I Am Not Sure If I Saw Inception

I have been anticipating Inception for many months now, and I got to see it today. It opens in Malaysia a day ahead of the States, so I guess most of my readers probably haven't seen it yet. I wanted this post to be a review of the film, but I can't do it because I strongly suspect that the screening I went to at Midvalley Megamall in PJ was heavily butchered. However I can't confirm or deny this until I have corroborated my experience with other folks.

As it stands, the movie was very interesting, both visually and conceptually. Visually it has parts that look and feel like an M.C. Escher painting brought to life. Conceptually, this a Matrix-like movie but with an extra layer of subtlety alongside the spectacular special effects. However, it feels like it was very badly edited and was missing entire reels of footage. If in fact I was watching the actual final cut of the film, I did not understand what happened,especially near the end. I do however have some theories:

1. The movie is as terrific as the critics say but something is wrong with me (maybe I am too dumb to appreciate it).


2. Christopher Nolan has completely lost his magic film-making skills.


3. The Malaysian censorship board has once again gone crazy scissor-happy and made random edits for no discernible reason.


4. The cinema operators cut the movie at random points for time to maximise screenings (hence profits).

The first reason is possible, the second is unlikely, the third is also possible but I strongly suspect it's the fourth reason that made my viewing experience so terrible.

I guess I can't say anything else about the movie now, because you can't do an honest review without seeing the final intended edit. Therefore, I'll sadly skip the review for Inception on this blog (for now).

A final word; throughout the film I was constantly reminded of nested virtual machines.