Summer is a time when mediocre, action-packed blockbusters, so worn out that plot lines and characters get to feeling repetitive and drab, fill the screen. However, Christopher Nolan’s latest film, “Inception,” promises and delivers a summer thriller that will both entertain you and have you thinking like it’s fall quarter finals.

The key to the uncontested success of “Inception” is the utter depth of the film. It starts with an all-star lineup including Leonardo DiCaprio (“Shutter Island”), Ellen Page (“Juno”), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“(500) Days of Summer”), Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”) and Cillian Murphy (“Batman Begins”), who more than do their part living up to their previously acquired acclaim. Then add in great action sequences where the audience is on the edge of its seat, praying for the lives of brilliant characters that make you smirk from the minute they walk on screen. Finally, sprinkle on a good, complicated love story to satisfy all the romantics in the audience and you have a killer film. What really makes “Inception” stand out, though, is its ability to go beyond great plot, characters and cast. This film will literally blow you mind and change the way you think about your life.

Without giving away too much of the plot, I will say that “Inception” is one of those defining movies that deals with theories of perception, dreams, and the mind in such a way that everybody walking out of the theater is secretly asking themselves if they really exist. Much like “Vanilla Sky” or “The Matrix,” “Inception” uses science fiction to make the audience think deeply about living in the “real world” and what morality really means. It even ends with one of those great ambiguities where everyone has their own little interpretation of what happens. I would even suggest looking at back-to-back showings so you can see it twice in a row.

So what makes “Inception” stand out from the other great, similarly themed movies that have come before it? Well first of all, unlike “The Matrix,” the romantic aspect of “Inception” adds to, rather than weighs down, the rest of the movie. The pacing is also well done. There’s enough intrigue to keep you riveted yet not so much mystery that you get frustrated, or confused…or need a sequel. Even though it runs 142 minutes, the movie does not feel long at all. There is not a dull moment of dialogue in the film.

So if you haven’t seen “Inception,” get on it fast. You’re better off getting the most out of the film knowing nothing about the plot going into it. And considering the fact that you’re going to want to see it a second or third time anyway, there is no point in wanting to know anything beforehand in order to “understand what’s going on.” Most of all, all your friends will be talking about this movie all summer and you’re not going to be part of the conversation until September or until you go see it for yourself. So put down this paper, take a breath and go get incepted.