I'm sorry, but after Inception, I have, as a filmgoer, to question Nolan's actions and decisions. He started strong with both Memento and Insomnia. The big reason why was because he gave you characters you could sympathize with, even put yourself in their shoes. He gave us characters to care about. And the stories, as well as their presentation, were interesting (especially that U-Shaped timeline presentation of Memento and watching the film chronologically is just as dramatic and heartbreaking. Insomnia's story was straight forward, but still rather interesting to watch). With Batman Begins, being able to care slowly began to waiver and not so great story began to insert itself. I forgave it, because of the fact that it was a big budgeted movie that the studio was backing and that DC Comics (whose run in the theaters was slowly falling apart while Marvel products had a big boom) was running their property with an iron fist. Saw The Dark Knight and began to notice the trend had gotten worse (seriously, the only interesting thing was with the Joker, and kinda made me wish that Nolan had just focused on the Joker for the whole film, because he was interesting, compelling and you actually could give a damn about him, even with all the terrible things he did). Again, I decided to forgive it, because I believed it was the same reason why the first one wasn't good to me. Then Inception came along. The whole time, I was watching, I was like "Okay, I'm not seeing the hook. Why should I give a damn about these characters?" It was almost as if Nolan said to himself, "F@#k the character development and plot. I want to make a flashy movie." That's not genius.
Genius is able to balance story, character and visuals. Look at Citizen Kane, which is held as the best example of filmmaking. It keeps ending up on a lot of lists of "What films that filmmakers should watch", some of those lists composed by other filmmakers. It was balanced visual, story and character. Inception sacrificed a solid story and character development. I found out I'm not the only one who realized this, as others have noticed the lack of a solid plot and characters that you could actually relate to. What Nolan gave us in Inception was a premise, not a story. And how are we suppose to give a damn about the characters when there's nothing about the characters for us to give a damn about? Even more so with the events that they go through? How can we care about what they go through when what they go through is completely meaningless and without any real stakes involved?
However, as a someone who is interested in filmmaking, I can only applaud Nolan for utilizing more old-school techniques where any other filmmaker would have used CG instead. And the dream device was great as a plot device and as a prop. But that is as far as I could go, and even that is limited, to have any good comments about the film.
Nolan's poor choices in lead actresses, in combination with the weakly developed female roles in the Batman movies has only backed up the possibility that the third time will not be a charm. The definition of insanity is someone repeating the same actions over and over again and expecting a different outcome each time. To believe that Anne Hathaway is going to be a "great Catwoman" is insane, especially with her track record of playing the same type of character in all her films and the combination of Nolan's portrayal of women in his Batman movies.
I'm sorry, but that is how I see it. And from the pictures and cast choices, and comparing it with the first two films, it doesn't give me any hope. If anything, its like Nolan has decided to perform his version of a watered down Michael Mann film, and has decided to do it as a streak.
I know someone is going to disagree with my statements. I know a few of you love Inception and the Batman films Nolan has done, and that a lot of you find Anne Hathaway "hot" and "sexy" and a "great actress." But I figured that if you're going to hate my opinion, you should at least understand my point of view and where I'm coming from before you do.
Of course, I could very well be wrong. What do I know?
