INCEPTION - July 2010

[ly000001]

But there's a reason

they are trying to infiltrate that section of the dream and the best way is to not stand out, so you have to look like someone else. His subconcious turned on them, but in the end if that hadn't happened it wouldve allowed them to get in seamlessly and do the job with no complications.

Yeah, I understand the rationale behind it, but as one of the characters said, "Why couldn't this have been a beach?", or something to that effect

[Guvava]

Saw at a real 50ft IMAX and all I can say is WOW! People were clapping at the end didn't see anyone who didn't like it. One of only movies that's was worth $12 it cost to see it there. No sure if I would want to see it on DID or a regular cinema now, you get tko'd with the combo of the film, screen and the surround sound.

Edited July 18, 2010 by Guvava

[VT 1010]

I can't believe they didn't have Cobb flying around on a magic bicycle. Doesn't he know that it's the solution to all dream-based threats...

I'll join most of the people here in praising its awesomeness. Easily one of the best movies of the year.

[dreamweaver13]

Amazing movie! Brilliant filmmaking, as always, by Nolan. Only he could pull of this multiple layering without it being too cluttered or incomprehensible.

I would love to see it again and again. At least once on IMAX, hopefully. It's a good thing I decided to watch it in regular theaters first so that I can let the story wash over me completely. Now, it's time for the visual treats to take over.

One thought though...

couldn't Cobb have picked a totem that you don't have to wait god knows how many minutes before you can verify it?? lol.

Edited July 19, 2010 by dreamweaver13

[dreamweaver13]

Just watched it. Pretty enjoyable except:

1.) predictable ending

the "it was all a dream after all that" ending, as hinted by the perpetually spinning top. Either that or he just stayed in dream world unable to deal with not really meeting his kids.

Well, it still beats a rat scurrying across the last scene in the Departed...

Seriously:

For me, I didn't think it was going for "the whole thing was a dream after all". There's still a reality (since the film showed the top falling in the reality scenes). At most, it was implying that Cobb could still be stuck in his own limbo, still dreaming.

But, even in that respect, I don't think Nolan was trying to pull off that oh so predictable, groan, we've seen this countless times "twist". Rather, I think he was just teasing the audience with a wink wink nudge nudge. If anything, he might even be giving a knowing nod to all those existence-twist movies/stories we've already seen. If you watch it again, you'll notice that the top was already losing its momentum, and could fall of any second... before the scene ends abruptly. On the other hand, you could also say that it's still spinning. I think the scene was cut at the very precise moment that the top was either on the brink of either losing its momentum, or just wobbling on an uneven surface but continuing to spin. So it's up to the viewer to decide for himself. As Cobb said, once the idea is planted...

[eugimon]

Well, it still beats a rat scurrying across the last scene in the Departed...

Seriously:

For me, I didn't think it was going for "the whole thing was a dream after all". There's still a reality (since the film showed the top falling in the reality scenes). At most, it was implying that Cobb could still be stuck in his own limbo, still dreaming.

But, even in that respect, I don't think Nolan was trying to pull off that oh so predictable, groan, we've seen this countless times "twist". Rather, I think he was just teasing the audience with a wink wink nudge nudge. If anything, he might even be giving a knowing nod to all those existence-twist movies/stories we've already seen. If you watch it again, you'll notice that the top was already losing its momentum, and could fall of any second... before the scene ends abruptly. On the other hand, you could also say that it's still spinning. I think the scene was cut at the very precise moment that the top was either on the brink of either losing its momentum, or just wobbling on an uneven surface but continuing to spin. So it's up to the viewer to decide for himself. As Cobb said, once the idea is planted...

not just that but Cobb and Mal are talking about this very idea throughout all their conversations together. Calling it "predictable" isn't really fair when that was one of the central themes of the movie.

Edited July 19, 2010 by eugimon

[wolfx]

The prequel comic to the movie. Arthur is awesome as ever.

http://inceptionmovie.warnerbros.com/thecoboljob/

And Yusuf answers your questions about Inception

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/07/inceptions_dileep_rao_answers.html

Edited July 19, 2010 by wolfx

[bob joe mac]

Saw it, liked it, thought it was worth my time and money but so many people told me how complex it was and how to fully "get" the movie I'd have to see it twice... my thoughts to these people is that they should have just paid attention the first time as nobody I saw it with had a hard time following it at all. Although why they decided to use "catharsis" repeatedly in one scene just to sound smart made me groan. Back in school I would thesaurus every other word in my essays to try to sound smart and end up just looking dumb because nobody talks like that in life... sorry that scene near the first quarter just took me out of the movie.

