Christopher Nolan's Inception

[blueblazer2]

How come Christopher Nolan Gave Ken Watanabe and Cillian Murphy small roles in Batman Begins . They Both had a lot of screen time in this film

 

[Figs]

Just got back from seeing it a second time and liked it just as much. While I don't really buy the idea that

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Cobb was in a dream when we thought it was the real world, like on the plane

it is interesting when he first talks to Michael Caine. What Caine says to him about letting go and needing to wake up, I can see how that would be another clue into what I put in spoilers. How some people

Spoiler

are saying that it was meant to be a double inception the whole time. One for Fischer and one for Cobb and Fischer's inception was what Hardy and Caine used to keep Cobb distracted from them doing their inception on him.

I still don't really buy it but it is thought provoking and it's the many layers and possibilities this film has that makes you want to watch it numerous times.

I think I would give it a 4.5/5

 

[General Vulcun]

Just got back from my 2nd viewing. Still a great film, a 10/10 in my book, but I think I like TDK just a bit more. But it really makes no difference. They're both great films, both expertly constructed pieces of art.

 

[Mr. Earle]

I couldnt help myself (it will be another month till Inception opens here) and read the plot on Wikipedia. WTF is that bull**** ending?

 

[Mr.Webs]

It's not really ********. It's just open to interpertation, which I'm a fan of. It stimulates conversation.

 

[Figs]

I couldnt help myself (it will be another month till Inception opens here) and read the plot on Wikipedia. WTF is that bull**** ending?

I can't believe you broke down Mr. Earle.

I can understand people not liking the ending, like Matt but the film was so much more than that last shot.

Also, I notice some people who loved Inception still like The Dark Knight more. Nothing wrong with that at all of course(I still like TDK a lot)but I do have to point out that although both films had almost the same runtime...Inception had waaay better pacing. First time I saw TDK the pacing didn't bother me since I was so into the film but on repeated viewings it does drag quite a bit. Although i've only seen Inception twice, I found the pacing to be fantastic. I was never bored or anxiously waiting for any possible favorite scenes of mine to come up on second viewing. That's yet another reason why I feel this film is great.

 

[Mr. Earle]

I can't believe you broke down Mr. Earle.

I couldnt take the waiting any more...

I can understand people not liking the ending, like Matt but the film was so much more than that last shot.

I read some posts a few pages back like this:

Don't know if this was posted but wow this sounds about right..

From another forum.

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Basically... the whole movie was, from scene one, about the team conning Cobb into retirement, because they had become aware that his subconscious was jeopardizing their work -- and potentially their lives. He simply couldn't be trusted to keep working, but they knew he would never stop until he was reunited with his kids -- something that was all but impossible, as he couldn't enter the States and - from the sounds of the unhappy grandmother on the phone - she blamed Cobb for Mal(her daughter)'s death, and wasn't letting them leave the States, either. So... Miles(Michael Caine) and the team (including Saito and Ariadne) created an alternative answer.

From the very beginning, it was set up to ultimately retire Cobb into a dream that brought him peace, and one he could believe was real, be it real or not. The whole story with Saito vs. Fischer was simply a setup that required Cobb to return to his limbo to confront his guilt over the death of his wife, because he would never believe any reality in which she was still haunting him(making her memory his totem?).

The only force that could commit him to face his wife was the chance of seeing his kids again, so the whole idea was to pit the two realities against each other, and gamble that he'd sacrifice the right one in favor of the other.

The whole plan kicked into gear by making him go to Mombasa, where he met with Eames and was then conveniently chased right into the car of Saito, who was in Mombasa to "protect his investment"... pretty nifty timing, eh? Eames shows up, and just so happens to know a guy who makes experimental elixirs(Yusuf)... oh, and also just happens to have his own dream farm in his basement, heh. Once there, Cobb tries out the elixir, sees brief flashes of his wife and then wakes up, flustered. Cut to him washing his face in a sink, and then goes to spin the top to verify reality -- only the top falls off of the counter, onto the floor, and before he can pick it up, he's distracted.

