[Phalanges]

It lives up to the hype. There is not a single bad scene in the entire film.

It reminded me in a lot of ways of the first time I watched The Matrix, both thematically and in presentation. It is a very special experience, and one that I would recommend to everyone.

I will probably return later to post more detailed thoughts, once I've had a little time to process it.

[cadaeibfeceh]

Wow.
SO ****ING GOOD

[CookieDoughLove]

(Original post by Ape Gone Insane)
Did you understand it? A lot of people came out saying they were confused and it was too complex.

Even the above posts indicate this.

I didn't have a clue what was going on

Which i'm quite gutted about. Because the plot seemed very thorough and developed, and the scenes themselves were awesome, especially the special effects. I enjoyed it, but I would have enjoyed it more if I knew what the hell was going on.

[.Scout.]

(Original post by CookieDoughLove)
I didn't have a clue what was going on

Which i'm quite gutted about. Because the plot seemed very thorough and developed, and the scenes themselves were awesome, especially the special effects. I enjoyed it, but I would have enjoyed it more if I knew what the hell was going on.

I agree that it got all very confusing with the dreams within dreams within dreams. It was sooo hard to keep track of it all!

[Eradicus]

It was superb in parts, and I admired the sheer audacity of it, but with all the hype I can't help but feel a little underwhelmed.
Still, I ******* love Ellen Page and she was as great as ever, and Christopher Nolan really is a genius, but despite the effort put into the character of Cobb....I couldn't sympathise fully with his journey. I can't explain; perhaps it was simply too rushed for me, but I found much more interest in the characters of Joseph-Gordon Levitt, Ellen Page, Ken Watanbe and (especially) Cillian Murphy. Thought the whole idea of how they planned and excuted the Inception was excellent... it was a good film, and might improve on repeated viewings, but I still think Memento is his best work.

[Eradicus]

Also, unlike my dad - in fairness, he fell asleep at some stage - I'm almost certain I kept a grip on the plot. Whether that plot was sufficiently gripping remains to be seen, all this "buried deep within [his/her/their] subsconcious" did grate with me after awhile, as it's something so abstract and not something you can relate to.
Also the "twist" about Cobb

Spoiler:

Show

being responsible for his wife's suicide

wasn't that good.

[Strictly Business]

aye, it was sick. I don't whether it may have completely passed me by (and I don't think it did), but I didn't find the plot as confusing as I expected.

Just pure greatness. Can't wait for a second run through.

[abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz]

Just got back

what a film, it was amazing

[Onearmedbandit]

I loved it. Aside from a few things I'm still trying to figure out, I thought the plot was largely followable provided you paid attention and didn't let your mind wander!

Spoiler:

Show

I think the ending is deliberately ambiguous. Nolan's probably chuckling to himself watching people debating it online right now So I really can't make up my mind on that one.

I *want* it to be real at the end just because it'd be the nice happy ending most of us wanted to see. But that begs the question as to how he awoke from the dream, assuming he wasn't awakened by any of the kicks (we know he missed the first one deliberately, and it's not really explained whether a kick will awake someone who's dreaming within a dream).

The alternative is that he's stuck in limbo. One might think that's just as good as he wouldn't know any better. But if he comes inside to find the thing still spinning he'll realise he's in a dream, and who knows how he'd feel about that.

One thing I'm still trying to figure out is, as I mentioned above, whether they can awake someone who's dreaming within a dream by awaking them from their original dream. If so then presumably they could wake up the sleepy Leo when the plane lands by chucking him in a cold bath?

[OhNO!]

It was absolutely incredible. I found the plot fairly simple to follow whilst I was watching it, Ellen Page was a pretty useful plot device as a way of tutoring the audience through the more complex parts of the film.

One of the great joys of this films is, I think, how much sense there seems to be to the plot that it leaves you feeling satisfied at the end, there are no obvious plot holes or points where you're left thinking 'what was that?' - but there's also plenty of fodder to think about, mull over, and question afterwards.

Without a doubt, one of the best films I've seen in the cinema in the past 5 years.

[OhNO!]

(Original post by Onearmedbandit)
I loved it. Aside from a few things I'm still trying to figure out, I thought the plot was largely followable provided you paid attention and didn't let your mind wander!

Spoiler:

Show

One thing I'm still trying to figure out is, as I mentioned above, whether they can awake someone who's dreaming within a dream by awaking them from their original dream. If so then presumably they could wake up the sleepy Leo when the plane lands by chucking him in a cold bath?

