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SPOILER ALERT. Inception discussion

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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
Once again, this thread is about the end of the movie, if you haven't seen it, don't scroll down till you do see it. If you haven't seen it, go into the movie and right at the beginning say to yourself "what is this entire movie was true/possible"

































Okay So now that that is out of the way. What did everyone think of the end of it...

My theory is that he is still stuck in limbo and will be forever. He spins his totem to see if it is reality but when he sees his kids he just doesn't care anymore. They are wearing the same clothes they were wearing in his memory when he tried to change it so that he could see their faces. Once he finally does change that memory and is able to see their faces he accepts that as his reality whether or not it is actually reality. Also i think the fact that the totem spun for ever but still wobbled meant that he was still somewhere in the middle of reality and dreamworld.

Then again as I typed this I thought of a few reasons why he had to be in reality... That movie was wild, its crazy to think about if all of that was true or possible. My mind got fucked 5 ways sideways from that movie.
Jul 16 2010 11:49AM
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Get.Kronk
Posts: 2543 - Karma: 226
so i should go see it?
Jul 16 2010 12:45PM
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illadelphlife
Posts: 1386 - Karma: 27

i see where your coming from, i think his wife was right the whole time and he should have killed himself with her and they would be back in the real world together

Jul 16 2010 1:05PM
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
do you think that he never got out of limbo in the first place? I think that he did get out the first time and she didnt grasp her real reality which is why she killed herself. I think that part of the movie is truthful and not part of the twist. I think that after he met with the old Asian man he never got out of limbo, only changed his dream kinda...

Just thought of something, did Leo ever die in the entire movie? or was he alive the entire time? because if he never died then I think he never made it out of limbo the first time. Then again you could count the flashback of him and his wife on the train tracks dieing... but couldn't that also be just another level of a dream?
Jul 16 2010 1:36PM
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
yes you should, but dont read the posts above it will ruin it obviously..
Jul 16 2010 1:51PM
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nitsua
Posts: 4631 - Karma: 726
fuck, that ending is making my brain really mad.
Jul 17 2010 2:02AM
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gnarrr
Posts: 823 - Karma: 12
Not to do with the ending, and it's basically a mindfuck trying to ask this but when they were in that van being chased and the driver took a sharp turn or rolled the van over why did that affect the movement/gravity of the dream that the people who were sleeping in the van were having, but then when the people who were sleeping/dreaming in the hotel had no gravity they still had gravity in the mountain dream. Also when they were put in the elevator in the hotel dream it didn't seem to affect the gravity of the mountain dream.
Jul 17 2010 4:55AM
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Hermondo
Posts: 1244 - Karma: 52
he died. the old man reaches for the gun and it is assumed that he shoots leo and then himself. but who know what really happens. and i think at the end the top never stops spinning and it cuts to the credits just to mess with your mind one more time
Jul 17 2010 5:07AM
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bout_it
Posts: 1233 - Karma: 17
He planted the thought in himself that he wasn't in limbo. Therefore, he didn't believe he was.
Jul 17 2010 7:35AM
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thugaim
Posts: 2181 - Karma: 33
The whole point of the ending is that we dont know if he is dreaming or not. He wasn't dreaming the whole thing because his totem fell over before.

This movie left way too many questions for it to be any good though. Theres a point where you are just left wondering how any of this shit works.


How do they create dreams? How do they get into other peoples' dreams? How did this technology get developed? Why is Cobbs' dad english? How did Cobb become a dream going-intoer? How did Ellen Page learn how to create dreams so fast? How come nothing dreamlike happens in the dreams (like flying around, crazy random crap appearing etc.)? Why aren't they floating around with no gravity in the snow dream?
Jul 17 2010 7:52AM
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grams.
Posts: 7406 - Karma: 186
Yeah but I think you gotta realize that when you were seeing his wife, it was just Cobb's subconscious and him believing she was there. She was never actually there, and I don't think she's in limbo at all because she killed herself in the real world (so we think, until the end WTF). The whole limbo thing I think is confusing because of the end, cause you could just change everything around to what is a dream, whats not.
Jul 17 2010 9:23AM
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Bepo
Posts: 8195 - Karma: 17
The whole point of the totem was to see if you were inside of somebody elses dream because they don't know the correct outcome. It wouldn't work if you were in limbo because it's your own dream and you know whats supposed to happen.

