I watched it for the first time last night. Its certainly a challenging film. Think of it as the most expensive experimental film ever. Everybody else making big budget films with studio money these days essentially have no other choice but be conservative. For better or worse, Nolan had no such restriction. Personally, I can't fault any artist for swinging for the fences and taking big risks. That's what Nolan does here. I think the end result comes up short. The criticisms of the film are not without merit... but at the same time I suspect it will grow on me (and others) with time. Had this been a low budget indie film made by an unknown director it would be the kind of slightly undercooked, but ambitious movie that launches their career. But for Nolan, a director in his prime, with no limits and nobody telling him "don't do that," its a different situation. So in the end I'm kind torn. I'm still thinking about the film, so that has to be a good thing, right? But at same time I was confused and left unsatisfied while actually watching it.