Film Review: Following ‘The Dark Knight,’ Nolan’s ‘Inception’ is a Mind-Stupefying Masterpiece

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CHICAGO – After thinking it’d take “a couple months” to ink, director Christopher Nolan (of “The Dark Knight” fame) took eight years to painstakingly write the “Inception” script. And you can tell. It’s his first pure masterpiece.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

The curiously cast film stars the I’m-trying-to-be-badass Brody as he attempts to fill the more authentic shoes of Arnold Schwarzenegger from 1987’s “Predator”. “Inception” is a rare summer blockbuster that lives up to the hype and bucks the typical formula. Like “The Usual Suspects,” you can’t miss a second or you’ll fall behind.

Still, considering the hype for his “The Dark Knight” in 2008 (which arguably featured the most aggressive and successful viral networking campaign of all time), “Inception” went beneath the hype radar as compared to that monolithic blockbuster.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “Inception”.

Almost exactly two years after “The Dark Knight” hit theaters and obliterated box-office records, the film has now grossed more than a whopping $1 billion on a production budget of $185 million. And while “Inception” is piggybacking off of the success from “The Dark Knight” by selling it as coming “from the director that brought you ‘The Dark Knight,’” there’s little comparison.

That said, it’s no surprise why the cinematography looks similar – and similarly masterful – in the two films. Veteran Wally Pfister was again enlisted as cinematographer for “Inception” after shooting other Nolan films including “The Prestige,” “Batman Begins,” “Insomnia” and “Memento”.

Continue reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Inception” review.

Ken Watanabe (back) in “Inception”.
Image credit: Steven Vaughan, Warner Bros.

Continue reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Inception” review.