Written by Chris Snelgrove | Published
After the success of films such as OppenheimerIt’s fair to declare that Christopher Nolan is one of the greatest and most ambitious directors of this generation. His oeuvre is so broad and covers so many genres, in fact, that Nolan fans often hotly debate what his best work is. If you’re a science fiction fan, no doubt about it beginning It’s the director’s masterpiece, and you can now stream it in stunning perfection on Netflix.
The beginning on Netflix
If you are watching beginning For the first time on Netflix, you might want a primer on the plot: Basically, we follow the adventures of a group that specializes in hacking into the dreams of corporate titans and extracting important trade secrets from their subconscious. The leader of the group is hired to do something largely thought impossible: plant an idea in someone’s head rather than simply steal information. Despite careful planning, the operation soon goes sideways, leaving our heroes fighting for their lives in a reality where the rules are constantly changing, threatening to turn an unconscious dreamscape into a deadly nightmare.
beginning It’s likely to appeal to Netflix viewers thanks to its amazing cast, starting with Leonardo DiCaprio as a dream thief who is hired to plant an idea into the subconscious of a target played by Cillian Murphy. Ken Watanabe plays the businessman who hires him, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the accomplice who helps plan the heist. There are other big names rounding out DiCaprio’s team, including Elliot Page and Tom Hardy, and our main character is haunted in a dream sequence by an ex-wife played to perfection by Marion Cotillard.
Science fiction success
With a budget of $160 million beginning Better than most sci-fi originals on Netflix, and you can definitely see the money on screen thanks to the larger-than-life images and trippy visuals used to bring the subconscious to life. Fortunately for Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros., this big-budget gamble paid off in an equally big way. The film grossed a respectable $839 million at the box office, cementing its place in Hollywood history even as it became the source of endless funny memes.
Another way to do it beginning What sets it apart from the typical Netflix sci-fi shows is that it has won several prestigious awards. Notably, the film won four Academy Awards, including the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and Best Cinematography (to this day, this is probably the most beautiful movie you’ll see all year). Although it did not receive these specific awards, the film was nominated for other Oscars such as Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, which gives you an idea of how much this film loved critics and audiences as well.
Speaking of impressing critics, beginning It sets itself apart from other sci-fi movies on Netflix in how well it appeals to individual critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a critical score of 87 percent, with critics generally praising how Inception is both a clever puzzle box of a film as well as a hugely crowd-pleasing action epic. Meanwhile, on the site’s Pocornmeter, the audience gave it a score of 91 percent, which certainly confirms how well Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece has managed to amaze everyone who has seen it.
Would you be similarly impressed? beginning When you stream it on Netflix, or is this sci-fi movie more your nightmares than your dreams? You won’t know until you press play and stream it yourself. And if you end up mixing fact and fiction while watching, just take a look at Cotillard. The fact that DiCaprio’s major love interest in the movie was 35 at the time (a full decade older than DiCaprio’s real-life romantic partners) is a sure sign that you’re still stuck in the real world (for better or worse).