Overall rating

2 / 5

inception

PostedJuly 23, 2010

maco

from AZ

Excellent underlying sci-fi story idea.

Cinematography/choreography: Nice adaptation of Donald O'Connor's classic dancing on the walls scene. All else workmanlike.

Special effects - nice folding of downtown Paris. All else, ho-hum.

One very funny use of a train. Oops, we weren't supposed to laugh. But we did. Laughed 2-3 times inappropriately.

Biggest surprise was that there were no plot surprises - which is inexcusable considering the unusually inventive premise of the story.

BUT maybe there's a reason it lacks surprises - 60 minutes of story became 148 minutes of film = lots of draggy spots usually involving action repetition to the max. No chance to spring surprises when the editor is asleep at the wheel.

About an hour of cutting room floor action sequences - it's happening, bodies are dying, bullets fly, cars slide, and then bodies die, bullets fly, and cars slide some more. Let's repeat that a few more times and repeat it and repeat it until the writer thinks up the next step in this slow plot. PS - the cars, bullets and bodies aren't going anywhere purposeful, they're just there - it's a dream, don't ask. The action barely moves the storyline along. Repetition in fact massively stalls the story. I said that already.

One great continuity error - he's running away in a crowded African bazaar, slamming into locals by the dozen, shot at by baddies also by the dozen. Shift camera point of view to overhead and watch him run alone down empty streets. Go back down below - he's barely able to move in a crowded market. Inappropriate laugh #2.

Give credit where it's due - no fruitcart.

Lazy screenwriter - Ellen Page's character is taught the whole plot and sci-fi backstory scene by scene (her education = narration line) except near the end when she suddenly shifts from student to teacher, inventing the coming up final twists of the plot and teaching them to the other characters so they know what to do and what to expect. No room for surprises with that kind of narrative bludgeoning. [PS - the producers, director and writer think we're too dumb to figure anything out. It's insulting.]

And then there's a love connection that is totally unconvincing. (Ellen Page is saved the romantic mess, she just has to explain it to death - maybe 10 or 20 times). Did I say this movie has a lot of wasted repetition? Or is the filmmaker only able to do it in words? Whatever, he wasn't up to the task.

Last of all, they assemble a sort of Dirty Dozen gang of experts as their characters. Sadly, none of these characters seem to relate as closely as those heartfelt guys of the Dirty Dozen or the sad sacks in Guns of Navaronne. Flat doesn't quite touch the problem, if there's a universe between 2-D and 1-D, maybe "Inception" lives there.

No, I do not recommend this movie.

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