:SPOILERS: Inception discussion

[Freq]

So the premise of this movie is that it is possible for 2 or more people to share and experience a dream together. Leonardo Dicaprios character Dominic is one of the best at this whole dream orgy thing. He is also hiding out in Europe due to being wanted for his wife's death back in the USA. An asian business man Saito (Ken Watanabe), fearing being ran out of business by a monoplizing larger company, proposes that in exchange for Dominic jedi mind fucking the heir of the opposing company by way of the dream orgy thing, he can pull some strings and Dominic will be off the hook and back home with his 2 daughters in the US.
A bunch of other characters really unimportant to the grand scheme of things make up the crew that go into this Matrix ripoff dream world.
The 2nd plotline involves dreams WITHIN dreams (WITHIN DREAMS). So, you're having a dream, and you fall asleep, transporting yourself to dream stage 2. If you fall asleep there you go into dream stage 3 etc. Each stage up time elapses exponentually. You know how your dream feels like hours even though it was really like 5 mins. real time? SO on stage 2 those same 5 mins would feel llike days. on stage 3 that same 5 mins would feel like months. If you "die" in any of the stages and for some reason don't wake up, you are sent to dream purgatory where decades pass over the span of the original 5 mins.


Storyline 3 deals with Dominic and his wife. Way back when, the two of them experimented with high levels of dreamstate (Level 3 or higher?) in which they created an entire world all to themselves. After a while Dominic thinks that as awesome as their dream world is, they need to return to the REAL world so they "wake up"! Well, his wife is CONVINCED that even after "waking up" that they are still in dream stage 1! And the only way to wake up from it is to die in the dream. So she jumps out of a really high window and goes splat!

As for the whole monopoly jedi mindfuck story. Of course, the team pulls it off in the end.

Dominic is back with his 2 daughters and they all live happily ever after..........or do they???

The end of the movie is a cliff hanger. It is up to interpetation as to wether Dominic IS back in the "real" world with his daughters and unfortunately his wife dead OR was his wife right and Dominic is still dreaming and she is the one back in the real world waiting for HIM to wake up?


You really need an imagination to enjoy the movie. There isn't a whole lot of explaining on how everything works, you just have to take them at their word as to how everything functions. If you try to put too much thought into it, you'll just end up confusing yourself. There is also A LOT of pointless information that never plays out in the story progression. On the good side, the zero gravity special effects are AWESOME.
I personally liked the movie, but it isn't something I would recommend to everyone. I know if my mom watched it she would be asking so many questions that I'd rage and tell her to STFU and watch the movie!

 

[CurvyDDMarie]

Ok, I'm glad someone finally said either they were still dreaming or not dreaming. Because before I saw the movie, and right as it was getting popular, I was listening to the radio the one day and ALL they started a discussion with is "did he or didn't he?" so I went into the moving thinking it was going to end up "did he die or didn't he?" and then realized that wasn't the case at all. So idk, maybe they were being particularly SUPER vague with that question to not give too much away, but it made me question at the end of the movie..... I said to my friend, "do you understand why they'd say 'did he or didnt he?' " and he said no.

But either way I thought it was a sweet ass movie. Thought the concept was very original and I've never seen anything like it. I loved the effects. I actually never have sat through any of the Matrix movies, but of course seen the bazillion commercials when it was huge, and do you really think that was a rip off of the Matrix? By all means I have no clue. I mean, sure, I could see the similarity overall that they both suspend time with their effects, but I'd imagine Inception is WAY far out there, when you consider how long the van is falling over the bridge.

Have you watched it twice yet? I plan to. I think that's going to be one of those movies you'll catch more crap the 2nd time around.

Oh and I was highly amused that the hotel room number is my apartment number, ftw! Haha. But this movie is going to be on my list of movies to watch next time I'm trippin :dance: Avatar 3D was beyond amazing on acid, and Alice 3D was disappointing while trippin :roll: Go figure, the one that was MEANT to have something to do while you are trippin was the worst. Bleh. So anyone that happened to watch this movie while retarded out of their mind, please share! Cuz' I'd love nothing more than to be able to trip and see shit like that, I think it would be awesome! I'm not sure what would be better, being able to see your world pancaked, or Mario visiting me again lol. (I'm a Mario dork, complete with a Mario tattoo and all, so naturally first time I tripped I saw Mario in the wallpaper! :-D )

 

[AmberCutie]

Since Keithy posted this elsewhere, I'll add it to this thread since it's very relevant.

http://entertainment.todaysbigthing.com/2010/08/03

I'll start by saying I definitely liked this movie, it held my attention the entire time, and I enjoyed the creativity within each of the dream levels. The snow level reminded me of Sub Base map on MW2 . I don't care that the concept of "dreaming is reality, blah blah" is similar to that of the Matrix movies. I think this was done more eloquently anyway.

