Remember the story of the Emperor's new clothes? The king was really naked but everybody kept saying how beautiful his clothes were because they didn't want to admit they couldn't see them. That's how I feel about Inception. I think people say they like it because they don't want to seem stupid for not liking it. At least, that's the only explanation that makes sense to me. All through the movie, I kept wondering if I was seeing a different movie than everyone else. How could this be the movie that has received such great reviews including being labeled the "best science fiction movie ever" by Orson Scott Card? The movie makes no sense. and not in a good way.
First of all. Here is the unforgivable error. And it is not even a spoiler. The dreams don't feel dream like. Which, seeing how this is the premise of the whole movie, is a MAJOR problem. Dreams bounce around from location to location. One minute you are chatting with your mom about the best recipe for chocolate oatmeal cookies and the next minute you are reading aloud the recipe to your 8th grade chemistry class, naked. They are not dreary, stationary sets from mobster movies. This flaw was so obvious and apparent that I couldn't suspend my disbelief for a second. These dreams would feel fake and forced to anyone having them which undermines the entire premise of the movie. If you are interested in seeing an awesome portrayal of dreams, check out the last episode of Season 4 of Buffy.
Another major problem with the movie (and this is sort of a spoiler) is something that I didn't really notice until my husband pointed it out. They make a big deal out of the fact that in the first layer of dream 5 minutes = 1 hour, and that in the second layer 5 minutes = 1 week and in the third layer that 5 minutes = 10 years (or whatever) but in the movie, while they go out of their way to show the time difference between the first and second layer, they act like time is passing in real time in the third layer. That is just lazy writing.
Don't get me wrong, I have liked Chris Nolan's work in the past. Memento was phenomenal. But Inception just seemed superficial and poorly thought out. Plus, Leonardo looks like a chubby 12 year old which is always distracting.
Here is a hilarious spoof on all the things that were so lame in Inception. Well, it's hilarious except for the last 10 seconds.
Good and Bad Ideas
2 days ago