I don't get exactly how the top was supposed to keep spinning if the correct outcome was for it to fall over. Unless theres some kind of weird dream physics it should always fall over. The die works because it should always come up with the same number so if it doesn't come up with the right number you know your in someone elses dream
Jul 17 2010 10:43AM
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ct_steeze
Posts: 1175 - Karma: 153
nothing dreamlike happens in the dreams because they are constructed beforehand to be realistic pretty much. and they arent floating around in zero gravity in the snow dream because the third dream is controlled by the second dream and in the second dream they are stable not falling and weightless. i dont really know tho just my 2 cents lol
Jul 17 2010 11:23AM
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pounds.
Posts: 837 - Karma: 55
Or what if this top was meant to spin forever in reality or in his own dream, but when in someone else's dream world it would fall over. So, throughout the entire movie he was dreaming and the few times that it did spin forever he was in reality or his own dream. Just a theory.
Jul 17 2010 11:32AM
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
but remember when the one guy said heres my totem, it was the die, and she asked to see it and he said no that would defeat the purpose.. leos totems isnt his totem. it was his wifes. therefor the purpose of his totem is defeated. his totem isnt a totem, it is just a top that spins according to what he wants it to. he is stuck in limbo for the entire movie and his wife is still waiting for him with the kids.
Jul 17 2010 11:57AM
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BootySpunk.
Posts: 8148 - Karma: 84
So if he was in limbo for the whole movie does that mean everyone he interacted with was his subconscious?...I am so fucking confused with this movie ha.

Jul 17 2010 12:04PM
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OGHolliday
Posts: 2390 - Karma: 2,430
The top spins forever in any dream. If he is in the real world it will tip. They dont show the top falling but I beleive he is in reality because its the first time his kids turn around and see him. Plus his dad never went into dreams because he didnt like messing with that shit. SO EVERYTHING WORKED OUT AND IS GREAT!
Jul 17 2010 12:05PM
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
But his dad could be a projection, and also he kept saying that he just wanted to change that memory and see his kids faces. They are wearing the same clothes they wear in that memory, and doing nearly the same thing. He changes the memory by adding his father into the memory and then sees his kids faces. Limbo. Anytime anyone thinks they have it figured out, someone will debunk it cus that movie has no answer, it was made to mindfuck.
Jul 17 2010 12:13PM
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OGHolliday
Posts: 2390 - Karma: 2,430
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/txqiwrbYGrs&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/txqiwrbYGrs&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

Go to 19 seconds.
Jul 17 2010 12:16PM
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OGHolliday
Posts: 2390 - Karma: 2,430
Go to 19 seconds. AND please work.
Jul 17 2010 12:16PM
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
hes in limbo for sure.
Jul 17 2010 12:19PM
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TZP
Posts: 874 - Karma: 61
Wrong. His wife is dead, the totem is now his and he's the only one who knows exactly how it's supposed to work. Nothing suggests he's in limbo for the whole duration of the movie, it just wouldn't make any sense. The only question there is is: did he get to see his kids in reality or did he accept limbo as his new reality, because we don't know if the top ends up falling or not.
Jul 17 2010 12:29PM
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Bepo
Posts: 8195 - Karma: 17
that's what I was thinking but when he first tried inception on his wife the idea he planted was that she was dreaming. He did this by making the top spin forever inside of her dream without her knowing. This caused her to realize she was dreaming and needed to wake up. When they actually woke up the idea carried over and she still thought she was in a dream and needed to wake up.
Jul 17 2010 12:29PM
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
Either way, he accepts his reality real or fake so it shoulnt matter, he just wants his kids
Jul 17 2010 12:53PM
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Hermondo
Posts: 1244 - Karma: 52
no no no why would that whole thing be a dream? it was his profession to extract was it not? unless he dreamed that that was his profession
Jul 17 2010 1:08PM
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Big_Spence
Posts: 16177 - Karma: 4,352
this movie was a giant mindfuck. and i loved every second of it. everyone who hasn't seen it needs to.

