Inception

[Lux Aeterna]

Saw the movie last weekend and loved it. Engaging and thought-provoking. Hearing what you thought about it was nice, but here's the real reason I made the topic.

What do you think the truth is about the ending?

My take (spoilered for obvious reasons)

Ultimately, I believe that he's still in limbo. Not just that, but he was always in limbo, and that ultimately it was Mal's attempt to pull him out of that limbo. She was right, I think. It would fit in that she killed other dreamers, but ultimately she had to have him be convinced to kill himself, because it needed to be his choice to awaken.

Now you may be wondering where my evidence that he's still in limbo is, and I'll just use what seems the likely contradiction as my point. The top looked like it was gonna fall at the end of the movie. As anyone can figure out, once a top wobbles it will fall. That obviously means he's not in limbo anymore, right?

Wrong. Notice when the top began to wobble: After he saw his kids' faces. In his limbo, he changed the physics so that the top wouldn't fall. But it was only after he saw them that the top began to wobble. His mind itself no longer believed it was in limbo, and thus the physics changed so that the top would fall.

This also coincides with the fact it's the same scene you see in his memories so many times. Same clothes, same age.

The part I like about this is the fact that if he is indeed in limbo, Mal was a hero, not insane. She's the one who's in reality.

I may be reading too hard into this. Maybe it happened exactly as face value. But ultimately, Inception has no clear answer, and it leaves us to formulate our own opinions on what was what.

[Fireman]

Loved the movie, needless to say. Fast-paced and complicated. I know some of my friends wanted to watch it again because they didn't understand everything the first time. XD

I've read a few different interpretations as to what the true ending is--such as a version of the one you posted--, and I can't say any of them are wrong. I'm not sure which one I personally believe though.

Edited August 10, 2010 by Fireman

[Luftwaffe]

The most overrated film this year. Honestly, it reeks of mediocrity.

[RUSH]

I completely disagree. If you look closely at the credits

SPOILERS

{

they list 4 different actors for the children. The boy ages are 18 months and 3 years and the girl is like 3 and 5. Also, the main costume designer has talked about how the costumes for the dream kids are similar (the girl wears a red dress and the boy wear plaid I think both times) but they are in fact different.

}

Edited August 10, 2010 by RUSH

[dondon151]

The most overrated film this year. Honestly, it reeks of mediocrity.

It would be helpful if you explained why you think it reeks of mediocrity.

[Fenrir]

The most overrated film this year. Honestly, it reeks of mediocrity.

this title does not belong to this film, possibly twilight.

i like your theory, but i believe oh shit how do you do the spoiler thing? everything is real.

[Luftwaffe]

It would be helpful if you explained why you think it reeks of mediocrity.

In the same way The Dark Knight does. They both try way too hard. And DiCaprio is also the most overrated actor atm. Or maybe I just want to cut off all his fingers, and choke him to death with his entrails, or something.

Edited August 11, 2010 by Mochiguman

[Pride]

I liked Inception. But y'know, watching Shutter Island right before this kinda killed it. I felt like I was watching the same character, yeah?

Oh, and about the ending

He got back home, lived happily ever after. The end.

[Fenrir]

In the same way The Dark Knight is. They both try way too hard. And DiCaprio is also the most overrated actor atm. Or maybe I just want to cut off all his fingers, and choke him to death with his entrails, or something.

i dont think either of them tryed to hard and if they did they totally nailed it. maybe you dont like the intensity.

[RUSH]

In the same way The Dark Knight does. They both try way too hard. And DiCaprio is also the most overrated actor atm. Or maybe I just want to cut off all his fingers, and choke him to death with his entrails, or something.

In my opinion the only time trying to hard really hurts is when someone is trying to make you laugh in real life... it just backfires ya know? But an action movie? Is there such a thing as trying too hard?

[Esau of Isaac]

Ultimately, I believe that he's still in limbo. Not just that, but he was always in limbo, and that ultimately it was Mal's attempt to pull him out of that limbo. She was right, I think. It would fit in that she killed other dreamers, but ultimately she had to have him be convinced to kill himself, because it needed to be his choice to awaken.

Okay, so let's trace this. You are saying that this entire time he has been in limbo. This means that all of the other individuals throughout the movie must be projections, and that he must have gone four levels deeper than he already was.

