Inception - How freakin weird and secretive is this movie

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Saw this earlier and either it's not half as clever as it's being made out to be by some, or it's sooo complicated that my mind ignored everything it couldn't make sense of and I only processed the bits that made sense to me. I thought the high-concept idea and execution of that idea was remarkable, but it's not all that complicated really is it? The actual plot device - planting the idea in Fisher's mind - is paper thin. The tricky part might have been keeping track of the different layers, but they were all so very different that it was hardly difficult. For me, the weakest part was the whole wife/ family storyline. This whole thread could easily have been lifted out without affecting the bigger picture. The only point of it, AFAICS, is to give Cobb some depth. Unusually for Nolan, no other character is afforded even the tiniest bit of back-story (for e.g. what exactly is it that Ariadne is studying that made her the ideal candidate in Cobb's Father's eyes for the job Cobb had in mind?). The characters were so two dimensional that to comment on the quality of the acting is pointless. I think the best you can say is that everyone aquitted themselves well without anyone really standing out. The worlRAB created in the layers were amazing, but what was layer three all about? It was a terriffic action sequence, but was the whole snow/ rock climbing/ fortress meant to signify anything (does it have a specific meaning in dreams?) or was it simply Nolan indulging himself now he can command a $100 million budget? As for the ending, it was like watching a concert where they save their biggest hit til last so everyone walks out convinced they've seen something amazing.
It does matter whether he's still dreaming or not, because the whole film is about Cobb seeing his children again in the real-world. If he (Cobb) was happy to remain in limbo, he had that opportunity earlier and killed it off (literally). If Nolan now wants to remain ambiguous at the very end, he neeRAB to give us a believeable reason why Cobb would change his mind.
Overall a fantastic film, but not as big or clever as some would have you believe. Nice to see Tom Berenger back from DTV hell as well.
 
1 - my interpretation is that they entered their dream worlRAB after kiRAB. the reason she wanted to stay and hated the real world is that she had gone too far into the dream world to begin with - and couldnt believe the real world was actually real

2 - she set up certain things like psychiatrist reports, concerns to her lawyer, and stuff like that stating that she was sane and in fear of her life from Cobb. she when she killed herself, it looked like he was the cause. as she believd that she was still in a dream.
 
Saw this an Orange Wednesday this week and was left with that special feeling that I had really got my money's worth from a film, would have been more than happy to pay full price!

It was a packed cinema, and at the start there were a few faily rowdy groups in the room, I was a bit concerned that the film might be a bit spoilt by them, HOW WRONG COULD I HAVE BEEN! The entire theatre was in rapt silence from almost the very start, all the way through, until the final frame, at which the whole room gasped in delight.

I really hope this performs well financially because it's testament to what can be acheived if the studios put their faith in good film-makers, Chris Nolan has now become my all-time favourite director.

It also shows what can be acheieved by proper film-making, without over-reliance on CGI, from the trailer I was expecting the whole folding worlRAB/collapsing city things to be fairly dominant but really all that was just window dressing, the most visually impressive sequence is the one that was done with a good old-fashioned rotating set and wires-and-harnesses.

A proper 5* film, makes Avatar (apparently now the blockbuster benchmark for many people) look like an episode of In The Night Garden.
 
Well PM me then.

I've done some research, and came up with diddly squat.. Apart from some raging website regarding Kubrick's links to 'The Illuminati' and how Eyes Wide Shut was a commentary on Secret Societies.

It all screams 'the number 23' to me. As in, if you look hard enough, you'll find what you want to find...everywhere.

Seriously, PM me some links. Open my eyes for me.

P.S: Happy Big Brother to you!
 
I see what you mean but I think the lack of character development for characters other than Cobb was intentional. I think Nolan want all attention to be focused on Cobb. He has been writing this film for 10 years so I'm sure he would of read through it a fair few times and I'm sure in one of them read throughs he would of thought I need to give them a bit more depth or whatever. So I'm guessing he didn't give them depth intentionally.