Reality was never confirmed from this point forward throughout the entire movie.

He was unknowingly corralled to Mombasa to be sent to the dream farm by his very own team, where he could live in the dream of his/their choosing indefinitely(I mean, sure, we were told that they only dream for about 40 hours at a time, but who's to say that wasn't a lie, and that it wasn't just a retirement home for thieves?). Opposition(the Mombasa chase, shrugged off as Cobol agents) was even staged to make it realistic to Cobb, because - just as it played out with Fischer - Cobb had to believe he was in control the whole time. It had to be his choices that got him there for him to really believe it.

So... from there, the dream within a dream within a dream was all an elaborate setup to get Cobb to confront himself. I'm also assuming that Ariadne wasn't the architect, but was placed there by his Dad and the team to be his guide -- the true architect being Lucas Haas' character, the original team's architect that was tied up and dragged away at the beginning(as Cobb said himself, it's not a good idea to bring the architect inside, so he was conveniently removed from the picture to work behind the scenes).

Once he entered limbo, confronted the memory of his wife, saved Saito and returned home... that was all still a dream, but one he could finally believe wholeheartedly; one he had achieved.

His friends, his dad... everyone he knew realized that he would never stop trying to get back home - something he could never do in real life - so they created this as his retirement gift; a reality where he could come to terms with his past and live in peace with the future he always wanted.

Did the top fall over? Probably. I'm assuming that the totems have no special powers; they only reflect the owner's subconscious belief. If the owner truly believe he or she is in reality - body, mind and soul - the totem will reflect that accordingly... whether it's true or not. What might be more telling is... he walked away from it completely. It didn't really matter anymore.

and i got what the movie is actually about so maybe that ending makes sense. I shouldnt judge before watching the film for myself.

 

[DarkKnight FTW]

I couldnt take the waiting any more...
I read some posts a few pages back like this:


and i got what the movie is actually about so maybe that ending makes sense. I shouldnt judge before watching the film for myself.

Definitely! The ending makes sense in terms of the plot. It's not a BS ending, its a fantastic ending. Wait and see.

 

[Anita18]

I couldnt help myself (it will be another month till Inception opens here) and read the plot on Wikipedia. WTF is that bull**** ending?

It doesn't make sense when you read it on paper. You have to go through Cobb's journey first to understand that the bull**** ending is not the point at all.

 

[spider-neil]

I thought inception was rubbish.

* too much expostion
* you don't care one iota about the characters
* not enough exploration with the dream world

this movie isn't a PATCH on matrix or dark city. masterpiece? do me favor
having said that the performances were strong and the score was excellent.
I personally think this is nolan's worst movie when some people are proclaiming its his best.

 

[terry78]

He likes to do this type of stuff though. He did the Bat-flicks to get funding for these more than likely.

 

[Figs]

Even though he could have been more mature and less sounding like an eight year old, there is no such thing as a bad opinion. I'm baffled by why he didn't like it. Although it's his fault he was mislead in thinking it was going to be like The Matrix and the ads, as ads to mislead at times, especially with a film like this it would. I can't blame him for not liking the film.

He could have been more mature sounding. But it's his opinion.

I agree as well that he came off a bit like a spaz in regards to the caps lock and whatnot.

I have no problem with people disliking or hating a film that I like or love but one of the comments in that link Anita posted had me chuckling.

"I found the movie didn't make a whole lot of sense at times. It felt like the writer cut a lot of corners when it came to the whole logical coherency of the plot. Maybe if we blow something up they won't notice!

I don't recall there being that many explosions throughout the entire film. I also don't necessarily agree that a lot of corners were cut. There was so much exposition that I felt explained just about everything, to me this film was very tightly woven.

The plot was entertaining and a good idea, but it left a lot to be desired. It's not destined to become a classic like: Fight Club, 12 Monkeys, Requiem for a Dream, Primer. If you enjoyed Inception, do yourself a favor and check those out if you haven't seen them."

