Inception is rated PG13. If you’re unsure if you can watch this movie, ask your guardians!

Inception is another title that I had anticipated I would not really enjoy. I have my own problems with Christopher Nolan (that’s a rant for another day) but my bias mainly came from me seeing people make jokes about it being boring or convoluted, which seemed in line for a Christopher Nolan movie (looking at you, Interstellar). However, I absolutely loved it. I thought the pacing was great, I was super invested in the narrative, the choreography was just plain cool, and I have a soft spot for literally anything that Elliot Page or Cillian Murphy stars in. Is it overrated? Most definitely, but there are plenty of fantastic pieces of media that are overrated; it doesn’t make them any less enjoyable.

Some of Nolan’s mind bending visuals from *Inception.*
Source: The Tech

Inception follows Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), a thief trained to enter people’s dreams and steal secrets from their subconscious. This skill has made him very valuable in the world of corporate espionage, but as a result, he has lost everything and can’t go back to America. Cobb gets a chance for redemption when a supposedly impossible task is asked of him: Plant an idea in someone’s mind. Cobb takes on the job, but all the while he has to deal with a ghost from his past.

The main thing from this movie that stands out to me is its cinematography, specifically during the action scenes. Christopher Nolan is completely unafraid of going big with his movies, and it shows here. The way that the laws of physics are completely irrelevant within the dream world is incredible. The first example that comes to mind is the scene in which Ariadne (Elliot Page) is being taught to design dream environments; it’s an iconic scene, with the character bending a whole city in half, sprouting pieces of architecture from the ground, morphing downward stairs and concrete path into a tall bridge. The music of the film also works wonderfully well with these sequences. Hans Zimmer composed the soundtrack, and the entire thing is derived from one song: Non Je Ne Regrette Rien, by Edith Piaf. The iconic deafening foghorn musical cue is a slowed down version of the beginning of the song. All this (combined with the performances of cast members like Elliot Page, Tom Hardy, Joseph-Gordon Levitt, and Cillian Murphy) makes a film that I would be eager to watch again.

I could probably go on for pages about all the things that make this movie great, but if I’m being honest, I just like it because it’s cool. I don’t really have any major complaints about it at all, other than the inclusion of ‘Male Protagonist With Mysterious Dead Wife Who Only Exists To Make Him Sad’ syndrome. I’ve seen plenty of complaints about it being hard to follow or the ending being confusing, but I didn’t really get that at all. There were maybe one or two moments I was confused about, but I quickly got back on track. While I am someone who is usually eager to complain about overrated White Film Bro movies, I don’t really have anything to offer in that regard here.

Overall, I loved Inception. A fun and tense film with cool cinematography that I actually understand the hype for. I can’t say whether or not it deserves to be rated the ninth best movie of all time, but I definitely liked it better than Fight Club.

Watch the Trailer here