Sign In Now ► or Create A New Account ►
8 comments
36 comments
Rank This Matchup or Comment/Reply Below
on 7/17/2010
still debating on this one, for now, shutter island. at least until i see inception a few more times
on 7/20/2010
Inception is the best movie i've seen so far this year.
on 7/25/2010
Inception, maybe the best movie this year
on 8/5/2010
Shutter Island was good with a great performance by DiCaprio but Inception...damn it was good.
on 8/12/2010
saw inception a few more times and now it takes over.
on 8/13/2010
I'm gonna have to go with Shutter Island. Inception was good, but I have no intention of seeing it again any time soon. I've still got a few questions about Shutter Island that only a second viewing can address.
on 8/14/2010
My least favorite part of Inception was Shutter Island. I really enjoyed Inception and Shutter Island just annoyed me. If I hadn't scene it, I couldn't have watched Inception more purely without thinking that Leo was going to look in the mirror and say, "Put yourself together, Teddy!"
on 9/19/2010
In terms of DiCaprio's performances, "Shutter Island" wins; but I loved "Inception" more. It's close though--these are both excellent thrillers. Good year for DiCaprio.
on 10/29/2010
Finally, the match-up I've been waiting for! And now that's it's here, staring me in the face, I can't think of anything profound to say. I hated Inception. Hated it. I'm no stranger to feeling in the minority with my opinion on movies but the love for Inception boggles my mind. I usually fall all over anything Leonardo DiCaprio is in, he's one of my favorite actors. But I didn't care about his character in Inception (or any of the others for that matter). It was mind-numbingly boring, and not complicated or deep at all like everyone claims. I will give it another chance eventually and if I change my mind I'll be the first one up here calling myself an idiot. But as of now... a million times NO. Shutter Island is the best movie of 2010, in my opinion. I usually don't bother reading the book once I've seen the movie but with Shutter Island I loved it so much I immediately went out and read the book and now both movie and book are amongst my favorites.
Shutter Island was solid, but it doesn't sniff Inception. Inception was amazing...
Shutter Island was a very good film but Inception was even better.
on 12/12/2010
Both get bogged down in explaining what's going on. In terms of performances, I think Shutter Island wins. But overall enjoyment, until I see them both again I'll have to go with Inception.
on 12/14/2010
Generally, I prefer silly over-serious suspense movies to silly mindless action blockbusters, but this is an exception.
on 2/12/2011
Shutter Island is the better film.
on 2/26/2011
After my first viewing of Inception, I'd have said that, because the premise/concept of the film is just so damn cool. But after repeat viewings of both films, I'm definitely picking Shutter Island. Like some of you have said, Leo's performance/character was better in that film and perhaps most importantly, it touched me on a personal level. Inception was an awesome spectacle, but Shutter Island actually makes me, you know, feel emotions, which I value greatly in movies. In Inception, I felt like Nolan just threw in the "emotional core" of the film so that he'd have a narrative reason to show off all the cool dream sequences. Shutter Island's got more substance.
I'll do a point-by-point comparison. First, since these are films from Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan, two of the best directors going today, that we're talking about, let us look at the look of them. In the case of Shutter Island, I cannot deny that it looks good. Not great, but good. Inception, on the other hand, does look great. It is shot well and Nolan did a wonderful job constructing, and deconstructing, the dreams in the film. And he did an especially good job with the film's many action scenes, most notably the zero-gravity fight scene. Second, let us look at the acting. Though Inception gets a lot of flack for the actors not giving their characters much personality, at least its performances do not come off as fake and grating like the ones in Shutter Island. Not even the usually dependable Leonardo DiCaprio managed to turn in a good performance; his accent was downright laughable. Lastly, let us look at the level of ambiguity and mystery in each. In Inception, Nolan purposefully left the ending ambiguous, and it works. You could make an argument either way. In Shutter Island, however, Scorsese attempts to leave the ending ambiguous, to make the viewer wonder about whether Andrew really is sane or not, but it seems pretty clear that he is not. And, honestly, I don’t much care whether or not he is. By that point, I had completely lost interest in the film. When a movie is rooted in mystery and yet I figure it all out less than a fourth of the way through it, something is wrong. Inception might not have been as big a mindfuck as it was made out to be, but at least it was dense enough that you had to at least pay attention to understand everything. With Shutter Island, even if you’re only paying half-attention, you’ll figure out what’s going on long before it’s revealed. So, yeah. That’s what I think, at least. And do I really need to tell you what I’m choosing here? I would think it’d be obvious by now.
on 2/27/2011
I think you need to rewatch Shutter Island... if you thought it was easy to figure out yet somehow also thought "it was pretty clear Andrew was not sane." You didn't get the ending.
SnakeEyes, it really depends on how you interpret the ending, as there is no definitive explanation, at least not in the film. You could find evidence to back up any number of interpretations.
Strangely, an easy choice for me. I really enjoyed Shutter Island, but Inception actually bored me. Especially the ending arctic battle scene. I was just impatiently waiting for the end at that point.
on 2/28/2011
Both this films have oh so clever, clever endings that are left for the viewer to interpret. Both have Leo. Pity they forgot to include any form of emotional weight, which they both should given what's going on in them. DiCaprio is vastly over-rated as an actor. I do no believe he can convery the inner life of any character he plays. He leaves me cold. Both these films rely on a hell of a lot of exposition. This is the wrong way to do it. If you want a clever film, with emotions and an ending that has multiple interpretation see The Innocents. That has the benefit of being scary as well. Of these two, I pick Inception because it was at least vaguely thrilling. Shutter Island was not good. Not good at all.
