Next Friday, July 16th, a little movie comes out that I’ve been anticipating for a long time. Christopher Nolan’s Inception stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Michael Caine and several other big-time stars. The film, a moody, psychological action/drama that is about espionage within the world of dreams, has been kept under wraps of secrecy for two years, ever since it was announced as director Nolan’s next movie. Nolan (who will turn 40 at the end of this month), is a formidable director who, for my money, has never made a bad film. Just look at his resume: Following, Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight. Already, he has established himself as one of Hollywood top directing talents, and that certainly is helped by the fact that two years ago he delivered a film so critically acclaimed and so audience-beloved (the aforementioned Dark Knight) that Warner Brothers Pictures must still be sending him fruit baskets and “we love you” cards. Nolan decided not to immediately follow up his most recent Batman picture with another sequel: unlike other directors tied to superhero franchises, Nolan makes exactly what he wants, when he wants to. He’s a virtuoso at staggering big productions with his own passion projects. And Inception is indeed a passion; a movie he has wanted to make for several years, and now finally has the collateral to make it. This film isn’t just his. In some ways, it’s him.
So. There’s a lot riding on Inception, and so far the reviews trickling in have been sensational. But there’s another angle here, and it’s this: I really want this summer to be saved, and the only one that can do it is Christopher Nolan.
Now, I’m aware of the “eggs in one basket” cliché, so I say that knowing full well that Inception could be a massive disappointment (given it’s pedigree, that’d be quite an achievement by itself, but I digress). I wished I hadn’t been pushed to such extremes. But I have to say that this summer movie season has been one of the most disappointing, by-the-numbers, straight-up uninspired summer film seasons I can remember in ages.
Either I have outgrown summer movies or they have outgrown me. It’s rare that I feel excitement for a big picture that arrives within the May-August corridor these days; most of them have gotten worse at hiding the fact that they are pure product pushed on hopeful moviegoers. The days of classic summer entertainments seem long-forgotten, and many truly talented directors, who could perfectly deliver a big-time summer entertainment seem cowed or broken by the new Hollywood system. Steven Spielberg proved two years with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull that his heart was not in big action pictures anymore. George Lucas was once the hero of our childhood, but for over ten years now he’s been making films that break that trust. Ridley Scott used to make brainy, visually stunning fantasies, and now he makes dross like his who-cares reinterpretation of Robin Hood. That one was this year, and is absolutely symptomatic of the problem at hand: this year’s summer films have not been up to code.
Iron Man 2. Well, it wasn’t awful, but it was too busy, convoluted, contrived, and lacked the fizzy pop of the first. Prince of Persia was a big Jerry Bruckheimer production that seemed ready-made for franchise fame…except it actually wasn’t very good, and even audiences caught that very quickly. The Karate Kid apparently wasn’t too bad, except for the fact that it really wasn’t necessary in any way, shape, or form. Nor was The A-Team, which seemed built out of shallow nostalgia for a TV show that wasn’t very good to begin with. We had an unneeded pseudo-sequel to Forgetting Sarah Marshall in Get Him to the Greek. I’m (thank God) no expert on Sex and the City, but I do know its sequel greatly disappointed many of its hardcore fans, and it wasn’t made for anyone else. I would offer an opinion on Killers, but no one saw it, since anyone who was mildly curious probably realized they could save the fifteen bucks and just watch True Lies again on blu-ray. Shrek 4 was the best of the Shrek sequels, but it was also kind of depressing, like watching an exhausted runner take one last good sprint before collapsing into a heap. Eclipse? I’ll refrain from spewing what I truly feel about Twilight as a franchise. In short? Not a fan.
The one exception? Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3, which I need not tell anyone is a masterpiece. But, of course, it’s Pixar. They’re always good, and they only underline the problem that the techies at Pixar seem to be the few in America today who have their fingers accurately on the pulse of good storytelling.
And then it gets much worse. You have Jonah Hex and The Last Airbender, both of which seem to be trying to compete for the “worst film of the summer” title (which reminds me of when G.I. Joe and Transformers 2 fought for the same crown in 2009). Unlike Jonah, Airbender is making some cash, but both movies are identical in the amount of loathing they are generating within audience members. At best, you’ll find one person out of 100 who fall into the “it wasn’t…that bad…” line, which is always a warning bell. It’s not even August and we already have the bar set for how bad the summer is going to be. That’s never encouraging.
The future looks grim: DreamWorks Animation scored a big hit in the spring with How to Train Your Dragon, but Despicable Me looks like a return to form for them: lots of funny voice actors, nothing really funny going on. Salt has a premise I’ve only seen a few times before (as opposed to one I’ve seen 100) but it has action-Angelina and a lousy title. Dinner for Schmucks looks absolutely dreadful, The Other Guys is the kind of Will Ferrell vehicle that has outlived its usefulness, and I’m already tired of The Expendables’ gimmick: “let’s get every action star in the world in this movie.” And? Oh, and there’s a Step Up coming up. In 3d. Step Up 3D. Yes.
There are some bright spots: I actually think Jon Turtletaub’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice looks mildly amusing, although a bit far from its source material (it is loosely based on the same-named sequence from Fantasia). Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World looks hilarious, as it should be, coming from the man who directed Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. Predators might be decent, even though it is, at heart, an unneeded remake of a classic 80’s action film. And Piranha 3-D is…oh, right.
So, for the most part, the pressure is on for Inception. Here’s what we know: it’s about dreams and dreamscapes, and it involves a spy (DiCaprio) who burrows into people’s dream state in order to find out their secrets and sell them to the highest bidder. And then things get…well, I don’t know. But since the trailer shows gunfights, explosions, and further proof that the DiCaprio character should get hazard pay for looking into people’s sub consciousness, I can only assume things don’t exactly go according to plan. It looks brainy and atmospheric; a big-budget sci-fi film with smarts. I can’t even recall the last time that happened. It has the odds stacked against it: will people “get” it? Will they be in the mood for it? How much capital does “the director of The Dark Knight” really hold anyway? A lot of questions. But I’ll say this. Just as I was writing this, an ad for Inception came on the television, and everything stopped for me, my head snapped up, and I watched it. It’s such a wonderful feeling to be actually excited about something.
I missed that feeling. Maybe I’ll get it more often next year. Till now, Inception will have to suffice. I think it will. I hope it will.
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