INCEPTION bridges the gap now that there are no more James Bond films to be made. (The studio flopped.)
Inception takes tropes from DARK CITY and the MATRIX and dovetails them into JamesBondesque adventure.
The plot doesn't spoon feed you. You have to pay attention.
What I like best is that Christopher Nolan isn't afraid to let the music get big and act as a motor to drive the emotional core of the film to make the stakes personal.
Thank God it wasn't in 3-D!! How did they manage to avoid that???