Thread: Inception ending, finally explained? Wrong...

Originally Posted by Maeni

I tried this when I watched it in the theater. There was no totem falling over.

Why does the quote in your post say originally posted by moose?

Originally Posted by Puffin

I'm confused as to why this debate is still going on. Near the very end, you see the totem wobble, which means it's going to fall over. In a dream, unless picked up, it'll keep spinning without wobbling. So no, I don't think he's dreaming.

I didn't read all of the replies, but this quote pretty much sums it up. In the dream the totem would spin without every wobbling. Also, I haven't seen the movie in forever but at the end I believe his kids turn around towards him when he goes to them? He clearly stated earlier in the movie that in his dreams his children never turn towards him. They always kept their back to him.

So, the totem wobbled, he saw his children's faces = not dreaming. In my opinion. ;D

Originally Posted by nitsuJ

Also, I haven't seen the movie in forever but at the end I believe his kids turn around towards him when he goes to them? He clearly stated earlier in the movie that in his dreams his children never turn towards him. They always kept their back to him.

I thought the reason he could not see his kids' faces was somehow related to the fact that he could not get over his regret. He knew what his kids looked like, he just couldn't dream about their faces because all he could think of was how he missed his last opportunity to see them. This could have been overcome, even if he was dreaming.

I have a new theory. What if he never really got out of limbo? They already said that being killed on that deep of a level would not wake you up, so how would they wake up if they were hit by a dream train?

Now, suppose that Cobb thought that the train woke them up, but it didn't. Eventually, his wife catches on, but no matter what she can't convince him that they need to do something else to wake up. Finally, she realizes that jumping from a building will do it, in the same way that tossing the guy off the balcony got him out of limbo. I think there is evidence to say that the whole thing was a dream, for Cobb, while Mrs. Cobb is still alive and well in waking life.

Originally Posted by cedward1

I thought the reason he could not see his kids' faces was somehow related to the fact that he could not get over his regret. He knew what his kids looked like, he just couldn't dream about their faces because all he could think of was how he missed his last opportunity to see them. This could have been overcome, even if he was dreaming.

He didn't know what his kids looked like, as they got older, and the children he saw at the end of the movie were older than the children he saw when he left home (completely different actors). If he was dreaming, he would have seen his kids as they were when he last saw them.

Originally Posted by cedward

I have a new theory. What if he never really got out of limbo? They already said that being killed on that deep of a level would not wake you up, so how would they wake up if they were hit by a dream train?

If he never got out of Limbo, the top wouldn't have fallen twice, during the movie. We also don't know what kind of sedative Cobb and Mal were using, when doing their experiments. We don't know how deep they went. They could have been three levels down, or further. We don't know. We were only given bits of information. But to make assumptions on the movie based on information that was never given or implied, is to be taking a tiny speculation and running with it, to assume that it affects the outcome of the movie - much like Inception, itself.

Originally Posted by cedward

Now, suppose that Cobb thought that the train woke them up, but it didn't. Eventually, his wife catches on, but no matter what she can't convince him that they need to do something else to wake up. Finally, she realizes that jumping from a building will do it, in the same way that tossing the guy off the balcony got him out of limbo. I think there is evidence to say that the whole thing was a dream, for Cobb, while Mrs. Cobb is still alive and well in waking life.

What if Cobb is dead and the whole movie is the afterlife? There is just as much 'evidence' to assume that. Personally, I give Nolan more credit than that. If the whole movie was a dream, then the movie is, essentially, pointless. Come to think of it, it's important to note that Nolan does state that the top falling over gives Cobb a baseline reality. He also states that "Cobb's world" is "analogous" to the dream world - making a deliberate distinction between the two. (Article) This leaves much more reason to believe that the entire movie is not a dream, and that there are parts of it that are real life.

Also, throwing Fisher off of the building didn't work alone. It only worked because he was also being 'kicked' on the level above, at the same time. There is no reason to believe that there was something about being thrown off the building that was special, as opposed to being hit by a train. They were both equally efficient ways of waking up.

I really enjoyed inception and have seen it many times and everytime I want to try and form an opinion about the ending but ive decided that this is just how Nolan wanted it to be. He made it so there was no 'real' ending so that people could take the messege for what they wanted (ex. I think that by not showing an end, and when he walked away from the totem not caring about it, showed that he didnt care what reality he was in as long as he was happy).