Jawbs and I have had a few discussions on "did he or didn't he" and still have come to no certain conclusion in our minds.

My argument for why he was still in the dream is the waking sequence. When he wakes up, he's completely unhooked from the machine and the IV, as is everyone. In previous waking scenes, they wake up right as they're being unhooked. So I lean towards he's still in dream limbo and has just decided to stay there to be happy with his children.

Also, did anyone hear arrangements being made for Dom's father to be waiting at the airport for him in the US? That tipped me off a bit, also. I guess it could just be assumed that his father was planning on being there.

So ultimately... did the top stop spinning? It looked like it might have been just starting to wobble when we cut to black.

 

[NinjaMike42]

First of all, Freq, he didn't have 2 daughters. Unless he and Mal were THAT twisted and named their daughter James

The best theory I've heard about the end is that it's impossible to tell. The line between dream and reality has become so incredibly blurred that it's impossible to really say what is what. I have a feeling Christopher Nolan doesn't even know which it is. Personally I'm inclined to say it's closer to reality than to dream, but I don't really have anything to concretely support that.

My brother (Or maybe it was someone I was talking to online. Can't remember) thinks that MOST of what were to think of as reality is actually a dream. His reasoning is that when he went Dom tested the sedative, he seemed to wake up almost immediately. But if it was as powerful of a sedative as it was supposed to be, he wouldn't have woken up immediately. True, he used his totem shortly afterward, but it fell off of where it was spinning, so it wasn't a good test. I don't think he used it after that, but even if he did, it was his dream. If he wanted to believe he was in reality, he could have made it stop spinning.

The one thing that bothers me is this: When the van is flipping on level 1, why didn't it kick Arthur? The others were in level 3 at the time and they couldn't be kicked through more than 1 level. But Arthur was still in level 2, so why wasn't he kicked? The only thing I can come up with was that level 2 was his dream (I didn't really catch that in the movie, but reading about it later I found out). If Arthur was kicked to level 1, then level 2 would no longer exist, so the people in level 3 would no longer exist... Or something like that

 

[Freq]

First of all, Freq, he didn't have 2 daughters. Unless he and Mal were THAT twisted and named their daughter James

The best theory I've heard about the end is that it's impossible to tell. The line between dream and reality has become so incredibly blurred that it's impossible to really say what is what. I have a feeling Christopher Nolan doesn't even know which it is. Personally I'm inclined to say it's closer to reality than to dream, but I don't really have anything to concretely support that.

My brother (Or maybe it was someone I was talking to online. Can't remember) thinks that MOST of what were to think of as reality is actually a dream. His reasoning is that when he went Dom tested the sedative, he seemed to wake up almost immediately. But if it was as powerful of a sedative as it was supposed to be, he wouldn't have woken up immediately. True, he used his totem shortly afterward, but it fell off of where it was spinning, so it wasn't a good test. I don't think he used it after that, but even if he did, it was his dream. If he wanted to believe he was in reality, he could have made it stop spinning.

The one thing that bothers me is this: When the van is flipping on level 1, why didn't it kick Arthur? The others were in level 3 at the time and they couldn't be kicked through more than 1 level. But Arthur was still in level 2, so why wasn't he kicked? The only thing I can come up with was that level 2 was his dream (I didn't really catch that in the movie, but reading about it later I found out). If Arthur was kicked to level 1, then level 2 would no longer exist, so the people in level 3 would no longer exist... Or something like that

my bad on misremembering that DOM had a son.

My theory on the kicks on multiple levels: There is really only one "kick" taking place, but it is precieved differently on each level. Each level isn't a sequential timeline, but rather all levels are taking place simutaniously or virtual miliseconds apart. So even though it is depicted on screen as "this happens first, then this, then this......." when it is all said and done, reguardless of which level anyone is on or WHEN they were kicked, they all wake up on the plane at the exact moment and have all been dreaming for the same amount of time.

 

[morment]

My theory on the kicks on multiple levels: There is really only one "kick" taking place, but it is precieved differently on each level. Each level isn't a sequential timeline, but rather all levels are taking place simutaniously or virtual miliseconds apart. So even though it is depicted on screen as "this happens first, then this, then this......." when it is all said and done, reguardless of which level anyone is on or WHEN they were kicked, they all wake up on the plane at the exact moment and have all been dreaming for the same amount of time.

That's my understanding, because each further dream stage simply elongates the time perception from the original dream induced on the flight to LA.

