Inception

[fish7718]

Fish!

 

 

Cobb and Mal were in limbo, when they built their life together because they went too deep and got stuck. Didn't Cobb say something to the effect that his wife started going crazy, wanting to leave, couldn't deal with it... something along those lines? So he tricked her into thinking that her life there was real and everything else was fake, so that she could deal with it and remain sane? He didn't know it would follow her to the real world when they woke up or that it would consume her completely, I think he just felt it was something temporary for that level of dream to keep her from going completely nutso... Just didn't think out the consequences . Just my take on things.

 

 

Yeah he said she couldn't handle it and was going crazy so what he did was the first ever inception which was the planting of an idea in the mind, his idea was that her top was spinning in the real world forever so the real world must be fake. That is how he knew that the inception on the other guy was possible, if you got deep enough.

 

[EastCoastNiner]

I'm surprised everyone here likes it as much as you guys are saying. I thought it pretty much sucked balls. I understood it fully at the end, but it was just not that exciting.

[KurbyFX]

That's cause you're a LOSER ECN.

[Flight]

hahaha

 

 

and yeah i spaced the limbo part, my bad. but the shutter island thing I disagree with fish. He says it like a question, but tell me the last scene is all him acting. idk, that's the beauty of having the viewer decide for themselves but I definitely think he is.

[Jammin]

Not cool man. I haven't seen Shutter Island yet. You just ruined it for me didn't you? : (

 

This movie was great though. Reminded me of one of Nolan's earlier movies, Memento.

No, there is no solid evidence in the movie that says Leo is crazy in the end. It's completely up to personal interpretation go watch it, it's an amazing movie.

[fish7718]

hahaha

 

 

and yeah i spaced the limbo part, my bad. but the shutter island thing I disagree with fish. He says it like a question, but tell me the last scene is all him acting. idk, that's the beauty of having the viewer decide for themselves but I definitely think he is.

Why would he say it at all? He has no reason to say it, unless he's referring to himself, if you can give me another reason then maybe I'll reconsider.

[Wall2Wall]

Holy [expletive] guys now ya'll got me confused in both movies. I thought I had both figured out. Damn it.

[bigdog17k]

Good movie, SPOILER Q below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did the spinning top fall at the end?

[trutrojan8]

If you watched the movie, you would know the answer....

[Sun Tzu]

If you watched the movie, you would know the answer....

 

I don't ...

[Jammin]

The whole idea of the top was that he always had it on him so he knew if he was in his dream, or someone elses. He let the top spin at the end, meaning he had it on him, and it was his dream/world.

[bigdog17k]

^ Thanks

[fish7718]

Just watched the movie again!!!! It's even better the second time because you can realize everything now...I'm going to put everything in a spoiler just incase some of you haven't seen it -- btw if you've saw it and your satisfied with your ending and you don't want it ruined by being tricked into another ending, ignore this post, because it will nitpick your brain. For those who do read, I cannot wait to see what you have to say -- I know it's REALLY long but it will provide you with A LOT of closure if you are looking for it....

 

 

 

First let's clear up what happened with him and Mal, Mal started to believe that the world they lived in (limbo) was real. So Cobb went into her mind and made her believe that the world she lived in was fake, and the only way out back to the real world was to die. The only problem is when he planted this idea the idea followed her to the real world, and she felt the world she was living was fake, thus she decided to kill herself again to go to what she believed to be another real world.

 

Now time for so fun, at the end we see the spinning top and nolan did such an excellent job by cutting of the movie just at the point where it appeared as if the top was about to stumble, but it didn't, this leaves use with many interpretations of what could have happened.

 

I've been reading from a site and I've come accross a few diff scenrios, of course there is the more widely believed one that the movie played out and everything that happened happened and the top would have tumbled and he is in the real world and saito came through on his word, however there are some cooler and deeper interpretations that work just as well.

