A great screenplay of a movie is always more welcome than its dazzling visual stunts in this era defined as "digital" since the former has already become a rare commodity, while the latter is overused and has caused fatigue in some viewers, to say the least.
But the science-fiction thriller Inception is a combination of both. On the one hand it offers top-notch visual effects and all the basics we expect of an action movie; on the other hand, a wholly original script makes it a masterpiece among the other straightforward summer blockbusters.
Inception blurs the distinction between dreams and reality. Corporate espionage operative Dom Cobb (Leonardo Dicaprio) has the ability to enter people's minds through their dreams. That has made him a coveted hire to steal business secrets from people's subconscious. Now he is hired to perform an even riskier job. That is to put ideas in the head of one of the world's richest men so that the man himself ruins his own corporate empire.
In a dream, you can fall asleep and have another dream, in which you can fall asleep and have another dream, in which you can fall asleep again and then have a third dream. Complicated, huh? That's basically the ground on which the whole story develops and extends. It's said that director Christopher Nolan spent 10 years writing the screenplay. But obviously it's more difficult a task to visualize it. But Nolan just gives you bits and pieces of information, all in visual form, and helps you put them together and gradually see a clearer picture in the end.
Inception's plot is easier to follow than to explain, and of course there could be moments that you get lost without knowing in which world the characters exist. But as long as you engage your mind actively and focus on the story, you will at least understand what is going on at any given moment and finally be rewarded with a gratifying outcome, though part of the audiences may feel insecure when they close eyes at night.
In a world where most commercial blockbusters come from recycling bins, either prequels, sequels or remakes, Inception has done something truly exceptional. But having said that, the movie seems to be there only to be admired rather than to be fully digested. And it's also fair to say that a viewer could be more easily shocked then to be moved by it.
On my 1-to-10 movie scale, I give Inception an EIGHT.
