How does one follow up ‘The Dark Knight’? That was Christopher Nolan’s question following the success of the 2008 smash hit. Over $1billion in box office receipts, two Oscars and tragic infamy due to the death of Heath Ledger, who defined his all-too-short career with an amazing performance as The Joker. Now the director who can seem to do no wrong brings a hugely ambitious new film, ‘Inception.’

Based on an original idea by Nolan (something of a rarity in these days of remakes and book adaptations), the story is set in a world where dreams can be infiltrated by other people, with the purpose of stealing ideas. The best at this is Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), a man in exile from the US after being suspected of the murder of his wife (Marion Cotillard). He is offered a way back when a businessman (Ken Watanabe) hires him to perform an ‘inception’- to actually plant an idea in an energy company heir’s head (Cillian Murphy). The concept has never been tried, and considered impossible, but with the help of his team that includes new recruit and dream ‘architect’ Ariadne (Ellen Page), he risks everything- including his sanity- to get home.

Prepare yourself for a wave of superlatives- amazing, intricate, engrossing, often astounding… all these things can be said about this movie, but what makes ‘Inception’ such brilliant work is Nolan’s devotion to story. Yes, the ‘trailer’ moments (e.g. the street ‘folding’ upwards) are breath taking, but he gets a lot of the ‘ooh! Aaah!’ moment over with in the first hour, and what develops is a cross between ‘Mission: Impossible’ and ‘The Matrix’ with a bit of Kubrick thrown in. The director famously commented that his movies ‘don’t do magic’, and so the science, albeit fictional, is very easy to grasp, although there is an awful lot going on.

Any movie fan’s jaw would have dropped when they saw the cast list- this is studio filmmaking with an independent sensibility, and a lot of great actors get to share this big stage. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who plays the researcher and Cobb’s second in command, is as great as always, while Page provides the moral centre of the film, allowing you to look through her newcomer’s eyes at the world Nolan creates. Other standouts are Tom Hardy as the cavalier ‘Forger’ and Marion Cotillard, who along with DiCaprio brings the heart to the story. As for the former Titanic passenger himself, it’s the usual intensity he brings to every performance, firmly consolidating his transition from teen idol to bona fide actor. How he hasn’t won an Oscar yet is anyone’s guess.

It may leave you with a headache after following everything that’s going on, but it’s a small price to pay for certainly the best film of the summer, and a hot contender for film of the year. He may have put a third ‘Batman’ movie on ice, but if Nolan keeps making movies like this it will make the wait seem a whole lot easier.

Inception is released on July 16.