I'll be the first one to admit that INCEPTION is the kind of thinking man's thriller that has something going on every second of its two-hour and 28 minute running time. But only director Chris Nolan knows what it's all about and I don't believe I'll find out all the explanations until I get the DVD commentary.

It's a heady mixture of sci-fi, comic book stuff and fantasy and all of it is focused on the mastery of dream invasion in order to gather secrets held in the human mind. Foremost among the players is LEONARDO DiCAPRIO, playing his role in a very authoritative manner with no shortage of barking orders and furrowed brow, all highly intense, as he gathers a team around him to investigate the dreamscape.

There's plenty of action along the way, interspersed with quieter moments of explanatory dialog so the audience has at least some semblance of what's going on. But the whole concept of the story lacks the kind of credibility that would have made the film more engaging than it really is.

Credit the actors with doing their best despite the fact that none of them have roles that are fully fleshed out. And this includes Joseph GORDON-LEVITT, ELLEN PAGE, TOM HARDY, CILLIAN MURPHY, KEN WATANABE and TOM BERENGER.

If you're a MATRIX fan, you'll love this one. If not, you may wonder what all the fuss was about.

Frankly, I had more fun exploring dream invasion in NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, less intellectual but a lot more fun.