I just saw this for the second time, and as I expected, I liked the movie more than my first time through (8/10 for the first viewing, 9/10 for the second). I was able to sit back and just enjoy / appreciate it, whereas the first time through, my brain was racing because there was just so much to process.
I think Vader182's excellent post captures my feelings on the movie. It succeeds on a lot of different metrics, and I'm going to give my thoughts on the ones that generally affect my film experiences. I'm dividing them up into emotional and intellectual sections. In any given category, a low score is not necessarily bad - it may just mean that the category isn't really part of the film's ambition. A great film may only score highly in a couple of the categories.
Emotional
Spectacle / Thrill
It's those moments that make you go "whoa", or when the hair stands up on the back of your neck. A film like Memento wouldn't rate well on this scale, since it's not really about that, whereas The Matrix is probably a 10/10.
Score: 8/10
There are some great moments in this film, and I think the hotel fight is Nolan's most accomplished action scene to date. Generally speaking, the action was well shot, and the special effects were seamless, unobtrusive, and sometimes awe inspiring. Nonetheless, a lot of the action feels empty, and sometimes drags on for too long. I think a lack of emotional attachment to most of the characters is why I felt this way. There is no Ripley-Newt type dynamic driving any of the action, so it often feels more clinical.
Beauty
This is for those moments in a film that are strikingly beautiful, and may in extreme cases cause the chills. It's usually some combination of cinematography and score, and to a lesser degree acting and plot context. A personal favorite moment is in Sunshine, when they are in the observation chamber watching Mercury pass in front of the sun.
Score: 8.5/10
I love the way this film looks (credit again to Wally Pfister), and the different palettes for various dream states are great. There are many beautiful shots accompanied by great music from Zimmer, yet, the most beautiful moments in this film just don't provoke the same emotional response that I get from some of my other favorite films.
Mood Alteration
It's for those movies that leave you feeling significantly different from when you went started watching. Very few movies pull this off, and the ones that do are usually among the best films ever made. For me, examples include Requiem for a Dream and Shawshank Redemption.
Score: 3/10
I don't fault the film for this, but it is just not that affecting for me. Certainly, my mind was working busily after watching it the first couple of times, but I can't say I felt much differently. I think a lot of people were hoping for this, and some experience it, but it just isn't there for me.
Humor
This is pretty self explanatory, but laughter is an important emotional response for many films. The most recent theater experience I remember laughing my ass off at was Tropic Thunder.
Score: 3/10
This movie is, for the most part, deadly serious. There are a few good exchanges, and they're well delivered by the cast, but it's more of a chuckle humor than anything else. This is just not what this movie is about.
Fear / Suspense
This is for movies that make you want to look away from the screen, for fear of what might happen to the characters. Most horror and action films attempt to do well in this category. The Descent is a great recent example.
Score: 5/10
I never found myself particularly worried about the fate of any of the characters, save Cobb. As good as the actor performances are, there isn't a lot of characterization that lets you sympathize. Additionally, suspense and fear generally come from those movies that slow things down in some quiet moments - a significant portion of this film is more or less a full on assault of the senses.
Intellectual
Craftsmanship
This is roughly the average quality of the film components (e.g. editing, cinematography, special effects, acting, or writing) evaluated individually. Memento, as I imagine all here would agree, is a film which succeeds greatly on this metric. This metric tends to reflect the quality of the director.
Score: 10/10
What is there to say? This film is brilliantly constructed, shot, and performed. Even if the sum of the parts doesn't provoke as many emotional high notes as I'd like, you have to admire the craftsmanship.
Thematic / Moral
To what degree does the film evoke engaging themes or moral dilemmas? Does it make you think about anything (other than the details of the film itself)? I'm going to throw out a weird one for this category, but A.I. is incredibly rich in this respect, despite being a significantly flawed film.
Score: 7/10
There are some intriguing themes bandied about, including grief, addiction, guilt, and perception, and that is more than can be said for most mainstream movies coming out these days. Morality doesn't play much of a role, which is a bit disappointing, given the rich potential of the film's premise. Still, at its heart, this is a summer blockbuster action / heist movie, and the fact that it has any thematic depth at all is refreshing.
