Movie Review

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Simon Wen
Ms. Blackford
ENG2DR-F
May 20, 2016
Movie Review of Inception
Inception by Christopher Nolan is a movie that focuses on the subconscious of the human
mind. Christopher Nolan, the director of Inception is an English-American screen writer, and
producer born on July 30, 1970, in London, UK. In 1998, Nolan entered the film industry with a
movie called Following, a story of a young writer trying to gather material for his novel, but
ultimately gets drawn into the criminal underworld. Nolan has also directed other famous
movies, such as Interstellar, and The Dark Knight Trilogy. Nolans film Inception was released
on July 16, 2010, and won 95 movie awards, including the Academy Award for Best
Cinematography in 2010, and also had 204 nominations for other awards. The film Inception is a
two-and-a-half-hour long science-fiction heist film about a man named Dominick Cobb, a
corporate spy who uses military technology to enter the subconscious of his opponents minds to
gather information. Cobb is then tasked to implant a persons idea into anothers subconscious,
an inception, in order to clear his criminal history. Although Inception covers many themes,
one of the themes prevalent in the film is Appearance VS Reality. Nolan, through his film
Inception, believes that if one spends too much time in an illusionary world that one creates, then
one will begin to believe their illusion is reality. Nolans film Inception is a fantastic portrayal of
the theme of Appearance VS Reality through the use of special effects and transitions between
scenes.
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First, by using special effects in the film, Nolan effectively creates the theme of
Appearance VS Reality. For example, when Cobb takes Ariadne, an architect student, into the
dream world to design the landscape, explosions can be seen coming out of the ground, with
debris scattering across the scene in slow motion. Frightened by what she is witnessing, Ariadne
awakes from the dream world. The effect of explosions and scattering debris causing fright in
this scene exemplifies an illusionary atmosphere that seems realistic. Another example where
special effects is used to depict the theme of Appearance VS Reality is in the final scene where
Cobb reunites with his children. Throughout the film, Cobb uses a spinning top to determine
whether or not he is dreaming or in reality. When he is supposedly in the real world about to
meet up with his children, he spins the top, and it continues to spin without stopping. The use of
a symbol representing illusion in a setting that represents reality is how the movie portrays the
theme of Appearance VS Reality. In summary, the use of special effects in the film help to create
a setting that blur the lines between illusion and reality.
Second, Nolan excellently creates the theme of Appearance VS Reality in his movie
Inception through transitions between scenes. One example of transitions is the scene where
Cobb and Ariadne are caught up in a struggle with the inhabitants of the dream world. The
inhabitants have them pinned down, and suddenly, a woman appears with a knife and moves to
stab Ariadne, but the scene quickly switches to Ariadne waking up in a panic. The effective
transition between a scene with an illusionary setting and a scene with a realistic setting is how
Nolan portrays the theme of Appearance VS Reality. The next example of scene transition is the
transition from the real world to the dream world by Cobb and his affiliates. In this scene, they
are on a plane, hooked up to technology to enable them to enter the dream world. They lean back
on their seats, an assistant presses a button, and then, they are standing in the middle of the street
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in pouring rain. The transition between contrasting scenes is how the theme of Appearance VS
Reality is depicted. To sum up, by transitioning quickly between two often differing scenes is
how the film creates the theme of Appearance VS Reality.
In conclusion, Christopher Nolans Inception is an amazing film portrayal of the theme of
Appearance VS Reality, since it effectively blurs the lines and contrasts between illusion and
reality through special effects and scene transitions. A lasting impression is made through special
effects blurring illusion and reality. Similarly, quick transitions made between scenes help to
contrast illusion and reality. The film is an astounding masterpiece, combining the genres of heist
with science-fiction, and amazingly exploring the subject of human subconsciousness. It is an
excellent movie for people who enjoy science fiction and human psychology, and has an MPAA
rating of PG-13 due to scenes of violence, profanity, and frightening scenes. As such, parental
guidance for those under the age of thirteen is strongly advised. Otherwise, this film is an
astounding work of art, combining two popular genres and an interesting topic.
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Works Cited
"Christopher Nolan." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 20 May 2016.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Nolan>.
IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 20 May 2016. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375666/parentalguide>.
Inception. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Perf. Leonardo DiCaprio. Warner Bros., 2010. Film.
"Inception." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 20 May 2016.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inception>.

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