In this day and age, the term 'summer blockbuster' has become somewhat degrading. It implies mindless entertainment. Inception is a summer blockbuster but also a legitimate motion picture. It is a well thought out, inventive story which flirts with surrealism, expressionism, and post-modernism, and I suppose literally speaking, futurism too. Despite being convoluted, the story is rhythmic, but you do have to focus. This is not a film for the weak of mind.
Christopher Nolan presents a future where man can control dreams. Cobb makes a living from stealing the dreams of others, but since being accused of killing his wife, he has fled the United States and in now in Japan. An executive gives Cobb the chance to return home free of charge if he does a job for him. The mission: assemble a crew and enter the mind of Robert Fisher Jr. (the son of a dying corporate emperor.) Cobb must put the idea in Jr.'s head to bring down his father's work. Needless to say, It is a very dangerous game, and if he screws up he could be stuck in a dream for who knows how long.
To call Inception ambitious would be an understatement. It is so complex that one must wonder how this could be pulled off. In the course of two and a half hours, Inception takes us to a dream within a dream within a dream.
However, this doesn't change the fact that this is a one-of-a-kind science fiction film that will have you both doubting reality and on the edge of your seat at the same time.