 

Now you've seen all those, now check out my favorite:

 

"Cobb is in the real world. There is not any dream technology. Cobb does not know any of the other passengers on the plane and he has just been dreaming while flying on the plane. There is not any device related dreaming but rather just an ordinary crazy dream. He has never lost his children. It's possible that he has also never lost his wife and just having a nightmare dream. In fact, this probability is very hard to be ignored - the whole ending starting with Cobb's awakening on the plane does not offer a single clue to disprove this version. "

 

Here's another interpretation - Cobb is dreaming, when he gets home he looks confused, as if he is trying to remember how he got there. The first thing he does is whip out his top, instead of waiting to see whether it is or isn't a dream, he goes to his kids, meaning he doesn't care if he's dreaming or not, or he already knows he is. This dream we created possible by Ellen Paige's character who created a dream for him somehow, or perhaps he stayed in limbo and created a dream for himself.

 

Remember right before we get to the scene with them on the jet we see Saito's character holding a gun in limbo, but we don't know what happens. For all we know they created some sort of dream...

 

Another possibility: "when cobb is gathering his team and he goes to recruit yasuf. yasuf takes them to his basement where he lets the old people dream. cobb plugs in with the machine. he has flash backs to mal and wakes up. he goes to the bathrooom and attempts to spin the top. but the top falls off the table and he is interupted by sato. we never see him spin the top again after this. and since he doesnt end up spinning it in yasufs basement. i think from the basement on out it is all cobbs dream while hes pluged in to yasufs machine"

 

However back to my favorite interpertation, the idea the Cobb was dreaming the whole time, check out this argument for that scenerio

"Trust me, when you watch it again you'll see so many things that suggest this viewpoint. The entirety of the film, up until he awakes, progresses the way dreams often do, with concepts being compounded one on top of another. The reason it's difficult to notice this is because films in general are already akin to dreams as it is, so these subtle clues can slip by unnoticed. One thing I didn't consider odd the first time through (since I wasn't sure whether Mombassa was supposed to be "reality"), is when Cobb jumps from the balcony down to the street. When you see it again you'll notice it's quite a drop and he lands fairly easily on some straw mats of some sort; certainly nothing soft enough to be completely unaffected by the impact as he is. Interestingly enough, a Cobol agent then tries to apprehend him saying "You're not dreaming now, are you?, to which Cobb replies with an uppercut to the jaw. I believe that's about as obvious a clue as we're given to the true nature of this "reality", and it sure is fun to consider in this light. Also, as many people have mentioned, there isn't much character development for anyone other than Cobb. In fact, there is virtually zero character development for the other members of the team; we know nothing about them other than the events that take place in the film. The closest thing we get is when Fischer is talking to Eames (as Browning) and he mentions the words his father had for him when his mother had died which were "There's nothing to be said". This entire scene further accentuates how we're told nothing about anyone other than Cobb, while also setting the ground work for the connection between the "inception" scene and Cobb's catharsis regarding his need to be a good father to his children; he doesn't want them to remember him the way Fischer is shown remembering his, as a cold, distant workaholic. The film is a story Cobb's mind dreams up to teach him something about himself, but that does not take anything away from how wonderfully constructed the plot is. On the contrary, it only adds another layer of reality on top of it all. The closest thing the naysayers of this interpretation have as a way of disproving this is the look on Arthur's face when Cobb looks at him on the plane. However, the assertion that his smile/chuckle is a way for him to say "wow, you barely pulled it off, you lucky s.o.b.", is manufactured by the assumption that the whole dream-sharing plot actually occurred. It's merely the audiences way of interpreting that moment when viewing the film for the first time and, naturally, taking things at face-value (I've often wondered if this was a "pun intended" on Nolan's part, or just a funny moment of providence). If taken as is, "Arthur" is simply a passenger in first class, amused by the look of bewilderment on Cobb's face as he awakes. It's a common enough thing to happen on a long flight; as companions on a long journey, people become a bit more comfortable with each other and some likely wouldn't feel much shame in chuckling at someone else in that given situation. I'm also just realizing now that the fact that each of these people are flying first class is what dictates them all wearing such nice clothing throughout the film; this is not meant as evidence to back up my views, so much as an example of how the details work so elegantly with this solution. Furthermore, the way each of the three "team members" Cobb looks at after waking act, goes directly against the archetypal characteristics displayed by them prior to that moment. Arthur, who is almost exclusively humorless, is shown having a good time laughing to himself, big smile on his face. Ariadne, who has been so overtly concerned about Cobb's well being, is initially shown looking out the window, and when she does look over, her reaction is much more of a shy, flirty smile, rather than a look of relief and compassion like you'd expect. Plus, considering the bizarre expression on Cobb's face, you'd think she'd take a second to make sure he didn't have "scrambled eggs" for brains before smiling at him (if the face-value view was indeed correct). As for Saito, such a high-ranking, prideful, professional businessman seems so uncomfortable and awkward in the position he's first shown, lying sideways, slumped very far down in his seat. And where's that trademark sly look he has throughout the film? One could argue he had just awoken from a long stay in limbo, but that's the thing isn't it? Nolan gives everyone in the audience just enough doubt to play with for any given moment. Of course, we never do see Saito wake up; he's awake when Cobb first looks at him. In fact, the only person we do see wake up, is Cobb himself. I really could go on and on, picking moment after moment, detail after detail to support this theory; this is why it seems to be the clear answer once you really think about it. Obviously, the ambiguity allows many of the more discussed interpretations to work well, but to me this is the most pleasant and interesting way to the view the film, as well as the most impressive. Especially since Nolan managed to fool the vast majority of his audience. I've said it before and I'll likely say it again, remember the tagline: "Your mind is the scene of the crime" "

