan manages to incorporate into the dreamtravel lots of car chases, shoot-‘em-ups, explosions, and razzle-dazzle special effects, which entertain the eye as the team attempts to reach its goal. “Inception” is a good example of a movie with a strong idea that needlessly complicates a fairly straightforward plot. At close to two-and-a-half hours, the film is counter-productively long. A more streamlined narrative would help the viewer keep track of what is happening and why. The dream-within-a-dream notion works well on paper, perhaps, but tends to be confus- ing on screen as multiple stories unfold simultaneously. At one point, when white-clad bad guys from a heavily guarded, snow-covered mountaintop compound attack the dreamers in a blizzard, it looks as if the film has suddenly shifted to a James Bond adventure. DiCaprio and the rest of the cast are all at the top of their form, but they are in service of an overly complex plot. Viewers might notice a similarity between DiCaprio’s Teddy Daniels from “Shutter Island” and his Cobb from “Inception,” as both are involved professionally with psychological issues and both are haunted by domestic issues. DiCaprio embraces the role of Cobb with dead-on focus and makes him a driven, fearless pioneer of sorts as he goes where no man has gone before. Director Nolan has used the theme of manipulating the unconscious to make an action thriller with a high-concept sci-fi story, but he undermines the effort by stretching it out much too far. At about an hour and a quarter in, I stopped caring about the characters or the story. Visually, “Inception” is striking, with images that suggest the optical puzzle illustrations of M.C. Escher and some super special effects. This is an ambitious film, and is not a reworking, reimagining, or adaptation of earlier movies, so it gets points for originality. It’s just sad that the movie-going experience was not more rewarding. 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