Inception - Thumbs Up or Down?

[Siberys]

Loved it. A couple specific comments spoilered, in case they give anything away;

[sblock]The rolling car/hotel scene? Great. Totally want to make an encounter like that.

It was funny how long it took the van to fall. Fifteen minutes pass, and we see a shot of it... six inches from where we last saw it.

At first I thought the end scene was an intentionally ambiguous mindscrew, 'cause the top seemed to wobble. Then a friend pointed out that the kids were in the same position and apparently hadn't aged a day, comparatively to how they were last seen - meaning Cobb and Saito are still in limbo, and we have no idea how the mission turned out. Now when I think of that top wobbling, it's all schadenfreud, all the time.

Seriously, though - if Cobb and Saito are in limbo, aren't they functionally braindead? Or do they wake up after the normal amount of IRL time, but (very) possibly insane due to what seems like a near-eternity in limbo? And what becomes of Fischer if the epilogue is another dream?[/sblock]

Also, found this on TVTropes; thought it was funny;

Yo dawg I heard you needed to perform inception so we put a dream in your dream in your dream so you can dream while you dream while you dream

 

[the Jester]

It's rare to see a movie that treats you like your Int score is above 6.

Loved it, loved it, loved it!

 

[Joker]

Good movie. Very enjoyable.

That one fight scene in the hallway was the best. Can't wait to see the making of of that.

As an aside: Do they still feed actors? Because some of them looked awfully skinny and I'm not just talking about Ellen Page.

 

[John Crichton]

[sblock]

At first I thought the end scene was an intentionally ambiguous mindscrew, 'cause the top seemed to wobble. Then a friend pointed out that the kids were in the same position and apparently hadn't aged a day, comparatively to how they were last seen - meaning Cobb and Saito are still in limbo, and we have no idea how the mission turned out. Now when I think of that top wobbling, it's all schadenfreud, all the time. [/sblock]

That's certainly one way to view it.

 

[Siberys]

I suppose you're right;

[sblock]I mean, now he doesn't even CARE about the top, but rather about his kids. Still, Mindscrews abound. Which is the point, I guess. [/sblock]

 

[John Crichton]

I suppose you're right;

[sblock]I mean, now he doesn't even CARE about the top, but rather about his kids. Still, Mindscrews abound. Which is the point, I guess. [/sblock]

I didn't see it as a mindscrew. Just different layers and many different ways one can and probably should interpret the film. There's the love story and then there's the caper. Whatever else one would like to attach to the film is what they brought with them or, more likely, read between the lines. And no one would be fair in saying they are wrong.

 

[Umbran]

There are several elements one could key an interpretation of the end from - I am pretty sure they are purposely ambiguous, so that no single interpretation will be clearly correct.

All in all, a cool movie

 

[Truth Seeker]

The fight scene was all natural from I heard. Chris was told he could go CGI, but opted for a natural look.

And it came out great nonetheless.

Good movie. Very enjoyable.

That one fight scene in the hallway was the best. Can't wait to see the making of of that.

As an aside: Do they still feed actors? Because some of them looked awfully skinny and I'm not just talking about Ellen Page.

 

[Truth Seeker]

I totally agree...was it or wasn't it.

A great hook to get folks talking about it, and thus the word spreads and more folks see it.

A great genuis marketing ploy...

There are several elements one could key an interpretation of the end from - I am pretty sure they are purposely ambiguous, so that no single interpretation will be clearly correct.

All in all, a cool movie

 

[mattcolville]

I reviewed this over on my site, but rather than artlessly link there, I'll share what thoughts I've had since I reviewed it. And since I've seen it twice more.

One of the things I love about the film is the parallels between filmmaking and dreams. Cobb asks Ariadne if she remembers how she got to the cafe. Of course she doesn't, because you can't remember what happened before you started dreaming.

But I could just as easily ask Cobb what happened before he woke up on the Bullet Train. He would not be able to answer. But is that because you can't remember what happened before you started dreaming, or because Cobb is a character in a movie and therefore didn't exist before the movie started? Each is an allegory for the other.

Some people are brushing up against the core issue of the film, but I think maybe we're all missing the point. Yes, the obvious question is "what is real?" We were all asking that before the lights even went down because we knew we were in for a film about invading dreams.

And yes, Cobb's journey, his catharsis, is as real as anything and far more the point of the film than anything else.

But the reason we believe that, the reason we believe Cobb is ok at the end, has worked through his issues, is because there is one thing in dreams that's real; emotions.

The emotions we feel in dreams are as real, sometimes more real, than the ones we feel when waking. We can feel terror, even love, more powerfully (arguably because we can be more certain) in a dream than in real life.

So while we can question Cobb's actual experiences, we cannot question the emotional journey he makes. That is, has to be, 100% authentic, dream or no dream.