‘Inception’ Could Pass $100M Thursday PM

COMMENTS (53)

• The Nolan/TDK fanboys are once again wildly overpraising this film like a bunch of 6 year olds overstimulated on sugary breakfast cereal, unable to emotionally handle any criticism of this movie that suggests it’s less than perfect.

  A little perspective:

  Inception is just a caper movie with an admittedly clever take on the genre, though Dreamscape (Dennis Quaid movie from 1984) and The Cell among others have gone over this territory already.

  ZERO character development except for Leo. The other characters are utter, undistinguished blanks. A Nolan weakness also seen in TDK where only Harvey Dent is developed enough to have an actual character arc(The Joker btw is an entertaining one dimensional character who remains unchanged from beginning to end and does the same thing in every scene — surprise entrance, say/do something funny/scary, commit an act of violence. Joker = one dimensional character).

  As for Inception, it has a ponderous, stultifying first third. Nolan takes forever to present exposition and even then doesn’t do it well. A chalk board and one minute of screen time would’ve been enough (picture it: three chalk lines representing levels. Leo: Each level is a deeper dream state, time telescopes on each level, 10 seconds on the first is 3 minutes on the second, 10 hours on the third and 6 months on the fourth. Done). Nolan takes 40 minutes.

  Dream level one: a car chase in the rain like a thousand other car chases you’ve seen, nothing special in the way it’s staged or shot.
  Dream level two: weightlessness, very clever and fun, best part of the movie.
  Dream level three: a snowbound shoot out that looks like a discarded pre-title sequence from a 70s Roger Moore Bond movie, blandly staged, too long and thoroughly uninteresting.
  Dream level four: a house crumbling, hardly mind-blowing.
  Limbo: a beach and another house.

  Nolan makes dreams that are more boring than reality.

  “extraction and inception”, breaking into peoples dreams to steal or plant ideas? Brilliant, promising concept, deserving of admiration. Nolan’s execution of it? Average to slightly above average.

  The reveal regarding Leo’s guilt about his wife and what happened? Surprisingly good; it’s both genuinely smart and carries some dramatic emotional weight. Nolan finally manages to do both at the same time.

  Verdict: Half-hearted recommendation. Liked it better than the Dark Knight though.

  Comment by fanboys ruin everything — Wednesday July 21, 2010 @ 12:45pm PDT  Reply to this post

• this guy above me is a jerk!

  The Dark Knight & The Matrix > Inception

  Inception > everything this calender year so far!

  That’s how it is

  Comment by Cyber Hater — Wednesday July 21, 2010 @ 1:52pm PDT  Reply to this post

• The Nolan hatred can’t stand the fact this film is going to be another hit. Might as well get over it. The film is drawing great word of mouth and Nolan is proving once again he is one of the best.

  Comment by Larry — Wednesday July 21, 2010 @ 8:41pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Cyber Hater and Larry,

  You are typical fanboys. Someone presents several legitimate criticisms of the film and rather than address them you respond like childish dweebs: “jerk!” “it’s still gonna be a hit!”

  I don’t care if it’s a hit or not. I’m merely pointing out that they (Inception, TDK) aren’t the works of greatness less discerning minds think they are. Come down off your hype high and look at it with some objectivity, but that would require actual maturity on your part, wouldn’t it?

  The Matrix > The Dark Knight & Inception

  Comment by fanboys ruin everything — Wednesday July 21, 2010 @ 10:38pm PDT  Reply to this post

• a movie doesn’t have to make you cry/laugh out loud, or develop every single character in order to be good. the fact that inception has made so many people *wonder* and think and just hold their breath makes it pretty damn great in my book.

  sure, some people have salvadore dali like dreams (go watch “what dreams may come” then) but a lot of dreams are just like inception- reality, off-kilter. i mean, the scariest nightmares are the ones you think are real.

  Comment by ant — Wednesday July 21, 2010 @ 10:49pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Ant,

  At least your response addresses the content of the film though I disagree with your points to a certain degree. Character development is essential to how effective a drama is and Nolan lately ignores it — too busy stuffing his movies with his “ideas” but ideas without sufficient human components to support them (character arcs, relationships) is just an intellectual exercise, not drama.

