So I saw it a third time this morning. My 8.7 score is pretty firm and I think will stand as such. For what he executed, I see a plenty flawless attempt at it. I think the silent approach lacks the ambition of what could make this a true masterpiece, though. It doesn't have to give character backstories, but a little more character and plot development would have been nice. I still like what he gave us, though.
That all being said, I really tried to play this in my head if it was played in chronological order, and I'm now just laughing at critics that think it would have worked that way. The pacing would have been wretched. Nolan couldn't have taken the film that he made and put it chronologically. If somebody creates an edited version that is chronological (hey, maybe I will someday just for the hell of it), it won't play well. It just won't.
The only way it would play well is if you cut out 80% of the AIR narrative, 50% of the SEA narrative, and add many more MOLE scenes that build character development. You can even keep the 107 minutes time length doing that. As it is though, Nolan nailed it. I really hope I can send a personal e-mail with a chronological version to every critic that complained about it, and see if they like that version of the film more. If they are true film critics, they'll realize why Nolan did it the way that he did.