I'll buy the DVD when it comes out for sure just for the snow fort fight it had to have been the best James Bond moment since goldeneye.

[wolfx]

I watched it for the 2nd time and admitedly it made more sense on the 2nd viewing.

I felt certain concepts could've done better with the explanations because it happened really fast and you might not have caught it on your 1s viewing.

Right now i only have one question about limbo:

What's the danger of limbo? Staying too long there you might get scrambled eggs as brains.....right. But apparently you can escape limbo, by killing yourself again like what Cobb and Mal did after "50 years"? Cobb had to do an Inception into Mal to convince her it was a dream so they could kill themselves on the train tracks.

So if this was the case, dying on the Fischer job shouldn't be a problem since you could just kill yourself in limbo to get back out? Or have someone come down to limbo to convince you its a dream and to kill yourself, like what Cobb did for Saito.

[eugimon]

I watched it for the 2nd time and admitedly it made more sense on the 2nd viewing.

I felt certain concepts could've done better with the explanations because it happened really fast and you might not have caught it on your 1s viewing.

Right now i only have one question about limbo:

What's the danger of limbo? Staying too long there you might get scrambled eggs as brains.....right. But apparently you can escape limbo, by killing yourself again like what Cobb and Mal did after "50 years"? Cobb had to do an Inception into Mal to convince her it was a dream so they could kill themselves on the train tracks.

So if this was the case, dying on the Fischer job shouldn't be a problem since you could just kill yourself in limbo to get back out? Or have someone come down to limbo to convince you its a dream and to kill yourself, like what Cobb did for Saito.

The idea is that you no longer have the faculties to come to that realization.

[wolfx]

The idea is that you no longer have the faculties to come to that realization.

But Cobb and Mal was knowingly in limbo, creating their world for 50 years. Mal lost grasp of reality somewhere along the line (represented with her keeping her totem) whereas Cobb kept his grasp on reality.

Cobb and Adrianne also went into limbo and were completely lucid.

So assuming Saito got there completely lucid as well, he could've just ended it then and there.

Edited July 21, 2010 by wolfx

[eugimon]

But Cobb and Mal was knowingly in limbo, creating their world for 50 years. Mal lost grasp of reality somewhere along the line (represented with her keeping her totem) whereas Cobb kept his grasp on reality.

Cobb and Adrianne also went into limbo and were completely lucid.

So assuming Saito got there completely lucid as well, he could've just ended it then and there.

Oh, no, they said when they went under that they the only way they could wake up was to do so via the kick and not the suicide method.

And even cobb eventually lost his way, it was only after he finally he found saito that he started to remember and cobb was experienced. Saito was a tourist and had no chance.

[wolfx]

Oh, no, they said when they went under that they the only way they could wake up was to do so via the kick and not the suicide method.

Suicide wasn't an option because they'd go into limbo due to being heavily sedated and unable to wake up. (the danger) Thus they needed the "kick" to ride up the different dream levels until the timer on the PASIV device runs out. That's why they have not woke up after swimming to the river bank after the van crashed. But it seems you COULD suicide yourself in limbo to get out of it. Fischer and Adrianne did so. Though perhaps Fischer and Adrianne only rode up one level after suiciding in limbo and was in time before the synchronised kick that would bring them all the way up. Cobb & Saito missed the kick so I'm not sure how would that be different, suiciding before and after the kick.

Additionally Cobb and Mal clearly used the suicide method to get out of limbo,

further reinforced with the Inception idea that Mal brought with her to the real world. (to commit suicide)

Edited July 21, 2010 by wolfx

[eugimon]

Suicide wasn't an option because they'd go into limbo due to being heavily sedated and unable to wake up. (the danger) Thus they needed the "kick" to ride up the different dream levels until the timer on the PASIV device runs out. That's why they have not woke up after swimming to the river bank after the van crashed. But it seems you COULD suicide yourself in limbo to get out of it. Fischer and Adrianne did so.

Additionally Cobb and Mal clearly used the suicide method to get out of limbo,

further reinforced with the Inception idea that Mal brought with her to the real world. (to commit suicide)

Suicide in limbo just got them back to level three, it didn't wake them up to the real world. Saito was dead in all levels of the dream, waking up from limbo without a way out wouldn't have helped him.

Also, Adrienne knew what was going on because she with Cobb to guide her and she was gifted in that regard. Saito didn't have a primer as to what to expect and he was a tourist.

