1. Story comes first, everything else; effects, stunts, performance, soundtrack, costume and set design is all there in support of the narrative.
2. The folding city effect. It is breathtaking and shows scale without using big space ships or oversized monsters.
3. It doesn’t treat the audience like it is stupid. If George Lucas dumbed down cinema with his Summer blockbusters then Christopher Nolan is smartening it up.
4. The soundtrack and I don’t just mean the songs or the music although that Edith Piaf song is used very powerfully.
5. The enemy is real and feasible despite actually being a figment of someone’s imagination.
6. It needs to be discussed. You can’t enjoy it properly until you have shared a conversation about it.
7. It really leaves you wanting more at the end but it will never give it to you. I can’t think of another film that needs a sequel less than this one.
8. It is awe inspiring, funny and heartbreaking at different points.
9. There is no compromise, everything about it is great. It isn’t a case of ‘this wasn’t great but this other thing makes up for it’.
10. It is totally suited to the medium of film. It is an original idea and a novel version could not add a single thing of any value.