Achievement / Influence
This covers how much of an achievement a film was relative to its era, and its ultimate influence on cinema / moviemaking. The Lord of the Rings films are ones that I would consider major achievements, albeit flawed films. 2001 is both an achievement for its time, and incredibly influential.
Score: 9/10
While it's too early to make any predictions about the ultimate influence of this film, it is clear that it is an amazing achievement. The film's premise is audacious, requires a huge suspension of disbelief, and it trusts its audience to keep up with a complex, fast moving plot. Most films with this level of ambition are severely flawed. That is not the case here.
Enworlding Moments
Sorry for the weird category name, but this is a special category that covers all those moments in the film that make you aware you are watching a movie. This is almost always a bad thing, and it is usually caused by bad moments in the film, whether it is terrible acting, dialogue, or plot elements. This is pretty much the catch-all category for all of the movie's flawed moments. High score means fewer flaws.
Score: 8.5/10
This is a great film, but there are still moments that are "enworlding". The score, while overall is fantastic, can be very loud both literally and figuratively, at times seems to scream to you, "YOU ARE WATCHING AN EPIC ACTION SEQUENCE!" In addition, some of the action scenes are slightly bloated, to the point that I become distracted. And as noted by many reviewers, the exposition can be a bit much, and the dialogue occasionally drifts into Star Trek technobabble levels. On the plus side, the acting was superb, and never took me out of the movie.
Overall
Score: 9/10
There is a lot to love and appreciate about this film. Still, It's a movie that, in the long run, I will probably admire more than enjoy. The breakdown of exposition / action / drama is probably about 25 / 40 / 35, and for that type of weight on action, I generally need to find it more thrilling and emotionally engaging for continued repeat viewings. This is a film with few low notes, but not as many high ones as some of my all time favorites. That said, this is a supremely well made film, and given its ambition, is a major achievement. I hope we see more films like this one.
Side note: I saw the film for the second time at an AMC ETX (enhanced theatre experience) showing, and WOW, the image quality (and to a lesser degree, sound), were amazing. I thought it was a marketing ploy to sell more expensive tickets, but since I had free passes, I figured we might as well try it. Having seen the movie twice in 2 days, I can tell you that this system made a BIG difference in the quality of the image. Frankly, it was the best quality image I have ever seen in a theater. I highly recommend ETX if you have one in your area.
I think Vader182's excellent post captures my feelings on the movie. It succeeds on a lot of different metrics, and I'm going to give my thoughts on the ones that generally affect my film experiences. I'm dividing them up into emotional and intellectual sections. In any given category, a low score is not necessarily bad - it may just mean that the category isn't really part of the film's ambition. A great film may only score highly in a couple of the categories.
Emotional
Spectacle / Thrill
It's those moments that make you go "whoa", or when the hair stands up on the back of your neck. A film like Memento wouldn't rate well on this scale, since it's not really about that, whereas The Matrix is probably a 10/10.
Score: 8/10
There are some great moments in this film, and I think the hotel fight is Nolan's most accomplished action scene to date. Generally speaking, the action was well shot, and the special effects were seamless, unobtrusive, and sometimes awe inspiring. Nonetheless, a lot of the action feels empty, and sometimes drags on for too long. I think a lack of emotional attachment to most of the characters is why I felt this way. There is no Ripley-Newt type dynamic driving any of the action, so it often feels more clinical.
Beauty
This is for those moments in a film that are strikingly beautiful, and may in extreme cases cause the chills. It's usually some combination of cinematography and score, and to a lesser degree acting and plot context. A personal favorite moment is in Sunshine, when they are in the observation chamber watching Mercury pass in front of the sun.
Score: 8.5/10
I love the way this film looks (credit again to Wally Pfister), and the different palettes for various dream states are great. There are many beautiful shots accompanied by great music from Zimmer, yet, the most beautiful moments in this film just don't provoke the same emotional response that I get from some of my other favorite films.
Mood Alteration
It's for those movies that leave you feeling significantly different from when you went started watching. Very few movies pull this off, and the ones that do are usually among the best films ever made. For me, examples include Requiem for a Dream and Shawshank Redemption.
Score: 3/10
I don't fault the film for this, but it is just not that affecting for me. Certainly, my mind was working busily after watching it the first couple of times, but I can't say I felt much differently. I think a lot of people were hoping for this, and some experience it, but it just isn't there for me.