[dreamweaver13]

Suicide wasn't an option because they'd go into limbo due to being heavily sedated and unable to wake up. (the danger) Thus they needed the "kick" to ride up the different dream levels until the timer on the PASIV device runs out. That's why they have not woke up after swimming to the river bank after the van crashed. But it seems you COULD suicide yourself in limbo to get out of it. Fischer and Adrianne did so. Though perhaps Fischer and Adrianne only rode up one level after suiciding in limbo and was in time before the synchronised kick that would bring them all the way up. Cobb & Saito missed the kick so I'm not sure how would that be different, suiciding before and after the kick.

Additionally Cobb and Mal clearly used the suicide method to get out of limbo,

further reinforced with the Inception idea that Mal brought with her to the real world. (to commit suicide)

My thoughts on this:

-- SPOILERS --

1. Dying in any level of this particular dream labyrinth would send the dreamer to limbo. However, they could also go there voluntarily, like Cobb and Ariadne did, and Cobb and Mal before.

2. Cobb and Ariadne didn't die in level 3 to get to limbo; rather, they voluntarily went deeper. I would presume that they retained their facilities and self-awareness much better than they would have if they had died going there.

3. Also, before Cobb and Ariadne went to limbo, they were already aware of its existence. Cobb, in particular, had already been there. So there was little danger of them being taken in by the limbo state and immediatly losing their awareness, i would guess.

4. From what I understand, the first persons ever to reach as far as limbo were Cobb and Mal (at least as far as the movie's characters know). Although they went there voluntarily (as opposed to dying within the dream), they might not have realized at first where the hell they were. Thus, if they weren't sure how they got there, it would be scary to simply assume that killing themselves would wake them up. For all they know, dead in limbo could have meant dead forever. or for all they know, they were in the real REAL world. I think commiting suicide in limbo with Mal was a big leap of faith even for Cobb.

5. I think self-awareness of reality/dream is lost over time in limbo. Cobb was aware he was in limbo when he went down with Ariadne. But he seemingly lost sense of this while he was searching for Saito, as eugimon pointed out. Cobb knows that you could get out of limbo by killing yourself there. But i think that he's worried about staying there too long that you eventually forget this escape route.

6. Ariadne didn't kill herself to get out of limbo. she received a kick, i think, from falling down in level 3 when the entire complex was blasted to bits. (not too sure if i recall this accurately, though)

7. I don't think it was Fischer being killed in limbo which brought him back to level 3. Rather, it was "falling" inside the dream that woke him up back to level 3. Much like falling in a dream could wake you up before you hit the ground. A bit weird way to bring him back, and not supported by previous discussion on dream rules, but Ariadne did say that she was improvising.

8. Saito got to Limbo by dying. As such, i think he had less chance of having self-awareness in limbo. Hence, being stuck there for ages, until someone brought him back.

9. I think dying in limbo doesn't bring you up the dream labyrinth one level at a time. I think if you manage to kill yourself in limbo, you wake up completely. Like Cobb and Mal from the train tracks back to their bedroom. Which is why I also believe that Ariadne and Fischer did not leave limbo by dying there.

Ultimately, i think the only thing closest to deus ex machina was Fischer being brought back to level 3 from limbo by being pushed by Ariadne. Everything else for me felt grounded on the dream rules explained over the course of the movie.

[wolfx]

My thoughts on this:

-- SPOILERS --

1. Dying in any level of this particular dream labyrinth would send the dreamer to limbo. However, they could also go there voluntarily, like Cobb and Ariadne did, and Cobb and Mal before.

Yes. But the level of limbo isn't exactly specifically level 4. They would've have possibly went to level 4 since they went to sleep at level 3, but they were diving into Fischer, who happens to be in limbo. As for how Cobb and Mal made it to limbo voluntarily, it wasn't said how and at what level they went down, but they were experimenting on how deep they could go and ended up there.

2. Cobb and Ariadne didn't die in level 3 to get to limbo; rather, they voluntarily went deeper. I would presume that they retained their facilities and self-awareness much better than they would have if they had died going there.

3. Also, before Cobb and Ariadne went to limbo, they were already aware of its existence. Cobb, in particular, had already been there. So there was little danger of them being taken in by the limbo state and immediatly losing their awareness, i would guess.

Agreed.

4. From what I understand, the first persons ever to reach as far as limbo were Cobb and Mal (at least as far as the movie's characters know). Although they went there voluntarily (as opposed to dying within the dream), they might not have realized at first where the hell they were. Thus, if they weren't sure how they got there, it would be scary to simply assume that killing themselves would wake them up. For all they know, dead in limbo could have meant dead forever. or for all they know, they were in the real REAL world. I think commiting suicide in limbo with Mal was a big leap of faith even for Cobb.