How does that make any sense at all? It violates and disagrees with the entire premise of the movie. Why in the world would Mal perform such botched and seemingly random attacks, as it seems to demonstrate is his subconscious, rather than making a single tactical attack to end him? Moreover, wouldn't all of his projections be instantly aware of Mal's existence? Why is everyone always so surprised to see her, when Cobb certainly has training against unwanted forays into his mind?

Now you may be wondering where my evidence that he's still in limbo is, and I'll just use what seems the likely contradiction as my point. The top looked like it was gonna fall at the end of the movie. As anyone can figure out, once a top wobbles it will fall. That obviously means he's not in limbo anymore, right?

Wrong. Notice when the top began to wobble: After he saw his kids' faces. In his limbo, he changed the physics so that the top wouldn't fall. But it was only after he saw them that the top began to wobble. His mind itself no longer believed it was in limbo, and thus the physics changed so that the top would fall.

No, that's not in the slightest how it works. The reason that it continues to spin is because he is the only one that knows the feel and make of it. It's the same reason that Arthur's die works. It's not that they alter physics, it's that they are the only ones that use it.

This also coincides with the fact it's the same scene you see in his memories so many times. Same clothes, same age.

They are wearing different shoes. They are also different actors, as has been stated.

The part I like about this is the fact that if he is indeed in limbo, Mal was a hero, not insane. She's the one who's in reality.

But she's not, because she's dead. Because she committed suicide after being incepted by her husband.

Seriously, someone try and explain to me how Cobb is still dreaming, without violating character dynamics or rules placed in the movie. It's not possible. It simply doesn't make sense unless we assume that it's in reality.

In my opinion the only time trying to hard really hurts is when someone is trying to make you laugh in real life... it just backfires ya know? But an action movie? Is there such a thing as trying too hard?

I thought the ending tried to hard to throw the basic premise of the movie at the audience, like "HEY, YOU TOO MIGHT BE DREAMING AND NOT EVEN KNOW". It's like he made the movie so that later on he could say in an interview "Yeah, we hoped that you liked it, and that maybe we might have even incepted you." Seriously.

Other than that, I thought it was a spectacularly entertaining film. But then, I'm incredibly easy to please.

[RUSH]

Seriously, someone try and explain to me how Cobb is still dreaming, without violating character dynamics or rules placed in the movie. It's not possible. It simply doesn't make sense unless we assume that it's in reality.

.

I don't know if this is what I actually believe or not, but I think the most plausible idea goes like this..

By believing the events that are shown to us in the movie we see that Cobb starts at what I would call a -2, 2 levels deep in the dream state, before moving up one, and eventually waking up on a train in what is presented as reality for most of the film (level 0). He goes down to -1 a few times with Ellen Paiges character, and towards the end of the movie descends to -3 before falling down to -4, or limbo. We now understand that the flashbacks we saw of him and Mal took place in -4. They committed suicide in -4 to either move up to -3 or to just wake up back at level 0. Cobb and the asian guy waking up in the airplane clearly show us that they got back to level 0, where we have seen the top fall before (making the final shot irrelevant... the top will fall, we've seen it before) so I don't know why everyone thinks hes in Limbo, Limbo is the crazy world where the asian guy is like 50 years older than him, and no matter how they play it, they would both be there for a century or whatever, and not perceptions of them, actually them, so the asian guy being the same age in the airplane makes no sense in Limbo.

I don't think the idea was that he was still in limbo, but that he was in a fakish world compared to actual reality (level +1). If Mal's suicide took her up to a whole new level from level 0, she would still be a crazy women who killed herself on an unlikely unproven chance. I don't know what other character dynamics would be threatened. We would however need to accept that level 0 is significantly more reasonable than the lower dream levels (they may descend into greater madness, but the point is that zero is different from -1 and everything below). Obviously, there is no Mal, the understanding of physics is clearly better, and people age, they aren't just how you remember them.

Sorry that was a total block..

[dondon151]

In the same way The Dark Knight does. They both try way too hard.

"Trying too hard" is difficult to qualify. I didn't get that impression at all; I was pretty engrossed with this film's intensity.

[Albus]

Great movie. Engaging plot that was pretty original (to me at least). Who cares about the details; it was entertaining..