Each character served an important purpose in the movie though there was no character where if they were not in it the movie would be the same.

Arthur - He researched the subject

Ariadne - She was there to help Cobb with Mal she was the only one on the team who could help him cause she knew what he was going through. Also without her none of the dreams could of happened.

Eames - He was more important than people may think. Without him there would be know Yusuf so there would be know way for the Inception to work. Also he needed to turn into several people to help the Inception work. He also came up with the idea of how the Inception would stick in the subject's mind.

Saito - He was the person who could get Cobb home. He and Cobb were the main characters of the movie.

Yusuf - Without him the dream within a dream within a dream within a dream would not of been possible. He was also the most important with the kicks as his kick brought them back to the first level.

Fischer - Well without him there would be know Inception.

Browning - He helped the Inception his actions showed the team whether the Inception was working.
 
He hadn't been down there as long as Saito - remember the time dilation stuff? Saito hadn't been down there much longer in real time, but because of time dilation between levels he had aged a lot more.

Cobb is a few years older when he meets Saito at the end, it just wasn't very clear on screen.
 
Just back from seeing this, what a dull and boring load of tosh, far too far up it's own ass and far too clever for it's own good, some reasonable effects but boy does it labour on the explanation, maybe that's necessary for cinema audiences these days but it's the first film for a while that I was forever looking at my watch to see how long there was to go.

Not all bad, the plot was quite intriguing but not all that original, The Matrix and Total Recall knock it into a cocked hat when it comes to "dream or reality" movies.
 
How amazing is the final scene? Everyone in the IMAX just gasped and started laughing in disbelief.

I absolutely adored this film, unbelievably clever, some great effects but they didn't take over the film. I see why some people think DiCaprios story was boring or cheesy, but I thought it was very powerful.

And I loved Arthur.
 
I thought it was very good. Something about the film just feels strangely non-fiction (the same feeling I got from the dark night).

Overall, I thought it was one of the better films I've seen in awhile. Was pretty much engaged throughout it all.
 
Blimey, I thought I was pretty intelligent but I didnt understand a lot of it at all! The "lift" scene with the people tied together confused me!" The whole "kick" thing as well just passed me by!
 
Saw this tonight. Great film.

I can't discuss it in depth as you guys have, however, I did get excited when I saw that the airport they filmed them landing at at the beginning (when he is offered the job) was Farnborough Airport (which is on my doorstep!)
 
I think it was Nolan saying how much he enjoys On Her Majesty's Secret Service!

I would agree it matters to Cobb whether he is dreaming at the end. What I meant was I don't think it really matters to us, the audience or to Nolan. The trick with the spinning totem is more important to Nolan than the character resolution.

I know some people think the whole film was a dream of Cobb's which is why the supporting characters were so thin as he's just dreaming them. But there are plenty of scenes (like between Fischer and his father) that don't include Cobb and you don't dream about things happening to other people do you? Surely if Nolan meant the whole thing to be Cobb's dream he would have found a way around this.
 
I think where the film has suffered is that people with quite refined film taste heard how deep and thought-provoking others thought it was, they went to see it and felt let down, as they're used to watching high-brow, thought-provoking films on a regular.

What Inception does well is present a deep and thought provoking story that anyone, even the average Transformers/Pirates/GenericPopcornFodderFan CAN understand, IF they keep their brain switched on for the duration of the film. That's what makes it different and original IMHO.
 
I didn't like Insomnia. It wasn't much fun watching someone make stupid mistakes because they'd not had enough sleep. (The opposite of Inception, I suppose, where they spend most of the film asleep.) Others like it, though (and it's on TV tonight if you've not seen it and want to judge for yourself).

I do like all his other films, though, starting with Following. I think The Prestige is his best.
 
Even if it was Cobb's dream this is still important to the Inception storyline this scene pretty much set up everything else that happened in the movie.

Plus you must of had dreams where your not actually in them and you just watch and people can't see you.
 
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