Netflix is about to lose an utterly gripping, mind-bending heist thriller movie.
If you haven't yet had the chance to revisit "Inception" (or you've never seen it before), you must watch it ASAP before it disappears.
Even though it only came to the streaming service in January, Christopher Nolan's 2010 thrill ride is already leaving the service at the end of the month, meaning your last day to stream "Inception" on Netflix is Friday, Feb. 28, 2025.
Sure, it's likely to pop up on another top streamer sometime soon, but with "Inception" surely being up there as one of the very best sci-fi thrillers of the modern era, now's as good a time as any to experience it all over again.
What is 'Inception' about?
"Inception" revolves around Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), a top theif who uses dream-sharing technology to carry out corporate espionage via "Extraction" — entering a target's mind during the dream state in order to steal information. It's a desirable skill, but it's also made Cobb a wanted man.
One day, he's tasked with taking this skill one step further: instead of stealing information, he's recruited to carry out this mission in reverse, breaking into a high-value subconscious mind and planting an idea where it wasn't before... AKA, "Inception".
It's a job that could stand to win Cobb his life back, but this seemingly impossible gig's made harder as he and his crack team face a dangerous enemy who seems able to anticipate their every move.
In addition to DiCaprio, "Inception" also stars Joseph Gordon Levitt, Elliot Page, Ken Watanabe, Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao, Marion Cotillard, and Cillian Murphy, among others.
You need to stream 'Inception' on Netflix now
The fact is, "Inception" is unlikely to need an introduction to plenty films fans. Unless you were living under a rock in 2010, you will no doubt have been looped in with all the buzz.
"Inception" rightly impressed moviegoers; its narrative ambiguities, its incredible stunt, and set pieces — that corridor scene is still an all-timer, in my eyes. It's a wild, ambitious, and utterly thrilling ride to take the first time around, and, having revisited it myself not long back, it still lives up to that high praise.
It's not just me who loves "Inception", though; countless critics have sun "Inception's" praises over the years, as you can see from the movie's 87% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Back in 2010, it landed a perfect 4/4 rating from Ebert himself (accessed via RogerEbert.com), with the critic labeling it both "a breathtaking juggling act" and " wholly original, cut from new cloth, and yet structured with action movie basics so it feels like it makes more sense than (quite possibly) it does."
The Guardian's Xan Brooks gave "Inception" a 4-star rating, who called it "an electrifying trip" at the time, adding: "Inception marks a return to the audacious concepts and narrative trickery of his 2000 breakthrough, Memento. It is that rarest of beasts: a slippery, cerebral summer blockbuster that slaloms from illusion to reality and back again and leaves its viewer bewitched, bothered, and bewildered."
And reviewing for Empire, Nev Pierce was similarly effusive. They offered it a 5-star rating, writing: "To paraphrase "Casino Royale’s" Vesper Lynd, it’s a meaningful pursuit in a summer of disposable entertainments. With physics-defying, thunderous action, heart-wringing emotion and an astonishing performance from DiCaprio, Nolan delivers another true original: welcome to an undiscovered country."
Reading this after Feb. 28? Or maybe you've already streamed "Inception", and are on the hunt for a new watch? Check out our recent round-up of the best sci-fi thrillers to stream right now, or our overall guide to the best movies on Netflix for more streaming recommendations.
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