I have to fully disagree with him/her that this film won't become a classic. Obviously, only time will tell but i'm putting money on it becoming a classic as time goes on. I really like Fight Club, 12 Monkeys and Requiem for a Dream(although i've only seen it once due to how depressing it was)and haven't seen Primer yet but personally I think Inception was leaps and bounds ahead of those that I did see(not sure about Primer though).

 

[TNC9852002]

I'm sick of all of these subjective complaints about what how much development was necessary or who and how much we're supposed to care about a character.

I gotta tell ya, by the end of it, I felt a whole lot for Fischer and Cobb. I even felt for Saito.

 

[Mr. Earle]

Btw, whats up with the names? OK i get "Ariadne" (Thisseas, maze, Minotaur, etc) but what kind of name is Dom Cobb? I mean seriously...

 

[Sub-Zero]

just saw the movie today. loved it. it reminded me a lot of memento and the 13th floor. now i wouldn't say it's better than the dark knight, but it's pretty damn close. it was probably the most original movie i've seen in a while.

nolan really sets the bar for each movie. like each has a bigger message and grander scale. i can't wait to see how he'll do the next batman, and after seeing this i kinda want him on a bond film too.

 

[Figs]

I thought inception was rubbish.

* too much expostion
* you don't care one iota about the characters
* not enough exploration with the dream world

Just curious, what kind of exploration in the dream world did you want? I ask because it seems a number of people that had similar complaints almost wanted it to get into fantasy a bit more. As in, taking what Page's character did in that first dream with the city folding and do it to the extreme.

This just wasn't that type of film. Overall, the movie wasn't a "dream movie" but a "heist film", that happened to involve dreams as opposed to just about every other heist film in the past. Another reason why it didn't bother me that Nolan didn't go crazy with the construction inside a dream was that everyone's dreams differ and they're not always about dragons and being on other planets, a number of times they're set in real life situations too. This was essentially Nolan's dream and he obviously didn't feel the need to bring in that fantasy magical element that we sometimes(key word, sometimes)get in our dreams from time to time.

this movie isn't a PATCH on matrix or dark city. masterpiece? do me favor
having said that the performances were strong and the score was excellent.
I personally think this is nolan's worst movie when some people are proclaiming its his best.

Personally, I think the comparisons that people are making between Inception and The Matrix(and now Dark City as well)are utterly ridiculous. All three films are completely different, they just happen to involve dreams. The Matrix was an action sci-fi, Dark City was sci-fi and a bit of horror and Inception, as I said before, is a heist film. The only similarity really was that all three films involved dreams.

 

[samsnee]

I just don't buy the whole "movie was an inception for Cobb" theory. Saito was not part of the team before they tried stealing from him, so why would he finance something like this just to help Cobb?

I'm not saying this movie doesn't have deeper meaning in some ways, but I always shake my head at people concoct these super elaborate theories about movies based on major assumptions.

 

[Mr. Earle]

I just don't buy the whole "movie was an inception for Cobb" theory. Saito was not part of the team before they tried stealing from him, so why would he finance something like this just to help Cobb?

I'm not saying this movie doesn't have deeper meaning in some ways, but I always shake my head at people concoct these super elaborate theories about movies based on major assumptions.

How about this for a theory?
Inception is a prequel to B3. Cobb is going to become Doctor Destiny (DC villain who can manipulate dreams).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Destiny

 

[Tacit Ronin]

#3 on the IMDB Top 250? ****ing really?

Toy Story 3 is at 7.

 

[spider-neil]

Personally, I think the comparisons that people are making between Inception and The Matrix(and now Dark City as well)are utterly ridiculous. All three films are completely different, they just happen to involve dreams. The Matrix was an action sci-fi, Dark City was sci-fi and a bit of horror and Inception, as I said before, is a heist film. The only similarity really was that all three films involved dreams.