Charyou_Tree - Could you explain how you arrived at your conclusion, because to me (and everyone else I've heard/read/talked to), the ending was pretty clear and totally not what you got out of it.
SnakeEyes: I think I might have worded myself poorly, leading to a misunderstanding of sorts. At the end of the film, one can make two arguments. Don't know why I said "any number of interpretations" in my second comment. One argument is that he is sane from the start. The other is that he starts off insane, but is reformed at the end. I argue the latter, but won't deny that the former is without any merit. The movie as a whole leaves enough ambiguity to allow viewers to make a case for either.
Hm, okay. So if you agree that he begins "insane" as Teddy and ends the film as Andrew (aka "sane"), but pretending to be Teddy as to receive the lobotomy, then we're in agreement!
on 3/7/2011
in terms of acting, shutter island wins.but overall, inception wins. inception kept me interested the whole time and was a more exiciting movie. having read shutter island before seeing it, i felt that martin did a great job handling the movie. Both are great movies of 2010 but inception is an outstanding movie
on 6/11/2011
I just saw Shutter Island and really enjoyed it. And yes, the ending was straight forward. There really wasn't any doubt in my mind of what happened. @SnakeEyes has it right and everyone who agrees with him. However, it was no Inception. Which I continue watching over and over.
on 1/21/2012
Inception suffers severe damage on repeated viewings.Shutter Island holds up better.
on 7/8/2012
Shutter Island is proof that Scorsese still has that golden touch.
on 9/5/2012
Inception was innovative but gimmicky. Shutter Island was gimmicky but perfection. My vote goes to SHUTTER ISLAND.
on 12/11/2012
Inception by far.
on 12/19/2012
Awesome double feature? Also, Leo is in a dream within a dream in Shutter Island. What a coincidence. Anyway, Shutter Island might just be my favorite Scorsese film. I hear every Scorsese fan gasping, I know, but I'm just not a big Scorsese fan. I think his movies are fine, they're just too long. I have trouble finishing them. Seriously, I have tried to watch Goodfellas for about 4 times now, and it's great, but there's so much stuff to process it becomes tiring. I digress. Shutter Island's main problem is its ending; it is too predictable. However, that doesn't ruin the rest of the movie for me. The acting is great, the atmosphere is great, and the mystery aspect is still fantastic after you've seen the ending. They're both great, but I have to go with Inception. Mindblowing entertainment.
on 12/20/2012
I love them both, but Inception is my #1.
on 1/21/2013
After Titanic, I vowed to not watch Leo anymore. These two movies showed me how wrong I was.
on 1/30/2013
inception
on 4/18/2013
Basically exactly what TheEgant said. Shutter Island was good, but not on the level of Inception.
on 7/9/2013
I'm probably in the minority, Shutter Island is the winner for me. Leo is a god at acting.
on 9/21/2013
Two terrific Leonardo DiCaprio films from 2010. Inception got all the acclaim, but Scorsese's Shutter Island is tremendous and the better film. DiCaprio's performance is Shutter Island is much stronger and it leaves us with one of the greatest questions ever in a movie with it's final scene.
on 1/30/2014
Inception. Shutter Island is very good, though I wouldn't call it one of Scorsese's most underrated movies.
on 1/31/2014
I can't believe this matchup has escaped me. Good comparison. Two fine psychological thrillers, but in the end Inception is a notch or two better than Shutter Island.
on 2/1/2014
Shutter Island is severely underrated, but Inception is just the better movie.
on 6/7/2014
Both are some of the best of 2010 Shutter Island is underrated very good film liked it a lot but Inception might be the best film of the decade and my 8th favorite ever!
on 11/23/2014
Both are great movies but Inception is one of the best movies ever made in my opinion!
on 9/23/2015
Fantastic matchup here. I'll take Inception but it's close.
on 7/21/2016
I prefer shutter island.
on 12/30/2016
Shutter Island
on 3/4/2019
Two terrific 2010 movies starring Leo. One is an amazing idea and the other is a very thought provoking experience. It's difficult to decide but I'm still going to pick the most obvious one- Inception.
on 3/12/2019
These are two of my favorite mind-bending films, both released in the same year, and both starring the same lead actor, though that is where the similarities end. One is based on a novel involving a U.S. Marshal investigating a missing patient from a psychiatric facility while the other is based on a professional thief infiltrating people's subconscious to steal information. Both have well developed plotlines of layered complexity with twists and turns that will stay with you long after you've finished watching. Where Shutter Island is more realistic in terms of storytelling, Inception is more free to explore the confines of imagination, ultimately making for a more surreal, chimerical experience. While I prefer Inception over Shutter Island, the raw, plausibility of Shutter Island is likely to leave a more visceral residual overall.
on 8/30/2020
Inception but it's close. Shutter Island is very underrated and pretty good.
on 8/10/2021
shutter Island is a underrated masterpiece and inception is good but a little overrated imo
on 11/19/2021
I think about Shutter Island more
on 1/13/2022
Both are equally mind-blowing in my eyes. I'm more of a neo-noir fan so it's Shutter Island.
