Despite the glaring synopsis similarities, “Inception” was more like “Ocean's Eleven” than “Paprika” (2006 - recommended). The film has some promise, real world insight wise, and artistically: there are some small sparks of imagination, but they are doused as Christopher Nolan cements the plot into a simple, audience friendly concept.
+ First Thoughts (simulations, memes and strange loops):
It has rigid levels of dreams within dreams: 5 minutes of real world time dilates to an hour in dream, with the same factor applying to a dream within a dream, and so on down. This doesn't ring true: yes, I've dreamt I've woken up, while still asleep, but that is because any known concept can appear in dreams, it does not literally imply the existence of another level of (un)consciousness.
