It’s rare, and I mean rare, that I actually recommend a movie.  There are a lot of aspects that all have to work together for me to thoroughly enjoy it.  A comedy or action movie are always fun to watch but there is more to a great movie.  Things that make a movie great for me are

  • Relates to real life – Transformers is fun, Hot Tub Time Machine is funny but neither are really things that happen in real life.
  • Detailed/Intricate stores – I like stories with a lot of depth and thinking.  Puzzles are always the best.  Who figured out The Sixth Sense before what was happening was revealed?
  • Later analysis – I always like to analyze and revisit details of the movie with friends afterward.  Was the solution there the entire time?  What parts are inconsistent?  Did the ending reveal the entire correct truth?
  • Time perception – The thing I hate the most is sitting in a moving thinking how long it is taking.  My mind starts to drift and I stop paying attention to the movie.  If the movie starts to drag on it fails.

Why am I telling you all of this?  Is it because I’m planning to become a movie reviewer and I want to be clear on how I’m going to rate movies?  No.  Well not 100% no, but close.  I’m telling you all this because I think Inception was a great movie.  It covers all the points listed above:

  • Real life – They describe events and actions that I have seen or experienced
  • Storyline – Complex enough to be intriguing but not confusing.  My brain had to stay in gear the entire time to keep track of what was occurring.  Had I missed pieces I would have been lost.
  • Analysis – Just hours later I was discussing with friends points of interest we noticed in the movie.  We pondered inconsistencies and subtleties and how they changed the meaning.  Our final question: Did it fall?  (If you haven’t seen the movie that question won’t make any sense.)
  • Time – Not at any point during the movie did I wonder when it was going to end or how long I had been sitting there even though the movie pushes two and a half hours.  (This isn’t entirely true.  I purchased a soda before the movie began so by the time it was ending I needed to use the men’s room.  I know, too much information…)

For me Inception floats to the top.  I don’t think I’ve seen a movie as good since The Dark Knight.  Surprisingly I want to see it again.  I’m sure there are many details that I missed out on watching it the first time.  For anyone that hasn’t seen it I recommend taking the time to watch it.  It’s definitely worth it.