INCEPTION
The elusive Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) claims that what he offers is subconscious security. In reality, he infiltrates the subconscious of a targeted individual while they are in a dream state, in order to extract ideas from their mind. This high-stakes practice—and the possibility of finally returning home to his children—leads him to take on one final “job” on behalf of Saito (Ken Watanabe) and Cobol Engineering. This time, however, the task is not to steal an idea, but to plant a brand-new one in the mind of the target: Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy), heir to the Fischer empire. The goal is to subtly push him into dismantling his late father’s billion-dollar corporation.
This is the core story of Christopher Nolan’s film, released in 2010, and it quite literally blew my mind, while at the same time captivating me with its mystery—and the fact that I couldn’t make full sense of it 😅😅. With an open-ended, much-discussed, and controversial finale, the film (very cleverly) leaves it up to the viewer to draw their own conclusions.
Beautifully crafted visuals (a true visual spectacle), a unique script, and a constant sense of uncertainty test the viewer’s mental elasticity, through the continuous shifts between dream levels and the blurred lines between reality and dream-space, right up to the end. The cast is excellent and well-chosen, with Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role. Thankfully, although the plot is challenging to follow, the film features plenty of intense action (relentless chases, lots of gunfire and fighting), so you’re never bored. For me, it’s one of Nolan’s finest moments.
It remains one of my favorite movies to this day, and if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend you do!
28 WEEKS LATER
American forces secure an isolated zone of London from the contagious virus that struck the country six months earlier. A family man escapes an attack by infected individuals at a countryside cottage where he had been hiding and returns to London to find his children—leaving his wife behind.
This sequel, released in 2007, continues the story of the successful and quite uniquely filmed 28 Days Later.
The opening scene is excellent—it pulls you right into the story and sets the tone for what’s to come. Unfortunately, the rest of the film, aside from a few very interesting scenes, doesn’t manage to maintain the high standard set by the first movie.
London is once again a hellish landscape—empty, grimy, defiled, threatening, dangerous, and at the same time, visually stunning to behold.
On the positive side, the film features steadily escalating tension and a general sense of urgency and energy. However, it stumbles due to its inconsistent pacing, which, at least for me 🤷♂️, breaks the immersion.
The ending feels a bit awkward, seemingly there just to hint at yet another sequel. Overall, it’s an interesting film—especially if you’re a fan of the genre—with plenty of action, but it doesn’t quite manage to sustain the hype of the first installment. That may actually work against this otherwise promising effort from the Spanish director.
