Inception is a 2 1/2 hour puzzle about the world of dreams and our subconscious. It’s a movie about how dreams affect our real lives and about how dreams while not easily explained, have a power on our psyche that cannot be denied. Writer/director Chris Nolan has fashioned a thinking person’s blockbuster that is equal parts riveting and frustrating to the viewer. Simple explanations of the plot do not do justice to the vision on screen. There are cool special effects and some terrific acting from an A-list cast along with some awesome music courtesy of Hans Zimmer. His thunderous, booming score becomes an exciting part of the movie. While the movie is so technically proficient and full of gleaming surfaces and gorgeous sepia-toned cinematography, it can be emotionally cold and distant as well. It has shades of Matrix and The Cell, but forges its own path of thrilling originality.

Leonardo Dicaprio stars in the film as Cobb. He goes into the world of dreams with his team that include the terrific Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page to extract your secrets while you are sleeping. Cobb believes one huge job will get him home. Cobb and his team need to use a tactic called Inception to plant a thought into the mind of a powerful heir to a corporation played by the excellent Cillian Murphy. It’s no fair to even try to explain more other than to say that Leo and his quest to go home to his wife and children provides the emotional crux of the movie. Inception is a technical marvel and a hugely entertaining flick.

The ending of Inception will have people talking for days and ready to experience the movie over and over again. Inception is long, talky and full of psychobabble that appeals mainly to sci fi fans, but it’s also fascinating and worth your time and money. Inception is the movie that adults have been waiting all summer for.

Grade: A-

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