I conceed I was expecting more scenes like the city folding. I totally get why nolan chose to not to have so many outlandish visuals as to confuse the viewer which world (real vs dream) the stars were actually in.

for me the movie failed because they spent too much time explaining the rules and not enough time establishing the characters, when the action kicked in I didn't care one JOT who lived and who died. lots of people think this movie is a masterpiece each to their own, I didn't.

I'm supposed to be watching this movie again midweek maybe I'll get more the second time around. this is new for me as I normally enjoy nolan's movie the FIRST time around with the second viewing used to pick out details.

 

[redhawk23]

Btw, whats up with the names? OK i get "Ariadne" (Thisseas, maze, Minotaur, etc) but what kind of name is Dom Cobb? I mean seriously...

short for dominick? i know a few people with that name

 

[Anita18]

I'm sick of all of these subjective complaints about what how much development was necessary or who and how much we're supposed to care about a character.

I gotta tell ya, by the end of it, I felt a whole lot for Fischer and Cobb. I even felt for Saito.

I felt a little for Saito as well, though not as much as for Cobb and Fischer.

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As a tourist, he certainly got his money's worth, didn't he?

Fischer had a really nice juicy subplot.

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I admit it, I teared up a little when he pulled out the pinwheel. I'm SUCH a sucker for parent-child drama.

Personally, I think the comparisons that people are making between Inception and The Matrix(and now Dark City as well)are utterly ridiculous. All three films are completely different, they just happen to involve dreams. The Matrix was an action sci-fi, Dark City was sci-fi and a bit of horror and Inception, as I said before, is a heist film. The only similarity really was that all three films involved dreams.

I think it is more superficial, yes, but they do share details.

Spoiler

The Matrix had the jacking in aspect along with "What you're experiencing isn't real" that's a huge theme in Inception.

Dark City had the "dreamscape" and the ability to create things within the dream.

But the "point" of all three movies are completely different. The Matrix was about rebellion, Dark City...was there a real point to Dark City? It's been a while since I've seen it. And Inception was basically a story of a man working out his emotional issues.

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I just don't buy the whole "movie was an inception for Cobb" theory. Saito was not part of the team before they tried stealing from him, so why would he finance something like this just to help Cobb?

I'm not saying this movie doesn't have deeper meaning in some ways, but I always shake my head at people concoct these super elaborate theories about movies based on major assumptions.

I added some spoiler tags to your post.

You also have to consider that Nolan never does such a thing. Whatever you need to understand the movie is ALWAYS presented in the movie itself.

The movie being

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one giant inception certainly works thematically, but I'm not so sure that it's supposed to be ACTUALLY true. Nolan makes it possible, but if you asked him I don't think he would say that's what he was really aiming for.

 

[spider-neil]

I'll also add I didn't find the concept (of inception and extraction) complex at all so goodness only knows why nolan felt the need for so much exposition. the first half hour felt like nolan explaining the rules. imagine trinity and morpheus explaining the rules to neo for the first half hour of the matrix. YIKES!

 

[raybia]

Excellent movie and without doubt one of the years best if not the best so far. I would personally need to see it again before I can form a definite opinion concerning the various theories of the plot but at this point I lead towards "Inception" being performed on Cobb whether purposely or inadvertently.

In fact I would say that the process of "Inception" was successful performed on three characters.

On a higher level, I think the movie speaks, to me at least, of the possibility that the masses are being rendered unconscious, so to speak, of the human possibilities each person possesses and made to feel insensitive about the world's social ills due to the subconscious mind manipulation that is going on inside of them without their conscious consent for the purpose to be destructively influenced, manipulated and exploited.

"Inception" is the reality of today's world.

 

[General Vulcun]

I'll also add I didn't find the concept (of inception and extraction) complex at all so goodness only knows why nolan felt the need for so much exposition. the first half hour felt like nolan explaining the rules. imagine trinity and morpheus explaining the rules to neo for the first half hour of the matrix. YIKES!

But the exposition was handled well in this film, so why the "YIKES!"?