I don't know if the end is real or still a dream either, like I'm sure was intended, but I did notice that while the top didn't stop spinning it was developing a wobble which never happened when he tested it in other people's dreams, namely the part where he was convincing old Saito to come back from limbo, it just kept spinning perfectly the entire time. Although I'm not even sure if the top is a good indicator of reality or not, since it was originally his wife's, he pulled it out of the safe in limbo.

Regardless of how it ended, I loved the movie. I need to see it again since I'm sure I missed more than just the thing about his wedding ring.

 

[AmberCutie]

They designed kicks in each level, and it seemed as though they were determined to do them in order so that people would wake correctly from one level to the next. I don't think it was their intention to push it to the last possible second and have to rush all the kicks like they ended up doing, but they had a planned kick for each one.

In "limbo" it was not planned so to speak since it was a last minute effort to go there at all, but she fell off the building for the kick.

In the snow level, it was the explosion to drop the floor and create the fall.

In the hotel it was supposed to be an explosion in the room, but the anti-gravity forced him to use the elevator.

For the original dream, it was the van falling, but then hitting the water since the fall failed.

Then back to reality was a music cue. I'm not sure if it was the music cue alone, or if something else came with it. Plane landing? Hah, dunno.

I feel like I left out a level...

 

[bawksy]

My argument for why he was still in the dream is the waking sequence. When he wakes up, he's completely unhooked from the machine and the IV, as is everyone. In previous waking scenes, they wake up right as they're being unhooked.

That would be because most of the other times they use the dream machines, sedatives aren't involved. On the plane, I assume they are all given the same intense sedative that lets them get to level 3 (or deeper). So when they get "kicked" out of the dream, they don't necessarily wake up yet since they are still drugged up.

Although I don't remember them showing anyone get the sedative except Fischer (the mark). So who knows. :?

Also don't forget when they wake up in the train from both levels of the dream at the beginning of the movie, they are able to disconnect the machine and skedaddle before Saito wakes up. I assume the stewardess on the plane did the same thing (hide the equipment).

 

[AmberCutie]

My argument for why he was still in the dream is the waking sequence. When he wakes up, he's completely unhooked from the machine and the IV, as is everyone. In previous waking scenes, they wake up right as they're being unhooked.

That would be because most of the other times they use the dream machines, sedatives aren't involved. On the plane, I assume they are all given the same intense sedative that lets them get to level 3 (or deeper). So when they get "kicked" out of the dream, they don't necessarily wake up yet since they are still drugged up.

Although I don't remember them showing anyone get the sedative except Fischer (the mark). So who knows. :?

Also don't forget when they wake up in the train from both levels of the dream at the beginning of the movie, they are able to disconnect the machine and skedaddle before Saito wakes up. I assume the stewardess on the plane did the same thing (hide the equipment).

Roger that.

 

[morment]

They designed kicks in each level, and it seemed as though they were determined to do them in order so that people would wake correctly from one level to the next. I don't think it was their intention to push it to the last possible second and have to rush all the kicks like they ended up doing, but they had a planned kick for each one.

In "limbo" it was not planned so to speak since it was a last minute effort to go there at all, but she fell off the building for the kick.

In the snow level, it was the explosion to drop the floor and create the fall.

In the hotel it was supposed to be an explosion in the room, but the anti-gravity forced him to use the elevator.

For the original dream, it was the van falling, but then hitting the water since the fall failed.

Then back to reality was a music cue. I'm not sure if it was the music cue alone, or if something else came with it. Plane landing? Hah, dunno.

I feel like I left out a level...

the music isn't a kick in and of itself, it's just to let the dreamers know that one's coming, or in the deeper levels, ready their own.

 

[bawksy]

lol wut

 

[Mirra]

I'm inclined to go with the "wobble" methodology to answer the question of whether or not he is still dreaming. I had never considered the idea that he'd never woken up from the basement to test the sleep and sedative elixir though I also believe if all the dreams that followed had been a part of his dream state rather than belonging to those of the intended dreamers, Mal would have had a presence in the first and second levels of the mission dream since those dreams would have been creations of his own subconscious.

 

[QueenMeadow]

On a complete side note, I want to make the world's cutest babies with John Gordon-Levitt

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm :handgestures-thumbup:



I Fully enjoyed this movie. I would like to believe (maybe I am just wanting to be positive) that he made it home to his kids. No dream.

 

[morment]

I need to see this again.

 

[selshan]

I had to, don't kill me pls.

 

[bawksy]

I had to, don't kill me pls.

 

[brevedecane]

I watched it today and I liked it. Nice concept. It may well be that but the hooting and cheering in my audience at least indicated that they enjoyed it overall. JGL and Ellen Page are fine. Tom Hardy is excellent as usual. The effects are what steal the show. Probably the best ever in my opinion, better than Avatar.