my theory is he really did make it out of his dream and back to "reality". because his old dream of his children where he didn't see their faces was a memory, and how did he change that?

also did anyone else see this movie high?
Jul 17 2010 1:15PM
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grams.
Posts: 7406 - Karma: 186
^One of my friends said he did.

Another thing...why didn't Cobb just spin the totem in front of his wife when she was trippin out and thought everything was a dream? Once it dropped she would know it's not a dream anymore. Maybe she just couldn't accept anything anymore, I don't know.

This movie is pissing me off now cause it was so good.
Jul 17 2010 1:29PM
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nickyp
Posts: 5673 - Karma: 215
I agree.

He said that limbo was in between dream state abnd relaity, and was just nothingness - no subconscious, just nothing, so suggesting he was in limbo for the entire movie I think is wrong.

I would like to know what happened with the old guy at the end though - why he was reaching for the gun etc
Jul 17 2010 1:39PM
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Big_Spence
Posts: 16177 - Karma: 4,352
to blow his fucking brains out to try and wake up.
Jul 17 2010 1:41PM
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ct_steeze
Posts: 1175 - Karma: 153
the old guy at the end was the chinese investor in limbo. its inferred he shot cobb and then himself for them to wake up and get out of limbo
Jul 17 2010 2:44PM
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Bepo
Posts: 8195 - Karma: 17
Both leo and the asian dude died in the first dream and went into limbo. The asian dude died a couple minutes earlier and as a result aged like 30 years before leo arrived. You don't realize you're in limbo and everything seems real, however with the totem leo was able to see he was in a dream and I assume he told him. In order to get out of limbo you must kill yourself, however it feels like real life so you have to be really sure it's a dream. Asian dude killed leo and then himself in order to return to real life and honor the contract he originally made
Jul 17 2010 2:46PM
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
that sounds like the most logical explanation yet.. i have to see it again to make more sense of it all.. but that sounds about right cus i wondered why the asian dude was so old
Jul 17 2010 3:00PM
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JacheOReally
Posts: 3597 - Karma: 253
They are in Saitos dream, saito fallowed through on his arrangment , he gave him his children whether it is reality or not
Jul 17 2010 3:14PM
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TheDude
Posts: 2058 - Karma: 117

when they are on the plane it looks like the aisan man is reaching for a gun in his coat, maybe suggesting that they killed themselves (in limbo or the subconciouss they were in) and got out.

also my freinds were arguing, to go from the first fdream state back to real life you wouldnt need a kick right, becuase by the time you got to that point the sedation and sleep would be light eough to wake you up without needing an ecualibrian kick?

Jul 17 2010 5:21PM
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nickyp
Posts: 5673 - Karma: 215
I didn't think they were in limbo, they were in Cobb's dream state.

And wouldn't shooting Cobb and himself have put them both into limbo?
Jul 17 2010 6:01PM
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J-Evs
Posts: 6387 - Karma: 1,615
watched it
left movie theater
thought to myself
MIND=FUCKED
Jul 17 2010 6:03PM
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TheButterHashira
Posts: 9691 - Karma: 1,702
So fucking fantastic. Such an intelligent but exciting movie. I really didn't decide what I thought about the end.
Jul 17 2010 6:08PM
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[~_~]
Posts: 20239 - Karma: 1,273
this.

