Christopher Nolan's Inception

[Figs]

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!

From what I can remember, didn't The Matrix spend a significant amount of time having Morpheus and a few others explain things to Neo.

 

[Mr. Earle]

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

Ah, ok, but still... the combination of his name and his surname is a weird name altogether.
"Hi, i'm Dom Cobb."

 

[-Arya-]

From what I can remember, didn't The Matrix spend a significant amount of time having Morpheus and a few others explain things to Neo.

Yes. These types of complaints about exposition are starting to become mind numbing.

 

[Mr. Earle]

Question:

Spoiler

Why did Cobb and Mal stay in limbo and why did he implant that thought into her mind and got her killed?

 

[Still Wynning]

Not sure if I'm the first one to post about this but:

Spoiler

Did anyone notice at the end of the credits that the song used to "give them the kick" was sung by Edith Piaf, who was portrayed in 2007's La Vie en Rose by Marion Cotillard, who played Mal in this film?

Not to mention that the title of the song, "Non, Je ne regrette rien", translates as "No, I regret nothing", a possible reference to the line said by Cobb and Saito in the beginning and near the end of the film.

I thought those were nice little touches by Mr. Nolan.

 

[-Arya-]

Question:

Spoiler

Why did Cobb and Mal stay in limbo and why did he implant that thought into her mind and got her killed?

Spoiler

They were experimenting with the device to see how far they could go, but they inadvertantly became stuck in limbo. A long time passed until Cobb realized this, but Mal thought limbo was the real world. So in order to combat this line of thought, Cobb planted the idea in her mind that limbo was not the real world. Unfortunately this effect carried over into the actual 'real' world, where she killed herself thinking she was still in limbo. Thus, we are shown the guilt Cobb feels.

 

[spider-neil]

okay, here's the difference;

neo is walking down the street with neo, neo looks at the girl with the red dress, next scene agent smith is pointing a gun at neo's head.
1 scene showed the audience that agents can jump into anybody.

the matrix SHOWED the new concepts visually, inception 'EXPLAINED the new concept verbally

every second spent explaining the concept is a second taken away from character developement

 

[Anita18]

Question:

Spoiler

Why did Cobb and Mal stay in limbo and why did he implant that thought into her mind and got her killed?

Spoiler

Limbo basically means you've lost your way and can't tell the difference between reality or dream. Mal didn't care anymore while Cobb finally realized it and wanted to get her to see that her world wasn't real.

Originally I wondered why he didn't just kill her and kick her out of limbo that way, but he has a hard enough time shooting a projection of her so I guess that's why.

Not sure if I'm the first one to post about this but:

Spoiler

Did anyone notice at the end of the credits that the song used to "give them the kick" was sung by Edith Piaf, who was portrayed in 2007's La Vie en Rose by Marion Cotillard, who played Mal in this film?

Not to mention that the title of the song, "Non, Je ne regrette rien", translates as "No, I regret nothing", a possible reference to the line said by Cobb and Saito in the beginning and near the end of the film.

I thought those were nice little touches by Mr. Nolan.

EVERY reviewer known to man has stated the first observation.

Nolan has said it was pure coincidence. The song has been in there since the very beginning.

 

[Mr. Earle]

Spoiler

They were experimenting with the device to see how far they could go, but they inadvertantly became stuck in limbo. A long time passed until Cobb realized this, but Mal thought limbo was the real world. So in order to combat this line of thought, Cobb planted the idea in her mind that limbo was not the real world. Unfortunately this effect carried over into the actual 'real' world, where she killed herself thinking she was still in limbo. Thus, we are shown the guilt Cobb feels.

Thanks! So why [BLACKOUT]didnt Cobb just kill her? [/BLACKOUT]

EDIT: I see Anita has answered my question.

 

[spider-neil]

This quote from the end of the

Total Film review sums it up perfectly for me: "There’s no doubt Inception is a remarkable piece of work; indeed, it’s probably Nolan’s most technically accomplished to date. Yet is there a danger he’s becoming a better craftsman than he is a storyteller?"

I agree with that 100%

 

[Anita18]

okay, here's the difference;

neo is walking down the street with neo, neo looks at the girl with the red dress, next scene agent smith is pointing a gun at neo's head.
1 scene showed the audience that agents can jump into anybody.

the matrix SHOWED the new concepts visually, inception 'EXPLAINED the new concept verbally

every second spent explaining the concept is a second taken away from character developement

I guess the lack of character development didn't bother me because it was obvious the story centered around Cobb, and ONLY Cobb. It was basically Cobb's story. It wasn't Heat or TDK or The Matrix or even The Prestige. It's more like Memento. It's about one man and his one main issue.

 

[Ziggyman]

Could it be that...

Spoiler

The announcement on the plane "10 minutes till landing" or whatever was a kick for Cobb?

 

[That-Guy]

I don't know, I thought Ellen Page's character, who was essentially the "Neo" of this story, was much more developed than Neo. Neo simply observes throughout the majority of The Matrix and doesn't really contribute anything until the end. And even then, he's hampered with bad dialogue that should have been great ("I believe I can bring him back." Wow, that's deep.) Ariadne, in contrast, is an integral part of the story, who is not only acting as "us" per se (the observer, newly introduced to this strange world), but is also a foil fro DiCaprio's character and the only person who can see through his deception.