  As for the dreams (all except dream level 2), my criticism isn’t that they are realistic but they they are so mundane and unimaginative. A car chase through the streets and a snowbound shootout? He could’ve made them realistic just add something, as you say, off-kilter to them. He doesn’t. That shootout, in particular, is repetitive and derivative of countless Bond movies.

  These legitimate criticisms, I think disqualify Inception from greatness. Just like The Dark Knight’s stillborn love triangle (Bruce-Rachel-Harvey), undeveloped and uninteresting secondary and tertiary characters (Rachel, The Mayor, the Judge, Jim Gordon, the Commissioner, Alfred and Lucius doing the same things they did in Batman Begins), generic stereotypical crime bosses, and structural sloppiness (characters and plotlines like the Chinese accountant and Eric Roberts’s mobster are introduced then disappear for an hour only to reappear arbitrarily then disappear for another hour, a major plot point like the Harvey/Rachel kidnapping that happens offscreen, that third act cluster f**k that rushes through TWO hostage crises and Two-Face’s introduction and his search for two crooked cops we’ve never seen but are supposed to care about finding) disqualify it from greatness.

  If it’s any consolation, though, I think Batman Begins is a masterpiece and I think Insomnia and Memento achieve the pinnacle of the noir/mystery genre. So there.

  Comment by fanboys ruin everything — Thursday July 22, 2010 @ 11:03am PDT  Reply to this post

• @ vermontfudge: Of the top movies of the year so far, Iron Man 2 and Eclipse will hardly factor, if at all, come award season. Two very pedestrian movies in retrospect.

  @ fanboys ruin everything: Scarlett O’Hara was unchanged in Gone With the Wind, proving characters without an arc can still be fully realized and iconic. Nolan/Ledger accomplished the same with The Joker. People like you aren’t really focusing on what you should complain about which is most of the brainless, unimaginative crap that’s released throughout the year, especially during the summer, such as a Transformers or Eclipse. Instead, you choose to waste your time bashing Nolan fans and movie fans in general who genuinely appreciate beautifully executed, inventive storytelling.

  Nolan has a better track record than most and has consistently delivered quality films. In 10 short years he’s risen to the top through his hard work and uncompromising vision. He’s earned the respect of his peers and the industry – and any kudos that he and his films receive are well-deserved.

  Comment by FilmFan — Thursday July 22, 2010 @ 6:42pm PDT  Reply to this post

• FilmFan,

  “Scarlett O’Hara was unchanged in Gone With The Wind?” I’m not even a fan of that movie and I recognize how ignorant and inaccurate that statement is. You need to go watch that movie again and you’ll see that she has quite a character arc from pampered immature girl to life-hardened self-sufficient woman. And the Joker does not change one scintilla in TDK. You’re just wrong on that point.

  Also, I appreciate that Nolan attempts to be more innovative than most writer/directors or at least treats his material with utmost artistic seriousness. I just resent fanboys who are so swept away by their own pathetic need for a movie to be perfect and the greatest thing ever before it has even come out that they have no objectivity, and then get obnoxious and overbearing when others veer even slightly from their gushing grovel at the alter of said movie. It’s not my fault that their pitiful self-esteem is so tied up in movies like TDK and Inception that they become nearly apoplectic if it doesn’t get a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes. Grow up! The things I read on message boards and attacks that were levelled at critics, professional and amateur, who didn’t like TDK were disgustingly childish and fascist. And I see it again with this movie.

  My criticisms are legitimate whether you agree with them or not. They are nuts and bolts points about character, structure, execution, content and drama. Yet fanboys seem to think everyone must fawn the way that they do. Why don’t they address the points and maybe we can have an intelligent discourse on film? Probably because they aren’t capable of that.

  Comment by fanboys ruin everything — Thursday July 22, 2010 @ 11:00pm PDT  Reply to this post