Title: Inception
Studio: Warner Brothers
Director: Christopher Nolan
Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Wantanabe, Cillian Murphy

Since Inception’s release four weeks ago, it has been parodied in videos, trended consistently on Twitter, and conquered the box office to the tune of about $500 million. And rather than review it, I’ve basically been sitting here the whole time with my thumb up my ass.

Well, consider my thumb dislodged.

But first, I feel the need to give a bit of background. This was one of those movies that I was looking forward to early in the year. Right after 2010 began, I caught the teaser trailer for Inception and was sold immediately. Between the Dark City/Matrix vibe, as well as Nolan and Dicaprio being on board, I knew everything I needed to know to know that I was going to be there opening night.

So, I blocked out everything else possible. Hell, I’d already made my mind up I was going to watch it, so why know anything else? I never watched the full length trailer that people online apparently lost their shit over. I skipped all articles even vaguely related to the film. I became an Inception bubble-boy.

All this effort was to watch the film ‘pure’. No spoilers, no unrealistic expectations, no frigging clue what it was about. In a year of shitty cinema, I wanted what looked like a halfway intriguing movie to have a blank slate.

And I’m so glad I did. Inception is by far, one of the best movies of the year.

But rather than tell you what it’s about, I’m going to leave you a bit in the dark. Inception is the kind of movie that flourishes, the less you know about it going in. If it’s even possible that after four weeks of theatre domination you’re still a bit of an Inception bubble-boy/girl, I’ll be damned if I dull your experience even an ounce.

But here’s what I will tell you about the movie. Director Christopher Nolan has crafted a superb film that is beautiful to watch, and (hopefully) shows Hollywood that making a profitable movie doesn’t have to mean making a dumbed-down movie. Inception is an intelligent, exciting, and gorgeous film which offers a glimpse of what The Matrix might have looked like with a soul.

However, Nolan has created better movies: specifically, Memento and The Dark Knight. These two are modern classics which will be remembered for decades to come. Inception falls shy of that mark, but still remains a high point in Nolan’s already illustrious career.

Watch Inception, and if you can, watch it in IMAX. Do me this favour, and next time, I won’t wait four weeks to give my ‘thumbs up’.