Yeah i think they didn't know for sure at that point that dying in limbo will pull them back up to reality. That's when Cobb and Mal recited that whole "train" thing about not knowing for sure and taking a leap of faith thing.

5. I think self-awareness of reality/dream is lost over time in limbo. Cobb was aware he was in limbo when he went down with Ariadne. But he seemingly lost sense of this while he was searching for Saito, as eugimon pointed out. Cobb knows that you could get out of limbo by killing yourself there. But i think that he's worried about staying there too long that you eventually forget this escape route.

I guess "losing sense of reality" is subjective to each individual. THat said I don't think Cobb was in any danger of that during his search with Saito, unless he kept wanting to return to a place where Mal was still alive.

6. Ariadne didn't kill herself to get out of limbo. she received a kick, i think, from falling down in level 3 when the entire complex was blasted to bits. (not too sure if i recall this accurately, though)

7. I don't think it was Fischer being killed in limbo which brought him back to level 3. Rather, it was "falling" inside the dream that woke him up back to level 3. Much like falling in a dream could wake you up before you hit the ground. A bit weird way to bring him back, and not supported by previous discussion on dream rules, but Ariadne did say that she was improvising.

8. Saito got to Limbo by dying. As such, i think he had less chance of having self-awareness in limbo. Hence, being stuck there for ages, until someone brought him back.

9. I think dying in limbo doesn't bring you up the dream labyrinth one level at a time. I think if you manage to kill yourself in limbo, you wake up completely. Like Cobb and Mal from the train tracks back to their bedroom. Which is why I also believe that Ariadne and Fischer did not leave limbo by dying there.

Ultimately, i think the only thing closest to deus ex machina was Fischer being brought back to level 3 from limbo by being pushed by Ariadne. Everything else for me felt grounded on the dream rules explained over the course of the movie.

That makes sense. I assumed she and Fishcer "died" in limbo because of falling off the building but I guess as you said, she synchronised the falling to the kick from level 3's fort crumbling. Fischer on the other hand woke up from syncing the falling and the defribillator though I can't remember how Eames knew when Fischer's conciousness was waking up and decided to ressucsitate him. IIRC I think Eames started defribbing Fischer and limbo started showing signs by having thunderstorms, giving the cue to Adrianne to push him off the edge.

[Vic Mancini]

I saw it last night. Absolutely one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. It's as original as just about any Charlie Kaufman movie, but also thrilling on an action level. So well done, and especially well written. Did Nolan write it too? I'm so impressed.

This is what movie making is supposed to be. I am so sick of remakes, and reboots, and sequels, and live-action versions of cartoons, and comic book movies, and all the rehashed BS. Original ideas are what it's all about.

I wanted to watch it again as soon as it was over.

[Vepariga]

Just got home from seeing this,Wow..Im still trying to digest it all. This film is Brilliant. The Idea,the execution everything just phenomenal. easily one of the best films this year,hell even better then anything last year.The dream-sequences where amazing and had the opportunity to be silly but was all kept relative which was excellent. definite blu-ray purchase for me.

[EXO]

Adrienne

Ariadne... she gave Theseus the ball of string that got him out of the Mnotaur's labyrynth... that was the only thing I thought that was kinda cheesy.

[eugimon]

Ariadne... she gave Theseus the ball of string that got him out of the Mnotaur's labyrynth... that was the only thing I thought that was kinda cheesy.

ah, that's right.

[dreamweaver13]

Yes. But the level of limbo isn't exactly specifically level 4. They would've have possibly went to level 4 since they went to sleep at level 3, but they were diving into Fischer, who happens to be in limbo. As for how Cobb and Mal made it to limbo voluntarily, it wasn't said how and at what level they went down, but they were experimenting on how deep they could go and ended up there.

Very true. Makes you wonder, then, how many dream levels it took Cobb and Mal to get to limbo (assuming they didn't die to get there).

Ariadne... she gave Theseus the ball of string that got him out of the Mnotaur's labyrynth... that was the only thing I thought that was kinda cheesy.

good catch. I'm almost sure that's why Michael Caine chose her. "Will you look at that, her name's Ariadne. Wouldn't it be a hoot and a half to recommend her to Cobb?" lol.

