iggystar

Oh, I love Existenz not nearly as much Inception, but it's a great movie. I have admit though, I have to be in a particular frame of mind to watch a Cronenberg movie.

RichC2

I watched eXistenZ again the other day as well (got added to Netflix Instant), first off - there needs to be a blu-ray release of it - second off it's always been one of my favorites but I didn't realize just how similar it and Inception are.

bootsy

Wrong! No everyone didn't know this movie was going to be popular. Certainly not almost making $300 million domestically popular. Most people including me didn't know what to expect from this movie. We knew it was about going into people's dreams but we didn't know the depths and the backstory. I can remember seeing the 2nd trailer at a movie I went to and it getting no reaction from the audience. Some people even laughing at it. People didn't know what to expect. For you to say that you and others knew is a complete lie.

Furthermore this whole 'fanboy' shit. I get so sick of seeing that especially with Nolan. Look if we like most or all of Nolan's movies it doesn't mean we are fanboys, it means we appreciate good and sometimes great quality work. Not because we are fanboys. There is only one Nolan movie where I haven't been completely on board and that is Insomnia. Whoops I guess that revokes my Nolan fanboy membership.

The blowback is neither of what you mentioned. I just think because it was popular and hugely successful that automatically in your mind makes it overrated. If it wasn't and let's say performed like Super 8 it wouldn't be getting as much backlash. This is a common trait with people. The more successful and popular something is the more backlash it will get. I loved Inception, it is one of my favorites movies and anytime it is on I am immediately drawn to it and will watch it. I guess that makes me a fanboy.

Kal-El

Loved it when I saw it in the theaters. Still loved it when I bought it on Blu. And whenever it's on HBO--even in SD --I find myself watching it. The assembly of the team leading up to going on the plane is one of my favorite sequences.

Only bad thing I can say about it is that I wish we could've gotten a great behind the scenes documentary on the making of it. Especially the Arthur dream sequence.

Solid Snake

yeah...the BD really needed a great making of cuz the stuff they did on a technical level was great. Would've loved to see more of what the BD showed.

iggystar

Actually, the more of Nolan's movies I like, the more I expect the next one to be a failure. Just how many movies in a row can he continue to impress me? The bar is set so high that I just assume the next cannot measure up. Inception and The Dark Knight were so amazing that if Dark Knit Rises doesn't up the ante, I'm going to be disappointed.

I was shocked at how much I loved Inception. I didn't get the trailer, it didn't do anything to make it a "must see" outside of the fact that Nolan directed it.

bootsy

I really wasn't shocked. I think because the trailers were all very well done. You could see the buildup in the trailers. Each one gave you a little more. My only fear was I was too hyped for it that I would be let down. Fortunately that wasn't the case.

DaveyJoe

This has been a trend in movie criticism long before hipsters were drinking PBR. Inception was guaranteed no success. It's a high-concept, thinking man's science-fiction movie. The only thing we really knew about it going in is that it would probably be confusing. I remember a lot of Nolan fans were worried it would be a financial flop and that might hurt his clout with WB. The success of Inception was really astounding.

JumpCutz

Nothing about it was confusing. It was pretty straight forward. I wouldn't exactly call it a thinking man's SF movie either.

RoboDad

I was just about to post the same thing. I didn't find it challenging or confusing at all. If anything, it was rather predictable.

iggystar

Well, I'm not a huge trailer person...they spoil so much. I watched it once and it looked interesting enough, but I wasn't expecting it to be my favorite movie of the year and at the top of my all-time favorite list.

Jason

Well, it was a hell of a lot better than Jumper or Wanted, but overall I felt it was obtuse simply to be trendy, almost experimental. It didn't work for me, and I like a lot of sci-fi/fantasy/whatever you call this type of movie.

And the last shot was a total cop-out.

bootsy

If you feel this way you missed the point of the movie.

RoboDad

I haven't seen Jumper or Wanted, so I'll defer to you on them, but it sounds like we are of the same opinion on Inception.

AnonomusBob15

I thought the last shot was the best part of the movie.

DaveyJoe

Congratulations. However, the film was very confusing for a great many people. This is obvious to anybody who read online discussions of the film.

Apple Gooncha

While I wasn't all that confused (although, I thought it was a lot to take in on the big screen after watching it the first time) I can think of several instances where people told me they found the movie at least a little confusing. I mean, it isn't exactly Synecdoche, New York, but It's definitely not on the same level with a typical Jason Statham action flick either.

RichC2

I don't get how anyone could find the movie confusing (and coincidentally, don't know anyone who did). They explain every single tiny detail about whats happening multiple times throughout the movie.

The only part I think could pass as potentially confusing is the chase sequence when Cobb finds Eames, and thats because they don't repeat the reason for it 20 times.

Mabuse

People always throw around the term high-concept like it's a good thing. High-concept means slick and manufactured, easily distilled to one single idea. If you're trying to say the film is complex or high-minded you shouldn't say high concept. High concept is when some ass hole walks into a movie execs office and says, "What if there were snakes on a plane?"

From WikiOne could certainly make the arguemnt that Inception IS high concept, but that would be a criticism of the film.

DaveyJoe

It sure is easy to claim how predictable and easy to understand the movie was over a year after it's release, but I remember much debate and confusion just after it was released. I bet if we were to discuss the rules and consequences of Limbo in this thread we'd struggle to come to a consensus.

If the film was so straight forward, why were there such heated debates on the internet about the rules of the dream world and limbo? Why were so many charts created to help people understand Inception? Doesn't anybody remember these?

kefrank

While everything is explained along the way, there ends up being a lot to keep track of and understand about what is explained. It does require a certain level of concentration that some (perhaps, most) film-goers don't typically apply when watching a movie. I've encountered a number of people who didn't think they were confused about anything in the movie, but discussions revealed that they missed or misunderstood some of the concepts and details (like whose dream they're in at each level, what rules apply to limbo, etc).

Whether this makes it "thinking-man's sci-fi" is up for debate. I think many would associate that term with films that use sci-fi elements to explore deeper existential themes.

RocShemp

Really, Inception is basically a heist flick (although what they did was more akin to planting evidence and/or brainwashing than any actual theft). It has some interesting sci-fi concepts mixed in but the science takes a backseat to Cobb's story and the caper itself.

As for it being cold, I don't see it that way at all. You have Cobb's plight (the guilt over his wife's death and his desperation to get back to his children) which is easily relatable even if you aren't a parent or lost a spouse. You have his friends (Eames and Arthur) desperately trying to survive the dire situation in which Cobb has unintentionally placed them. You have Ariadne drawn into what she understands is a dangerous situation (allowing her to share her mind with someone as unstable as Cobb) because she's drawn to the wonder of something like the Dream Share. And you have the cathartic journey of Robert Fisher as he yearns for his father's love and acceptance.

I dunno what else people could have wanted.

RichC2

It's the internet, people like to complain about whats popular until it's something they love. Take for instance the number of passes Star Wars Episode 3 gets, sure it's better than I and II but it's still an incredible chore to sit through.

DaveyJoe

You're right, I had the term on my mind because of a novel I'm reading about an aging action star. High concept was the wrong term to use.

I know you didn't say this, but other disagreed that it's a thinking man's SCI-FI flick. It is. It was marketed as a SCI-Fi flick, it may not be as fantastical as The Matrix, but that's what it is. Yes, it's a thinking man's action movie as well. Look at The Expendables and then look at Inception, for an action/sci-fi blockbuster, it's very intelligent.

Shazam

You know what irks me about Inception? It was a movie. They should've made a whole new form of media for it.