Certainly not, not someone stuck in limbo anyway - otherwise why would they say 'stuck'? why would the characters all be so concerned when Cobb tells them about how the inception will send them into limbo?

I imagine they would eventually wake up from a dream-within-a-dream when the sedative wore off - but there was a noted difference in the film between a dream within a dream, and the limbo state.

Spoiler:

Show

That's why Cobb had to go and 'rescue' Seito.

ETA: Also, my super-lame friend wanted to know if the scene with Arthur and the kick in the lift conformed to Newton's Laws of Motion? He said it doesn't - any thoughts?

[evertn4lif]

(Original post by Onearmedbandit)

Spoiler:

Show

One thing I'm still trying to figure out is, as I mentioned above, whether they can awake someone who's dreaming within a dream by awaking them from their original dream. If so then presumably they could wake up the sleepy Leo when the plane lands by chucking him in a cold bath?

Spoiler:

Show

From what i got from the movie, yes they can wake up from within another dream by chucking him in a cold bath etc, but because he would be in limbo, in real world time minutes would be like decades in limbo for the dreamer. Thats the way i undastood it :P

[Onearmedbandit]

(Original post by OhNO!)
Certainly not, not someone stuck in limbo anyway - otherwise why would they say 'stuck'? why would the characters all be so concerned when Cobb tells them about how the inception will send them into limbo?

I imagine they would eventually wake up from a dream-within-a-dream when the sedative wore off - but there was a noted difference in the film between a dream within a dream, and the limbo state.

Spoiler:

Show

That's why Cobb had to go and 'rescue' Seito.

ETA: Also, my super-lame friend wanted to know if the scene with Arthur and the kick in the lift conformed to Newton's Laws of Motion? He said it doesn't - any thoughts?

I think I just need to watch it again. I think things will become clearer on a 2nd viewing, especially if I go to the IMAX next time

[Phalanges]

(Original post by Ape Gone Insane)
Did you understand it? A lot of people came out saying they were confused and it was too complex.

Even the above posts indicate this.

I feel I have a good understanding, particularly on a macroscopic level. The thing that I like a lot about it is that it's layered in such a way that it's difficult to feel lost in it; while watching it it's relatively easy to take it at face value and understand the mechanics (as quite a few posts have said they found it simpler than they expected) but when you leave the cinema you can burrow as deep as you please into it.

It's very cleverly done, enough though it's quit a high-concept film it felt completely natural to me.

(Original post by Onearmedbandit)
I loved it. Aside from a few things I'm still trying to figure out, I thought the plot was largely followable provided you paid attention and didn't let your mind wander!

Spoiler:

Show

I think the ending is deliberately ambiguous. Nolan's probably chuckling to himself watching people debating it online right now So I really can't make up my mind on that one.

I *want* it to be real at the end just because it'd be the nice happy ending most of us wanted to see. But that begs the question as to how he awoke from the dream, assuming he wasn't awakened by any of the kicks (we know he missed the first one deliberately, and it's not really explained whether a kick will awake someone who's dreaming within a dream).

The alternative is that he's stuck in limbo. One might think that's just as good as he wouldn't know any better. But if he comes inside to find the thing still spinning he'll realise he's in a dream, and who knows how he'd feel about that.

One thing I'm still trying to figure out is, as I mentioned above, whether they can awake someone who's dreaming within a dream by awaking them from their original dream. If so then presumably they could wake up the sleepy Leo when the plane lands by chucking him in a cold bath?

Spoiler:

Show

With regards to how he awoke, you have to bear in mind that he spent years there. You see him as an old man finding an even older Seito, they could have been there decades. Presumably they committed suicide, awaking them back to reality in a similar fashion to the last time Cobb and his wife were in limbo (as the death-awakening rule still applies) because the other dream layers had since collapsed.

However, I think you've missed an alternative solution to the ending. How do you know that his whole "awake" state is not itself a dream? When you think about it, that level is filled with clichés of dreams - wanting to go home, banishment, anonymous corporations, billionaires wanting to help you and with seemingly noble purposes of their own, jetsetting around the world - and the more you think about it, the more it seems to be the only logical answer that it is all a dream. The main clue for me is actually something that Cobb says; "How did you get here?". How does the film start? You are thrust straight into the action, there is no prelude, no buildup. In short, you remember the end, but not the beginning. Exactly the same as one of the rules which Cobb lays out (and assuming this reality is Cobb's dream, it would have to conform to his rules).

As for the bath-awakening, that is something I'm not sure on. I think it might have something to do with the deep level of sedation used, or that it depends on whose dream you are trapped in (as Cobb wasn't just in his own dream, but two other people's, and maybe you can only awaken people one level down).

