Movie Review: Inception

I don't go to the movies all that often. This is partially because going to the movies never makes it into David's top ten list of favorite things to do. It probably doesn't even make it into his top 20 list. My guess is that for him going to the movies falls somewhere below yard work and above getting a root canal. Or perhaps it's because he catches all the movies on his long, long flights to Asia.

I, on the other hand, love going to the movies. I love the darkened theater, the smell of the popcorn, and the chance for a couple of hours to escape reality. I don't ask a lot of the movies that I watch, simply that they entertain. And, boy, does Inception entertain.

I will admit that when Inception first arrived in theaters, I wasn't too keen on going to see it. This was for one reason only: Leonardo DiCaprio. I've never been a fan of his, although I can't really give you an explicit reason why. I never got all the hoopla around Titanic. Guess what, folks? The ship sinks. No big mystery there. But the reviews for Inception were resoundingly positive, and the storyline sounded interesting. So when a friend called me up and asked if I wanted to join her, I said yes, despite my dislike of Mr. DiCaprio.

Movies require that you suspend disbelief, and this movie is no exception. I don't know about you, but my dreams have never, ever been this crystal clear, coherent, and complete. My dreams tend to be rather fuzzy in appearance. I'm never able to run away from bad guys like they do in this film. My legs never seem to work, and I end up trying to get away in an awkward G.I. Joe crawl. Or I'm going to a final for a class that I haven't ever attended. And nobody in this movie seems to have problems with an embarrassing lack of clothes in a public arena. On the other hand, nobody would ever want to spend two-plus hours in my dreams, so maybe it's a good thing they didn't base this movie on the kinds of dreams I'm familiar with.

I've seen a few movies this year, mostly children's flicks, some of which were quite entertaining. But I will say that Inception is definitely the best film I've seen all year. It was so engaging I found myself smiling the whole way through and thinking and wondering about it afterward, always the mark of a good film. I haven't enjoyed a movie this much in ages. And maybe, just maybe it changed my perception of Leonardo DiCaprio just the tiniest bit.