And I think Nolan made the ending open because he wanted the viewers to carefully piece together every aspect and make their own interpretations of what happened to Cobb. The story was constructed so that multiple endings could be equally plausible, and in doing so, multiple themes and concepts could be inferred by the viewers. Richard Kelly used the same literary technique in Donnie Darko...
Jul 17 2010 6:39PM
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illadelphlife
Posts: 1386 - Karma: 27
Click for larger image
Jul 17 2010 6:43PM
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thugaim
Posts: 2181 - Karma: 33
I can't believe not one other person though this movie was a load of shit.
Jul 17 2010 6:58PM
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damastax68
Posts: 150 - Karma: 11
He definatley not in limbo, because if he was in limbo throught the movie it wouldnt make sense, inception wouldn't have worked, and his wife would be alive when hes not? really you guys cant really think that the director would leave the main character in his own dream... thats nonsense....
Jul 17 2010 7:03PM
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nickyp
Posts: 5673 - Karma: 215
It's okay, not everyone will understand it. You should have gone and seen Toy Story 3 instead.
Jul 17 2010 7:13PM
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Jordan
Posts: 4079 - Karma: 2,122
Yes.

Also, whenever he spun the top in a dream it never wobbled - it spun like it had just dropped, but at the very end it starts to wobble suggesting that even though it was still spinning, it wasn't spinning like it would be in a dream. (It was wobbling)

Makes me believe it was real at the end, plus like someone said, he never saw his kids faces in any dreams and they turned in the end...making me think its real too.
Jul 17 2010 7:17PM
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Snowgoner
Posts: 5047 - Karma: 964
i think he was in limbo because the memories were too similar to the reality at the end. part of me wants to believe that it was reality. his piece spun for a long time but it began to wobble.

it was such a good movie though. best movie this year by far. avatar was only good for the 3D.
Jul 17 2010 7:20PM
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Big_Spence
Posts: 16177 - Karma: 4,352
avatar was good for nothing whatsoever.
Jul 17 2010 7:24PM
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illadelphlife
Posts: 1386 - Karma: 27
what if were dreaming right now and were in limbo?!?!?!?!?!
Jul 17 2010 7:25PM
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damastax68
Posts: 150 - Karma: 11
Thank god this wasnt in 3d, is it just me or did the 3d bandwagon roll into hollywood this year... I hate 3d movies....
Jul 17 2010 7:25PM
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Hermondo
Posts: 1244 - Karma: 52
OK the only reason the top was still spinning at the end when it cut to the credits was to start discussions like this. it was all a giant "hey let's see how long we can get people to talk about our movie" scheme. that's it.
Jul 17 2010 7:31PM
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thugaim
Posts: 2181 - Karma: 33
I quite liked District 9, Inglorious Basterds, hmm... can't think of much else. I haven't watched too many properly good new movies recently.

Im not saying Inception was shit, its better than a lot of movies for sure, but when the movie ended the first thing i thought was "that was pretty stupid."
It could have been much better. I think they needed to explain how the whole dream thing worked just a little bit... give the characters some background, and make the dreaming-aspect of it all a bit more dreamlike.

Also, if i want to see a skiing gunfight, i'd go and watch The Spy Who Loved Me...
Jul 17 2010 7:35PM
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Big_Spence
Posts: 16177 - Karma: 4,352
fuck you.
those guys were skiing switch, no poles, while shooting guns and shit.
they all deserve medals.
Jul 17 2010 7:37PM
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thugaim
Posts: 2181 - Karma: 33
I didn't mind the ending i just mean i thought that about the whole movie.


Im not saying they should explain everything, but it seems like they were stuck between trying to make it all realistic and whatnot and trying to make it just be completely surreal. If im watching a movie like The Fountain for example, im not going to expect an explaination as to why theres a guy flying through space with on an island with a tree on it or whatever... however, when its a movie thats clearly set in the real world and making this premise that these events are possible, i would expect some sort of explanation... or at least some basic background into the idea etc.


Also, none of the characters had any background aside from Cobbs, who you knew nothing about apart from that his wife is dead... i didn't really care about any of them...

Anyways, whatever... i can see why people like this movie... i just dont think it was that great.







p.s. im pretty sure people on the space station have dreams where there is gravity.
Jul 17 2010 7:48PM
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