'Inception' Ranked Among 'Best Movies of All Time' by Film Fans
Inception was named by Empire magazine as one of the greatest films ever made, with fans arguing that Christopher Nolan's 2010 action spectacle deserves its place within the halls of cinematic history.
Coming just two years after Nolan's genre-defining superhero movie The Dark Knight, Inception was a completely different venture for the British director. Bringing the gritty, mature storytelling of his Batman trilogy to a much more ambitious story of espionage and dreams, Inception saw Nolan working at his most enterprising.
The film quickly received attention for its complex story, which included layers upon layers of different realities for the characters to traverse. The plot follows a thief named Dominic Cobb, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who infiltrates people's dreams to steal information. But when a powerful client offers to scrub his criminal record in exchange for one final job, he finds himself doing the opposite: hacking a target's mind to plant a dangerous idea in the depths of their subconscious.
Inception was an immediate success, with many fans deeming it Nolan's best movie right away. The film made an incredible $839 million at the worldwide box office against a reported budget of $160 million, making it Nolan's second-highest-grossing movie after the huge success of The Dark Knight.
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Nolan reportedly had the idea for Inception much earlier in his career, just after shooting his first major Hollywood production, Insomnia. He supposedly presented the idea to Warner Bros. in 2002, but it was initially shelved due to Nolan's lack of experience in the industry. The huge commercial and critical success of The Dark Knight was the key he needed to finally start working on Inception.
The sci-fi epic was an enormous hit with critics, not just general audiences. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards, ultimately taking home four Oscars: Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects. It was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, but lost both categories to The King's Speech in one of the Academy Awards' most surprising upsets.
Today, Inception is widely considered among Christopher Nolan's best movies, and for some, the best films ever made in general. Its dense, multi-layered narrative and stunning visual effects make it an incredibly captivating viewing experience, and remind audiences exactly why Nolan is considered such a titan of the industry.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 2:40 PM.