I finally watched this last night. I didn't like it as much as I hoped I would (certainly not my favorite Nolan film, possibly not in my top 3). Still, lots to think about.
The good: Most of the cast, except for exception noted below. In particular, Marion Cotillard was stunning in what I felt was the most important role in the movie. I appreciated the way that Nolan structured this like a heist movie: a one-last-job is presented, a team is assembled, a plot is constructed, and everything unfolds, with the team adapting to some unforeseen obstacles along the way. I also appreciated the fact that there was no huge ending twist; this film didn't need it but I was half expecting Nolan to throw something more in.
The bad: Ellen Page. Her character did not work at all for me. For one thing, she was way too much the standard outsider to whom everything is explained. But she was also completely unbelievable as this incredibly emotionally perceptive and assertive person. I'm not sure how much was her and how much was the writing. The music: Zimmer his hit and miss for me, and here, it was a huge miss. Heavy-handed and obvious. As for the writing/directing, the pace really lagged toward the end. I understand what Nolan was trying to do here with showing the multiple stories passing at different speeds and it worked more than most experimental timeline films, but it did feel like it was taking forever. As well, after the initial expository scenes, few of the dream sequences actually felt dream-like. I know that he provided a reason for everything needed to feel as real as possible, but the more interesting exploration would have been through dreams that were appropriately surreal. Even inside Cobb's subconscious, there was the opportunity to be much more creative than they were.
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