Humor
This is pretty self explanatory, but laughter is an important emotional response for many films. The most recent theater experience I remember laughing my ass off at was Tropic Thunder.
Score: 3/10
This movie is, for the most part, deadly serious. There are a few good exchanges, and they're well delivered by the cast, but it's more of a chuckle humor than anything else. This is just not what this movie is about.
Fear / Suspense
This is for movies that make you want to look away from the screen, for fear of what might happen to the characters. Most horror and action films attempt to do well in this category. The Descent is a great recent example.
Score: 5/10
I never found myself particularly worried about the fate of any of the characters, save Cobb. As good as the actor performances are, there isn't a lot of characterization that lets you sympathize. Additionally, suspense and fear generally come from those movies that slow things down in some quiet moments - a significant portion of this film is more or less a full on assault of the senses.
Intellectual
Craftsmanship
This is roughly the average quality of the film components (e.g. editing, cinematography, special effects, acting, or writing) evaluated individually. Memento, as I imagine all here would agree, is a film which succeeds greatly on this metric. This metric tends to reflect the quality of the director.
Score: 10/10
What is there to say? This film is brilliantly constructed, shot, and performed. Even if the sum of the parts doesn't provoke as many emotional high notes as I'd like, you have to admire the craftsmanship.
Thematic / Moral
To what degree does the film evoke engaging themes or moral dilemmas? Does it make you think about anything (other than the details of the film itself)? I'm going to throw out a weird one for this category, but A.I. is incredibly rich in this respect, despite being a significantly flawed film.
Score: 7/10
There are some intriguing themes bandied about, including grief, addiction, guilt, and perception, and that is more than can be said for most mainstream movies coming out these days. Morality doesn't play much of a role, which is a bit disappointing, given the rich potential of the film's premise. Still, at its heart, this is a summer blockbuster action / heist movie, and the fact that it has any thematic depth at all is refreshing.
Achievement / Influence
This covers how much of an achievement a film was relative to its era, and its ultimate influence on cinema / moviemaking. The Lord of the Rings films are ones that I would consider major achievements, albeit flawed films. 2001 is both an achievement for its time, and incredibly influential.
Score: 9/10
While it's too early to make any predictions about the ultimate influence of this film, it is clear that it is an amazing achievement. The film's premise is audacious, requires a huge suspension of disbelief, and it trusts its audience to keep up with a complex, fast moving plot. Most films with this level of ambition are severely flawed. That is not the case here.
Enworlding Moments
Sorry for the weird category name, but this is a special category that covers all those moments in the film that make you aware you are watching a movie. This is almost always a bad thing, and it is usually caused by bad moments in the film, whether it is terrible acting, dialogue, or plot elements. This is pretty much the catch-all category for all of the movie's flawed moments. High score means fewer flaws.
Score: 8.5/10
This is a great film, but there are still moments that are "enworlding". The score, while overall is fantastic, can be very loud both literally and figuratively, at times seems to scream to you, "YOU ARE WATCHING AN EPIC ACTION SEQUENCE!" In addition, some of the action scenes are slightly bloated, to the point that I become distracted. And as noted by many reviewers, the exposition can be a bit much, and the dialogue occasionally drifts into Star Trek technobabble levels. On the plus side, the acting was superb, and never took me out of the movie.
Overall
Score: 9/10
There is a lot to love and appreciate about this film. Still, It's a movie that, in the long run, I will probably admire more than enjoy. The breakdown of exposition / action / drama is probably about 25 / 40 / 35, and for that type of weight on action, I generally need to find it more thrilling and emotionally engaging for continued repeat viewings. This is a film with few low notes, but not as many high ones as some of my all time favorites. That said, this is a supremely well made film, and given its ambition, is a major achievement. I hope we see more films like this one.
Side note: I saw the film for the second time at an AMC ETX (enhanced theatre experience) showing, and WOW, the image quality (and to a lesser degree, sound), were amazing. I thought it was a marketing ploy to sell more expensive tickets, but since I had free passes, I figured we might as well try it. Having seen the movie twice in 2 days, I can tell you that this system made a BIG difference in the quality of the image. Frankly, it was the best quality image I have ever seen in a theater. I highly recommend ETX if you have one in your area.