The movie didnt have an ending, and the directior intended it to be that way. Why look for something that isnt there?

Originally Posted by TheDudeAbides

Why look for something that isnt there?

'Cause it's fun.

Originally Posted by kookyinc

Or maybe it's an ambiguous ending that one should personally assign meaning to depending on how one views the character. This has probably been said already, but The Lady or The Tiger?

Edit: This is directed at the people who are picking apart every scene to try and find the "real" ending, not the lovely fellows who understand and accept that the ending was ambiguous on purpose.

enough said...

the ending was designed to make you think "what the fuck" and "wow" at the same time, and then make you say "man, that was a good movie."

if you weren't impressed with the ending, then you are not my friend.

I watched an interview with Christopher Nolan about the ending of Inception, and he said that there is no answer, they ended it that way so people would question it and start heated discussions like this one

Agree^^ I recently read an interview and Nolan said he meant to leave it ambigous. The idea was that he was with his kids now, he didn't care about the top anymore since he just left it on the table and ran to hug his kids which previously he would've made sure no one would touch it, etc.... Also, according to his father in the movie(can't remember actor's name), he said that he was there but not with them when they were in the dream, so, to him, it seems that he is IRL and not in the dream anymore

Of course he left it that way, there was too many contradictions to his previous statements :/

I still think cobb was being replaced, but that's only my opinion.

Later gang.

I hate that people in the cinema went OOOOH and clapped at the end when the totem didn't clearly fall.

I groaned and slumped back into the plush seat, knowing that lucy dreeming would never recover from these people. I see many of them in this thread.

Originally Posted by ClouD

I hate that people in the cinema went OOOOH and clapped at the end when the totem didn't clearly fall.

I groaned and slumped back into the plush seat, knowing that lucy dreeming would never recover from these people. I see many of them in this thread.

What's "lucy dreeming"?

Originally Posted by ClouD

I hate that people in the cinema went OOOOH and clapped at the end when the totem didn't clearly fall.

I groaned and slumped back into the plush seat, knowing that lucy dreeming would never recover from these people. I see many of them in this thread.

Why do you hate it? Maybe they were "Oohing and clapping" at the simple fact that the ending was left ambiguous. Their clapping for the ending says nothing about their interpretations of the ending, or even why they were clapping.
Do not assume you understand everyone's motivations for their actions.

Originally Posted by Oneironaut

Why do you hate it? Maybe they were "Oohing and clapping" at the simple fact that the ending was left ambiguous. Their clapping for the ending says nothing about their interpretations of the ending, or even why they were clapping.
Do not assume you understand everyone's motivations for their actions.

I only assumed that the "oohing and clapping" was in relation to the ambiguous ending and the movie in general (I think that's a reasonable assumption and I don't really care what they interpret about the ending).

I am not one for clapping after a movie. I've never liked it, it's corny. The movie probably meant more to me than anyone in the cinema, yet I didn't clap. That and I knew that lucid dreaming was about to be misunderstood by a lot of people. That's what I 'hated'.
Yes, a little selfish, but we're all entitled.

Come to Australia then, or maybe just Victoria I don't know. I hate it too and nobody ever does it here, I don't know why, it's an anomaly. Occasionally people will laugh at something, but that's about it for the most part.
(I only know that I hate it because of the *bad quality* movies that have people doing that shit in them)

Originally Posted by tommo

Come to Australia then,

I'm planning on it

this thread sucks!

Originally Posted by ClouD

I am not one for clapping after a movie. I've never liked it, it's corny. The movie probably meant more to me than anyone in the cinema, yet I didn't clap.

I think this topic got brought up recently. I don't remember if I ever even participated in the discussion, though. Personally, I like it when people react at the end of a movie. I look at it the same way as I look at a crowd going wild after an amazing concert, or the way the passengers scream "WHOOOOOOOOO!" at the end of a badass theme park attraction. To me, it isn't corny at all. I just tend to see it as part of the overall experience. The crowd's reaction not only provides just a little insight into what others might have thought about the movie (while not 'important', I sometimes find interesting), but often serves as the icing on the cake, if I - too - enjoyed the movie enough to want to give it a celebratory "FUCK YEAH!"

That being said - I can completely understand why some people don't like it.

What about people screaming at concerts while the person is singing?

And no-name - don't come to Australia. Just don't. And yes this thread sucks.

According to this, it wasn't a dream?