By judging only by the previews, many viewers are quick to jump to the conclusion that Christopher Nolan’s film Inception is simply two hours filled with mind-blowing special effects: a visual euphoria lacking any real content or substance. All those thoughts should be obliterated immediately. Inception is a film that baffles all the senses, and doesn’t stop for a minute for the mind to catch up. It’s gripping, puzzling, and visually stunning—all enough to make it one of the most talked about films in recent memory.

                The film’s focus is Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), a heist man who enters his victims’ dreams as they sleep. Cobb is reeling from the recent suicide of his wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard), and has not been home to the United States since, even though it is where his two children reside. Although Cobb is top notch in his line of work, he is presented with an assignment that is incredibly complicated—and it just happens to be the ticket back home to his family.

                The assignment is to perform inception, a procedure that involves planting an idea deep into a certain victim’s subconscious. Thus many layers of “realities” are created—a dream within a dream within another dream. But as always there’s a catch. Normally if one dies in a dream, they wake up back to reality. During inception, if one dies, they wake up in limbo—unsure of if they are still in a dream or not. Hence, complications ensue.

                It’s easy to see how mind-twisting the film is. Merely explaining the basics of it is almost too much to wrap your head around. But that should not dishearten anyone from seeing it. The twists and turns of the plot are major food for thought—even after leaving the theatre, one is still left to ponder the cliffhanger ending. The combination of heist film and sci-fi make for a lustrous mix, as the film is truly an original. Shot in over six different countries with an all-star cast that also includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page, the film doesn’t fall anywhere short in cinematic magic. Nolan, who also directed the blockbuster The Dark Knight, wraps up his audience in a mind-bending world of dreams and reality, where we’re never sure what to believe as truth or illusion. A film truly like no other, Inception is one linger in our subconscious.