I love when the perception of reality is subject to frequent change, and that is what “Inception” is all about.

You see, one of my favorite movies was “Fight Club;” the way it plays out, I can re-watch it over and over. “Inception” has everything I want to keep me interested when I want something to contemplate, as well as enough action to simply be a background film while doing other things.

I’ll start with the action; there’s a lot of it. This is no big surprise, as “Inception” is essentially a movie about assembling a team of thieves to pull off a heist. The leader of the team has his own personal issues that are causing problems for the team, and so, things don’t go as planned.

In every movie with crime of this sort, you get hand-to-hand fighting, explosions, gun play, chase scenes and injuries. “Inception” has the perfect out to blend those qualities together with multiple plots that actually have substance. That’s right, this is an even balance of action and drama. If only other films were able to pull this off. But then, other films don’t get to delve into dreamscape.

Dreams have long been the intrigue for many, and “Inception” capitalizes on the core question of dreaming: How real are they?

This topic isn’t dragged out and analyzed, and the characters don’t come to startling revelations explained away to fill space. No, what some of the characters get to realize is the deeper understanding of what constitutes reality for you; how much your subconscious defines you.

I also have to applaud the introduction of a technology — the one that allows interaction into another person’s dreams — without a drawn-out explanation of how the technology came to be. Usually the lack of explanation is something that damages a movie. This time, it is introduced so simply, it holds its own without telling the audience how this technology works or how it was developed. Much like the foggy introduction of a dream, the technology’s beginning is essentially irrelevant because the story plows ahead comfortably enough to keep the audience from becoming bored at any point.

On to the acting. Oh, the acting. I can’t honestly say whether the acting in this was great, or just average. You see, I am a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy and, of course, Michael Caine. I know, I know, I shouldn’t play favorites, but all of those actors constantly entertain me. Basically I would have to say they do a fine job the whole way through — not Oscar level, but better than most actors you see.

Next up are the obvious comparisons to “The Matrix.” Both movies crisscross the consciousness of society only to discover the line between these two things is not readily fixed. The fight scenes and gun play pretty much only exist in worlds where reality has little stability, and “Inception” has less kung fu, but wins in my book because Keanu Reeves isn’t playing the lead.

There are flaws to this marvelous movie. The story is a little rushed; I say this with the full understanding it is 148 minutes in length. Much like the extended “Lord of the Rings,” this movie would likely play far better with an extended version adding another hour — I think this would make a fairly good TV series for at least two seasons.

Sometimes the action is a little too perfect. The bodyguards in dreamscape seem to be about on par, aim-wise, to storm troopers; I could have done with a little more injury to the main characters and a little less perfection in aim.

The backstory of DiCaprio’s character needed a little bit more. The story could have cut a little bit off of his problems dealing with the loss of his wife and inability to visit his children, and dipped into just a little bit more of how he came to be this masterful manipulator of the mind; not a lot of time, just a little more.

My biggest compliment to the movie, lies with the subject of what is more real: the life you live, or the life you experience; which matters more in the end?

This topic is an age-old one, but it hasn’t lost any of its significance. “Inception” takes this topic and builds a dramatic experience around it, then mixes the wild and crazy possibilities of dreaming in. Christopher Nolan wrote and directed, and his creativity shines. I didn’t think he was going to top his writing for “The Dark Knight,” but he did — though Heath Ledger’s Joker will almost always trump any character Nolan attempts to write.

All in all, I’d say “Inception” is the best all-around film I’ve seen this year. It is a must see in theaters, and worth every penny.