Why Inception Is The Quintessential Nolan Film

2010 was a great year in film, with plenty of variety.

Audiences could either watch Leonardo DiCaprio struggle with feelings of guilt over his wife's death,

while constantly being haunted by the memory of her.

Or you could watch the same thing 5 months later.

Inception was a project almost a decade in the making,

and it was a story that Christopher Nolan was very passionate about.

He had the basic idea of people entering others dreams all the back in 2001,

but felt that he wasn't quite ready to tackle that concept just yet.

After three smash hits in Batman Begins, The Prestige, and especially The Dark Knight though,

Nolan knew he now had the experience necessary to bring his vision to life.

Inception marked a shift in Nolan's career.

Aside from Following and Memento,

all of his films thus far had been based on another project.

Whether that be a movie, a comic, or a novel.

And even in the case of Following and Memento,

those didn't have a very large budget, so there was very little risk involved.

Inception on the other hand is a blockbuster with a massive budget.

It's also a wholly original story.

It's not based on any other property.

By not having a pre-established fanbase for the project,

Warner Bros. were taking a huge risk.

Why were they comfortable taking this gamble?

Simply put, after the success of The Dark Knight,

Christopher Nolan had become a household name and a brand.

They believed that the name Christopher Nolan had enough power behind it to draw an audience,

and, of course, they believed in the narrative as well.

This faith would soon be rewarded.

As Inception made over 800 million at the box office,

and was favorably received critically as well.

Many people today consider it to be Nolan's greatest film,

and it commonly ranks as one of the greatest movies ever made.

Some of Nolan's harshest critics claim however,

that Inception represents everything wrong with his filmmaking style.

Others have even labeled it a ripoff of an anime released only 4 years earlier.

How did Inception gain this controversial reputation?

Did Nolan really steal the idea from an anime?

And why is Inception often considered the quintessential Nolan movie?

Today we'll be finding the answers to those questions, and in the coming months,

I'll be diving into each film in Christopher Nolan's stellar filmography.