Inception is Christopher Nolan’s greatest movie in a technical respect, though it’s not exactly his most entertaining. Granted that’s bound to be more or less subjective from person to person, but on the whole it doesn’t have the recipe to be as easily entertaining multiple times as, say, The Prestige or any of his Batman films.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A lot of cerebral films are like this. They demand repeat viewings, but they are so heavy that it’s tough to go back a week later and take it all in again. It demands a mood.

The best way to get across why this is would be to compare it to The Matrix, even though the two are very, very different films. Sure, you won’t really get what the movie is about from the trailers alone and they are about going into a world that seems real and yet isn’t. Yet the core difference is that The Matrix is much more…I guess you can say Star Wars in its execution. There are only two rules in the world of The Matrix.

• You can do anything you want as long as your mind is free from the burden of reality
• Agents can appear anywhere and they will shoot gatz till their clipz iz empty.
• U DIE IN TEH GAME U DIE FER REELZ*

The rules in Inception are not so simple, however. Yes, you can just manipulate the dream state as you wish, as the young Ariadne (played by Ellen Page) discovers. However, the more you manipulate the world the more agitated the denizens of the dream will become. They will acknowledge something is not right and kill the outside intruder. Of course, in Inception death is merely waking from the dream, unless under other certain conditions.

This fight scene alone is reason enough to see the movie.

This is where the film hits issues. While the beginning of the film manages to explain the rules and laws by showing the audience instead of verbally telling them, there is only so much that is told in a great length of time. You see how certain events in the real world can effect the dream world. You see that you can go into a dream from within another dream. You see that death merely wakes you up instead of killing you in the real world (after all, how many dreams have you had in which you died yet woke up fine?).

Yet the rules become more complex. As a result the beginning of the film is filled with exposition and explanation. There is little interaction between characters unless it is somehow explaining the world. You gain what is at stake for the protagonist of the film and his cohorts, certainly, but the character development is done in sudden moments amidst the education of the audience. It is also primarily focused on Leonardo DiCaprio’s character of Cobb, leaving the remaining characters feeling a bit empty. There is a sense of personality to them, certainly, but things such as motivation, desires and in some cases character flaws are left a mystery.

This isn’t necessarily Christopher Nolan’s fault, however, and in some ways is even necessary for the pay-off. See, all the explanation in the first half of the movie comes into play in the entire third act. Now that the audience has been educated on how dreams work we can see the heist in play, and what a heist it is. There is no reliance on computer or special effects as in The Matrix, but a lot of that has to do with Christopher Nolan as a director. So even though The Matrix is loaded with ten minute action sequences loaded with green screen and computer effects, seeing a single fight where gravity is constantly changing in Inception is more impressive as it is done with as few tricks as possible. It all looks plausible and real because there is no obvious computer trickery breaking the audience’s suspension of disbelief.

Which is all part of how the film is one big technical achievement on the part of Christopher Nolan. He was able to use as few tricks as possible to create a movie that bent the laws of reality. There are some that believe the films Nolan writes are infused with some of his own ideas as a film maker. If that is the case, then The Prestige is about his philosophy on special effects and fooling the audience while Inception is his reasoning for it. After all, if you mess with the world too much the denizens will begin to see it, and after so much they stop buying into the concept altogether.

The discussion as to the meaning (or, more accurately, meanings) is where this film’s true glory is found. It can be taken at face value with the only mystery being what happens after the screen blacks out, similar to the controversial conclusion to The Sopranos. However Christopher Nolan has snuck enough small details to create the classic argument of “what is real and what isn’t”. Every shot of the film is designed very carefully just as Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock carefully planned out each scene of their own films. This is a film maker that knows the power of film and just how many uses a simple device as a camera has.

So while Inception lacks the simple adventure that makes Star Wars or The Matrix so easy to watch repeatedly, it contains enough complexities and meanings that you will watch it more than once. That is, if you care to take it at more than face value. There is a lot to draw from this film.

I can confidently say it is certainly one of the best movies released this year, and may remain my favorite. Its only competition will really be in upcoming titles like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, The Expendables and Tron Legacy. However, while those films will certainly be more entertaining in their own ways, there will be little left to discuss afterward. Little to think about. The films will be what they are while Inception will continue to hide meanings for years to come, just as Fight Club continues to.

Stay Alive is an absolutely terrible film and no one should ever see it. Ever. It’s not even Street Fighter, Dragon Wars or Evil Dead funny bad. It’s just bad. And dumb. Dumb and bad.

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