Inception

The Observer“A dazzling sci-fi thriller...” The film is the stuff that dreams are made on, a collaborative work of great technical skill and imaginative detail where everyone is working to help the writer-director realise a personal vision...

Little White Lies“Overpowering, spectacular and truly awe-inspiring...” All the cast are superb, but Tom Hardy in particular stands out for his suave confidence and electric charisma. He looks very much like an action star for the future and could, if he wanted it, make an excellent Bond...

The Independent“A masterpiece. Hmm. In your dreams... ” A grandiose conceptual thriller... It is intricate, it is convoluted, it is mysterious. It is also lavishly boring. Advance word on the movie promised mind-blowing visual effects, and there are indeed some arresting images along the way....

Guardian“A weirdly inert narrative inspired by Philip K Dick and Lewis Carroll...” Nolan is occasionally described as the inheritor of Stanley Kubrick's mantle, and there are allusions. The encounter between Cobb and Fischer in the weirdly long hotel bar with its undersea-lighting, feels like The Shining...

The Telegraph“Unmissable and maddening...” Half the film’s thrills consist of simply keeping up with it. Nolan’s plot, his tricksiest since Memento, is such that the second you overtake it, things start to fray – so he isn’t about to let that happen in a hurry...

Total Film “Remarkable...” Nolan shifts the goalposts in a high-concept hybrid that fuses existential sci-fi and Bondian mayhem into one captivating whole. But you may just end up craving a little more human connection...

Time Out film“All hail Nolan for mastering a higher class of mass entertainment...” Like all good science fiction, Inception demands we pay serious attention to pure fantasy on the back of strong ideas and exquisite craft – but it also combines fantasy with real observations about our sleeping lives...

Channel4 Film“Witness the power of film...” Can a blockbuster with a multimillion dollar budget really be this smart, moving and intellectually thrilling? Pinch yourselves, we could still be dreaming...

Variety“Nolan is surely one of Hollywood's most inventive dreamers...” A heist thriller for surrealists... Nolan places mind-bending visual effects and a top-flight cast in service of a boldly cerebral vision that demands, and rewards, the utmost attention...

Empire“Sit back and enjoy the spectacle...” 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...