Warner Bros. decided to lift the review embargo on Christopher Nolan’s Inception yesterday at 6 p.m. EST, and what came next was a flurry of overly positive reviews from critics who had seen the film early in order to attend the press junket and interview the cast. This much is known: the critics are falling over themselves to praise Nolan’s follow-up to The Dark Knight, though I get the feeling that the film’s dream-like, multi-layered structure is going to confuse the hell out of most audiences. But hey – Leonardo DiCaprio is in it! So there’s that. Here’s what the critics are saying in advance of the film’s July 16th release:
If movies are shared dreams, then Christopher Nolan is surely one of Hollywood's most inventive dreamers, given the evidence of his commandingly clever Inception. – Variety
Following up on such ingenious and intriguing films as The Dark Knight and Memento, Nolan has outdone himself. Inception puts him not only at the top of the heap of sci-fi all-stars, but it also should put this Warner Bros. release near or at the top of the summer movies. It's very hard to see how a film that plays so winningly to so many demographics would not be a worldwide hit." – The Hollywood Reporter
"Inception is a masterpiece. Making a huge film with big ambitions, Christopher Nolan never missteps and manages to create a movie that, at times, feels like a miracle. And sometimes it doesn't even feel like a movie; while presented in woefully retro 2D, Inception creates a complete sense of immersion in another world. The screen before you is just another layer of the dream." -- CHUD
“Inception is nothing short of a stunning, spectacular, visionary achievement.” -- Cinematical
“Like The Matrix mated with Synecdoche, New York — or a Charlie Kaufman 007. To paraphrase Casino Royale’s Vesper Lynd, it’s a meaningful pursuit in a summer of disposable entertainments. With physics-defying, thunderous action, heart-wringing emotion and an astonishing performance from DiCaprio, Nolan delivers another true original: welcome to an undiscovered country.” -- Empire
“Inception is a miracle: a multi-layered meditation on the unruly clutter of the subconscious that works sensationally well as a classical action film. It plays brilliantly on every conceivable level.” -- AICN
A miracle? A masterpiece? A stunning achievement? Sounds like this flick is getting a lot of early love, but is it enough to suck you in? Will you be seeing Inception opening weekend, or will you hang back to see what other people around you are saying first?