Anyway... let me just say that I'm in the "I loved it" group. Inception is not only Chris Nolan's best film to date... it's one of the best movies ever made. Captivating story, interesting characters, brilliant performances, amazing special effects and action sequences and incredibly filmed, edited and paced. Inception is the movie we've been waiting for. 10/10

 

[Still Wynning]

Spoiler

Limbo basically means you've lost your way and can't tell the difference between reality or dream. Mal didn't care anymore while Cobb finally realized it and wanted to get her to see that her world wasn't real.

Originally I wondered why he didn't just kill her and kick her out of limbo that way, but he has a hard enough time shooting a projection of her so I guess that's why.

EVERY reviewer known to man has stated the first observation.

Nolan has said it was pure coincidence. The song has been in there since the very beginning.

Ah. Sorry, wasn't sure or not.

But it's still a pretty cool coincidence. t:

 

[AnorexicBatman]

Here is a question. In the

Spoiler

first level, Saito gets shot and Cobb says that if you die now, you will just end up in Limbo. Was this because of the heavy sedative? I mean in normal cases Saito would have just woken up

 

[TNC9852002]

okay, here's the difference;

neo is walking down the street with neo, neo looks at the girl with the red dress, next scene agent smith is pointing a gun at neo's head.
1 scene showed the audience that agents can jump into anybody.

the matrix SHOWED the new concepts visually, inception 'EXPLAINED the new concept verbally

every second spent explaining the concept is a second taken away from character developement

Oh BS. The Matrix did plenty of both and so did Inception.

 

[Anita18]

Here is a question. In the first level,

Spoiler

Saito gets shot and Cobb says that if you die now, you will just end up in Limbo. Was this because of the heavy sedative? I mean in normal cases Saito would have just woken up

Aren't we still using spoiler tags for our international friends?

And, [blackout]yes.[/blackout]

 

[spider-neil]

I thought the concepts were really interesting, the dialogue about dreams was pretty interesting as well but the movie was essentially a bank heist without going to the trouble of establishing the people pulling of the 'bank job' thus when these people are put in jeopardy I really didn't care whether they lived or died which for me made the action sequences visually gob smacking but ultimately boring.

nolan deserves kudos for trying to push the envolope rather than dishing up the usual summer blockbuster dross. the performances were top notch, the soundtrack was stunning but I just wasn't engaged as I have been with nolan's other movies. I think the metacritc rating of 74% is about right.

 

[Ziggyman]

When shared dreaming...it is possible to be the dreamer, architect and sub-con of the dream...right?

Pretty sure...

Spoiler

Ariadne sneaking into Cobb's dream was an example of that...

 

[Heretic]

Something regarding the "it was all a plot against Cobb" etc that no one has mentioned...

Spoiler

Why did Cobol hire Cobb???

Simple. They hired him because Saito's company is a competitor and was planning a MASSIVE expansion/oil project that would dominate the industry. That project was being financed by Fischer.

Wait, Fischer is financing an expansion job for his biggest competitor?????

Yes, that is exactly what is happening, and Cobol is desperate to stop this industry shaking event.

So, when Saito discovers what happens in the beginning of the movie, he hires Cobb to break up Fischer's company because they are becoming too dominant.

Wait...Saito is on the verge of a MAJOR expansion project...financed by Fischer...an yet he wants to destroy Fischer's company?

That's...odd.

It seems that the expansion Saito is planning is very top secret...and Fischer is involved...and yet Saito wants to destroy Fischer's company.

So, one of two things are happening (NOTE: Like all things, this is THEORY...unlike those of you who proclaim to know everything and toss out evidence that contradicts your theory, I don't think we are even supposed to know the full truth):

1. Saito is a ruthless businessman, used Fischer to finance this expansion, and then set out to break Fischer's company to pieces, and gobble up some of the parts, while not having to pay back the financing.

2. Saito and Fischer are in the process of merging the two companies in many respects.

What does any of this have to do with Leonardo Dicaprio?? Nothing.

The only way that this would be an elaborate plot to get Dicaprio to retire is if basically all of the major energy companies on earth decided it is was in their best interest to keep him busy on the most complex inception imaginable...

More likely, Saito is just ruthless against his competitors.

 

[DarKJediKnight]

So I've seen the film the second time, and I have two more things to be clarified:

Spoiler

1.) Can someome explain the "Mr. Charles" trick to me? How did they turn Fischer's subconscious against him?
2.)It is very clear that Dom and Ariadne were able to access the Limbo through Cobb's dream, and not through killing themselves. How did they do it? Was it because Cobb has already been to Limbo?

 

[Mr. Earle]

Some more questions:

Spoiler

1) how did they move from one level to the other?
2) why did they need to do that anyway?
3) whose dreams were they anyway? Did they bring Fischer into Cobb's, or Arthur's, etc dream, or was it a general dream that they all shared?
4) How was the score?
5) So they convinced Fischer that his father was proud of him. So what?

 

[-Arya-]

Some more questions:

Spoiler

1) how did they move from one level to the other?
2) why did they need to do that anyway?
3) whose dreams were they anyway? Did they bring Fischer into Cobb's, or Arthur's, etc dream, or was it a general dream that they all shared?
4) How was the score?

Im sorry, I assumed you saw the movie. Why don't you just go watch it instead of spoiling yourself?

 

[Mr. Earle]

Im sorry, I assumed you saw the movie. Why don't you just go watch it instead of spoiling yourself?

Because it opens in August here for some reason. I'm guessing they re waiting for people to get back from their summer vacations or whatever.

 

[Solidus]

Man on the forth viewing there is even more I have found but I may explain some of it later.

This film just gets deeper and deeper.