(Original post by OhNO!)
ETA: Also, my super-lame friend wanted to know if the scene with Arthur and the kick in the lift conformed to Newton's Laws of Motion? He said it doesn't - any thoughts?

Spoiler:

Show

It doesn't have to. The only rules in your dreams are confined to your own limitations. You can create anything you want, so long as you believe it is possible. Because it is Arthur's dream, when he states that no gravity would mean he can't drop them down a level, that becomes a fact. However, when he thinks of the way in which he can do it, that also becomes fact.

Because these places are not real, they do not have to conform to any rules of the real world. However, because they are so ingrained in the mind of most people, they appear there as a byproduct of your imagination.

[Shiny Dirt]

I couldn't actually sleep afterwards, I was so excited and thought-provoked from that film
Brilliantly done, unique, actually quite relatable and gets you thinking
It's complex but I was hardly lost, the only time I was puzzled was at the end, which I still am!
GENIUS.

[Anansi]

Just saw Inception, I really liked it, kinda weird but had that good mix of action and intellectuality. Leonardo DiCaprio was great, and Nolan did a great job directing.
So what did everyone think of it? The ending kinda pissed me off but I have my own theory about it, what did everyone here think of it? The ending in particular, would love to hear theories.

[Onearmedbandit]

(Original post by Phalanges)

Spoiler:

Show

However, I think you've missed an alternative solution to the ending. How do you know that his whole "awake" state is not itself a dream? When you think about it, that level is filled with clichés of dreams - wanting to go home, banishment, anonymous corporations, billionaires wanting to help you and with seemingly noble purposes of their own, jetsetting around the world - and the more you think about it, the more it seems to be the only logical answer that it is all a dream. The main clue for me is actually something that Cobb says; "How did you get here?". How does the film start? You are thrust straight into the action, there is no prelude, no buildup. In short, you remember the end, but not the beginning. Exactly the same as one of the rules which Cobb lays out (and assuming this reality is Cobb's dream, it would have to conform to his rules).

Spoiler:

Show

I thought about that possibility but rejected it, probably just because I don't like the idea that the entire film was a dream.

[Onearmedbandit]

there's a big thread about it already: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/show....php?t=1311217

[OhNO!]

(Original post by Phalanges)

Spoiler:

Show

Because these places are not real, they do not have to conform to any rules of the real world. However, because they are so ingrained in the mind of most people, they appear there as a byproduct of your imagination.

I know it doesn't have to, were were discussing whether it did, regardless of that. Since, I assumed, in order to get the kick you needed to create a sensation of falling - would such an action in a world in where the characters are suspended in free fall actually create that sensation? And how would it work according to Newton's Laws of Motion?

I'm not saying it's important, and we both understood that the dream worlds don't HAVE to abide by the laws of physics, we were thinking about whether it did, and how that 'kick' worked according to both Newton's laws, and the logic of the film. Also, I think it sells the film a bit short to explain away parts like this by saying 'well, it's just a dream, anything that the dreamer wants to happen can happen' - because as is shown in the beginning, there are rules as to how they operate in the dream - it's not completely fanciful and imaginary. That's what makes it an interesting film to think about.

[Phalanges]

(Original post by OhNO!)
I know it doesn't have to, were were discussing whether it did, regardless of that. Since, I assumed, in order to get the kick you needed to create a sensation of falling - would such an action in a world in where the characters are suspended in free fall actually create that sensation? And how would it work according to Newton's Laws of Motion?

I'm not saying it's important, and we both understood that the dream worlds don't HAVE to abide by the laws of physics, we were thinking about whether it did, and how that 'kick' worked according to both Newton's laws, and the logic of the film. Also, I think it sells the film a bit short to explain away parts like this by saying 'well, it's just a dream, anything that the dreamer wants to happen can happen' - because as is shown in the beginning, there are rules as to how they operate in the dream - it's not completely fanciful and imaginary. That's what makes it an interesting film to think about.

Oh right, well in that case I don't know enough about physics to be able to judge.

But no, I disagree that for a film to focus on the workings and imaginings of the mind using only the constraints of an individual would be uninteresting.

(Original post by Onearmedbandit)

Spoiler:

Show

I thought about that possibility but rejected it, probably just because I don't like the idea that the entire film was a dream.

Spoiler:

Show

It is pretty much the cardinal sin of story telling (which is probably why it appealed to Nolan), but I think that in this context he just about pulls it off.