The genre and canned synopsis that were supposedly intended to 'pitch' for this film do not do it anywhere -near- justice. This movie is a dramatic, psychological, philosophical thrill ride with possibly the only truly INTERESTING plot in 2009. If your mind is capable of grasping the 'big picture' in this flick, then you will FEEL your imagination expanding by the end. It explores the battle of a man's self-respect after his life of decadence reaches a poignant apex of tragedy with the loss of his wife and symbolic loss of his daughter--which ALMOST becomes literal. It VIVIDLY illustrates the twisted Klein Bottle that is a mind at war with itself.

The movie does leave a few things unexplained, however, and furthermore is rather hard to follow; if you can't grasp it, it won't be enjoyable. In most pictures, the flaws in Ink would drop its score immediately to 50% or even 40%... the fact that it simply isn't possible to adequately express the forces at work doesn't help. For most people, it won't be all that great, they'll leave a theater confused and frustrated... There is a lot going on in metaphor here... there is so much more being communicated than the obvious, in this movie, with no exposition -except- requiring the viewer to do the math themselves.

But the problem is, my own broken mind found that this film fit like a GLOVE. Once worked out, what all of the details add up to is exquisitely crafted, and provides a refreshing new interpretation of our own consciousness and what may be going on under the hood in our own brains.

If you dig quantum theory, many-worlds, entanglement, time being nonlinear, and our brains' subconscious utilization of these qualities of the universe... This movie WILL blow you away. Highly recommended for eggheads. I can't not give it a good score, because I enjoyed it THAT much.

A Plot within A Plot within A Plot. Choosing the blank-faced Christian Bale for this was an inspirational insight. Those of you who would call the acting 'robotic' have entirely missed the point: humanity, as depicted here, has been drugged up for so long that they have FORGOTTEN how to feel--a truly chilling concept that was expertly communicated throughout the film.

In my opinion, this is what The Matrix should have been like from the start. The style is fresh and compelling, especially watching the psychological phases that the protagonist must wade through on his way toward re-achieving his humanity. Furthermore, the Gun Kata arts are amazingly implemented for a truly impressive and entertaining display.

This movie kept me eager to find out what would happen next, and kept me very well entertained while I waited. It will be one of my favorites for a very long time.