Early Buzz for Inception: WOW

Warner Bros recently lifted the reviews embargo on Christopher Nolan's upcoming Inception, and all I can say is... WOW. Let's just say, it currently holds a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Da-yum. What follows are some exerpts of reviews from some trusted critics (no Armond White here), check it out:

AICN: "INCEPTION is a miracle: a multi-layered meditation on the unruly clutter of the subconscious that works sensationally well as a classical action film. It plays brilliantly on every conceivable level"

"With INCEPTION, Nolan joins the company of Coppola, Lean and not too many others as a filmmaker who treats the big canvas with the respect it deserves - but with the steely verve of a chess player who can see dozens of moves ahead. Pure cinema at its best feels like dreaming with your eyes wide open. Cinema doesn’t get much purer than INCEPTION.”

Variety: “If movies are shared dreams, then Christopher Nolan is surely one of Hollywood’s most inventive dreamers, given the evidence of his commandingly clever “Inception.” Applying a vivid sense of procedural detail to a fiendishly intricate yarn set in the labyrinth of the subconscious, the writer-director has devised a heist thriller for surrealists, a Jungian’s “Rififi,” that challenges viewers to sift through multiple layers of (un)reality."

“If “Inception” is a metaphysical puzzle, it’s also a metaphorical one: It’s hard not to draw connections between Cobb’s dream-weaving and Nolan’s filmmaking — an activity devoted to constructing a simulacrum of reality, intended to seduce us, mess with our heads and leave a lasting impression. Mission accomplished.”

Film School Rejects: “I will say this now, without reservation and fully confident that many will agree; Inception is easily the best big budget film of the year thus far. I’ll go further and say that it’s one of the most beautiful, well written, and fully realized high dollar films of the last five years. Inception, is close to perfection.”

“Inception has a very cerebral plot, big on emotion and deeply connected to the exploration of the subconscious — but it’s an action film, and a beautiful one. Wally Pfister’s cinematography is second to none, and the digital effects work is seamless.”

“Parts of Inception are like watching an Escher lithograph come to life, which, you know — is awesome. Coupled with Hans Zimmer’s masterful score, Inception is not only a treat visually, but matched by the music from the first scene on. Inception is what The Wachowskis wish the rest of The Matrix films after the first could have been; a head trip with outrageous action sequences and a strong emotional attachment to the story.”

CHUD: “Inception is a masterpiece. Making a huge film with big ambitions, Christopher Nolan never missteps and manages to create a movie that, at times, feels like a miracle. And sometimes it doesn’t even feel like a movie; while presented in woefully retro 2D, Inception creates a complete sense of immersion in another world. The screen before you is just another layer of the dream.”

“I loved every moment of the waking dream, every frame of the celluloid reality. Cinema is dreaming, and Nolan understands this implicitly and completely.”

JoBlo: “Nolan has truly created his magnum opus; an achievement of such grandeur, it’s remarkable a film of this scale was made in this day and age”

“INCEPTION is like few films that come before it. The film has no shortage of thrilling action sequences yet none feel arbitrary. The action, for once, serves the story instead of the other way around. But this doesn’t mean that the visuals are anything short of breathtaking. ”

ComingSoon: “In a great many ways, “Inception” is an exceptional film. It boasts a larger than life cast, a virtually unrestricted budget and a director at the top of his game both commercially and artistically. Action scenes feature mountain ski chases, zero-gravity fights and flawless special effect dreamscapes."

Cinematical: “Nolan, working with the sort of confidence (not to mention free financial reign) that comes from making a studio a mint on one’s previous picture, crafts an amazingly sophisticated, subversive, thoughtful, and even occasionally confusing (albeit in only good ways) tale about the layers of reality in the mind that calcify and crumble when constructed from the raw materials of memory and emotion. At the same time, he’s made an utter crowd pleaser, an epic piece of entertainment that ultimately feels so simple precisely because of all of its complexity, and one that rouses and inspires and excites in the same way as blockbusters comprised of pure spectacle.”

“Ultimately, Nolan’s is probably not the kind of movie that should be written about after just one viewing, and shouldn’t be viewed even once with any preconceptions or expectations, sky-high as I may have made them for folks who read this far. ”

Empire Magazine: “Like The Matrix  mated with Synecdoche, New York — or a Charlie Kaufman 007"

"With physics-defying, thunderous action, heart-wringing emotion and an astonishing performance from DiCaprio, Nolan delivers another true original: welcome to an undiscovered country.”

Thompson on Hollywood: “The movie keeps you on the edge of your seat, focused intently on what’s happening. Otherwise, it would be easy to get lost. Structured like an intricate maze, Inception takes the viewer through interlocking sets of dream realities. ”

The Hollywood Reporter: ”A devilishly complicated, fiendishly enjoyable sci-fi voyage across a dreamscape that is thoroughly compelling.”

“”Inception” puts him not only at the top of the heap of sci-fi all-stars, but it also should put this Warner Bros. release near or at the top of the summer movies. It’s very hard to see how a film that plays so winningly to so many demographics would not be a worldwide hit.”

I'm guessing I'll see you at the theater come July 16th.