 

How about this theory, another awesome awesome theory

 

"One thing I've been toying with, is are we in fact watching multiple dreams of each of the passengers in 1st class on the flight? Have they all turned up in each other's dreams due to seeing each other on the flight pre-takeoff? Not sharing a dream, but are we cutting away to each of their dreams? So when Arthur looks at Leo in the plane and has a wry laugh, he's thinking, "man, I just had the weirdest dream about you". I started flicking through the film this morning to try to falsify this and for example, the dream device only appears in what I termed 'Arthur's Dream' so you could make a case for that being his dream. Then perhaps Eames is the snow dream etc. Have you ever noticed how when you dream and the alarm clock goes off, or something similar, you seem to backwards interpret? Almost as if your mind writes the story backwards in the tiny space of time from the real world event happening and entering your dream, in order your mind can incorporate it and make sense of it in dream time? I've started pondering that Arthur being weightless in the hotel is the plane descending to land. Yusef coming off the bridge and hitting the water is touchdown. The elevator explosion and other elements of the synchronised kick is the landing perhaps. There's lots of people falling towards the end of this film which might fit in with the plane descending. Of course, falling in dreams is a common motif which we've all experienced. I don't actually know if this would stand up to scrutiny because I cannot remember the film in enough detail and I only skipped into about 30% of the film. But I think I am going to watch the movie with this theory in mind and see if it's falsified. Clearly this would mean that elements of each other's dreams could not cross into the other dreams, as they are in fact completely separate and not dream sharing."

 

How about a theory that maintains the idea: Mal was right. Ever consider this? Cobb has been dreaming the whole entire movie except for his "memories" which are actual memories, one day he will awaken and be with his family once more. In this version the team is actually Fischer, Eames, Ariande, Aruthur, Yusuf and Saito, and they have a multilayered dream going in within Cobb to try to awake him from his deep limbo. This explains his shocked expression at the end, and everyone else's expression too. It is also explains how the end could still be a dream as he still has not killed himself to be with Mal yet. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

 

All these theories make me want to rewatch the movie over and over and over again looking for each one...

 

Edited December 8, 2010 by STATCity