Pretty sure Cobb wasn't dreaming at the end, and it would have been really bleh if he was. Seems like the main thing the ending was going for was Cobb's disregard as to whether or not the top kept spinning or not; he didn't seem to care because he finally got to see his kids again. Anyway the top was totally starting to wobble right before it cut to the credits

[Fenrir]

I saw this movie for the second time last night, and was thinking about Lux's idea's the whole way through, i'd however say i like albus' idea the best

[Esau of Isaac]

By believing the events that are shown to us in the movie we see that Cobb starts at what I would call a -2, 2 levels deep in the dream state, before moving up one, and eventually waking up on a train in what is presented as reality for most of the film (level 0).

Agreed.

He goes down to -1 a few times with Ellen Paiges character, and towards the end of the movie descends to -3 before falling down to -4, or limbo. We now understand that the flashbacks we saw of him and Mal took place in -4. They committed suicide in -4 to either move up to -3 or to just wake up back at level 0.

Again, agreed.

Cobb and the asian guy waking up in the airplane clearly show us that they got back to level 0, where we have seen the top fall before (making the final shot irrelevant... the top will fall, we've seen it before) so I don't know why everyone thinks hes in Limbo, Limbo is the crazy world where the asian guy is like 50 years older than him, and no matter how they play it, they would both be there for a century or whatever, and not perceptions of them, actually them, so the asian guy being the same age in the airplane makes no sense in Limbo.

Most individuals that speak of him being in a dream contest that he ever woke up in the first place. I'm not sure how they could establish that, since it's made clear that he's awake, but that's what their goal is.

I don't think the idea was that he was still in limbo, but that he was in a fakish world compared to actual reality (level +1). If Mal's suicide took her up to a whole new level from level 0, she would still be a crazy women who killed herself on an unlikely unproven chance. I don't know what other character dynamics would be threatened.

I am speaking of character dynamics mostly relative to Cobb himself. At the end of the movie he has grown past his earlier fears. He simply wouldn't want to live with fake children his subconscious had constructed, in the same sense he couldn't live with the fake Mal at Limbo.

[Janissary]

I think the premise of the idea that Cobb is dreaming mostly stems from the Kenyan chase scene where walls seem to close in on him and Saito is right nearby to save him

[RUSH]

I am speaking of character dynamics mostly relative to Cobb himself. At the end of the movie he has grown past his earlier fears. He simply wouldn't want to live with fake children his subconscious had constructed, in the same sense he couldn't live with the fake Mal at Limbo.

I think they're the realest kids he's ever seen. Mal thought there was something more than the reality they knew there. I don't think the idea was that this was just another layer of a dream, but that it was like a dream when compared to the lever of actualization and reality above. I don't know, its not really my theory, thats just the only one that makes sense to me I guess (aside from him just being in the fullest reality..)

I wonder if inception has inspired any suicides...

[Erk]

the largest acid trip i eva seen

[volkethereaper]

I think the point of the ending was that Cobb was emotionally secure again, whether in Limbo or reality.

[Ragnell]

My friend told me I'd like this film, but I didn't believe him until I saw it. Seriously, this is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I love it. The storyline was so awesome.

The only thing I didn't get was how Saito and DiCaprio's character escaped limbo. They needed a kick to get up each other level of the dream, but they didn't do anything to jolt themselves. But I did notice they had the gun on the table. Did they have to kill themselves to get out? If either of those are true, why did the other guy have to go help Saito escape? Couldn't he just kick or kill himself?

[Dracohon]

The only thing I didn't get was how Saito and DiCaprio's character escaped limbo. They needed a kick to get up each other level of the dream, but they didn't do anything to jolt themselves. But I did notice they had the gun on the table. Did they have to kill themselves to get out? If either of those are true, why did the other guy have to go help Saito escape? Couldn't he just kick or kill himself?

Apparently, killing yourself gets you out of limbo, since that was how Cobb and his wife got out. For the second question, my guess would be that when Saito entered limbo, he didn't realize he was in a dream until Cobb showed up.

[Esau of Isaac]

My friend told me I'd like this film, but I didn't believe him until I saw it. Seriously, this is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I love it. The storyline was so awesome.

The only thing I didn't get was how Saito and DiCaprio's character escaped limbo. They needed a kick to get up each other level of the dream, but they didn't do anything to jolt themselves. But I did notice they had the gun on the table. Did they have to kill themselves to get out? If either of those are true, why did the other guy have to go help Saito escape? Couldn't he just kick or kill himself?

When someone is in limbo, they fail to understand that they are in a dream, and thus will dream until they die naturally within their mind. So Saito would have come out a vegetable if Cobb were not there to remind him of his promise.