[technoblue]

I watched this movie last Friday and I ate up every minute. I have only a couple comments after my first viewing:

I found Ariadne and Arthur's conversation on totems very interesting in the beginning (after Cobb insists that Ariadne needs one). Arthur explains that a totem should be kept safe at all times and, since it's that person's link to reality, no one else should touch it. Of course, when we see Mal and Cobb diving multiple levels into the dream world, we only see Mal putting her totem into the safe. We never see Cobb's totem. We do see Cobb taking Mal's totem, and theoretically breaking her link with reality.

It's no wonder he seems so guilty. And perhaps I am reading too much between the lines, but isn't Cobb really the one who lost his grip with his surroundings and not his wife? It might seem passé, but then the story is certainly more tragic.

Also, time dilation within the different levels. I liked it, but it got rather heavy handed at the end while waiting for the three kicks, especially in the first level when the van reached the bridge and started falling. I forget the exact number of times the movie cut back to the van falling, but it caused a chain reaction of giggling in the theater.

[wolfx]

I watched this movie last Friday and I ate up every minute. I have only a couple comments after my first viewing:

I found Ariadne and Arthur's conversation on totems very interesting in the beginning (after Cobb insists that Ariadne needs one). Arthur explains that a totem should be kept safe at all times and, since it's that person's link to reality, no one else should touch it. Of course, when we see Mal and Cobb diving multiple levels into the dream world, we only see Mal putting her totem into the safe. We never see Cobb's totem. We do see Cobb taking Mal's totem, and theoretically breaking her link with reality.

It's no wonder he seems so guilty. And perhaps I am reading too much between the lines, but isn't Cobb really the one who lost his grip with his surroundings and not his wife? It might seem passé, but then the story is certainly more tragic.

Also, time dilation within the different levels. I liked it, but it got rather heavy handed at the end while waiting for the three kicks, especially in the first level when the van reached the bridge and started falling. I forget the exact number of times the movie cut back to the van falling, but it caused a chain reaction of giggling in the theater.

Cobb might not have a totem then because it would seem that he and Mal were the 1s people to experiment with multiple level dreaming , which was when Mal thought of the totem idea to keep track of reality. Also Cobb didn't take her totem or broke her link. He just spinned it inside the safe and left it there, which tells Mal that they are in a dream. She put it there to forget that she was in a dream after all.

[Warmaker]

Just saw it a while ago. Liked it a whole lot and was well worth the price of admission. I'm not a DiCaprio fan, but he got his chops down just right in this flick. The rest of the cast I felt was quite cool also.

[the white drew carey]

My wife hated this theory, but I am sticking to it: I believe this is all just a plain-old dream that the Cobb character was having. EVERYTHING- all of the rules, the technology, all of that, is just some of the crazy stuff we have in dreams. It is all a fiction of a single, strange, dream.

Totems, projections, architects, everything- all a dream.

[eugimon]

My wife hated this theory, but I am sticking to it: I believe this is all just a plain-old dream that the Cobb character was having. EVERYTHING- all of the rules, the technology, all of that, is just some of the crazy stuff we have in dreams. It is all a fiction of a single, strange, dream.

Totems, projections, architects, everything- all a dream.

That's not really a crazy idea, it's one the film pushes itself. There are hints pointing that way, from the projection's character's names:

"saito" can mean a road marker

"arthur" can mean strength, stubborness

"ariadne" helps theseus out of the minotaur's labyrinth

"eames' is the name of a famous chair designer of all things

"mallorie" means ill fortuned

"yusuf" is the arabic form of Joseph, which means to add or increase

and so on

and then there's the kid's voices. They sound MUCH older when cobb is on the phone with them early in the movie but when he sees them in the final scene they're how he remembers them, little children.

[wolfx]

and now there's the danger of overthinking stuff. XD

Someone else told me a theory that Cobb was the dreamer and everyone else is his projection except Mal who's trying to wake him up from it.

[eugimon]

and now there's the danger of overthinking stuff. XD

Someone else told me a theory that Cobb was the dreamer and everyone else is his projection except Mal who's trying to wake him up from it.

It's nit really over thinking it, that idea that cobb is still dreaming at the end is one that Nolan obviously wants you to consider

[the white drew carey]

and now there's the danger of overthinking stuff. XD

Well, when Nolan puts in an intentionally ambiguous ending like that, he is inviting the audience to participate in the film well after its done. I don't think that there can be overthinking in this case.

[Radd]

I enjoyed the movie.

Although, it seems like the "gravity" aspect was not consistent all the way down. When the van goes over the bridge in level 1, there's no gravity in level 2, but level 3 and limbo are unaffected.

I was also kinda disappointed there was no twist ending. There's the ambiguous element to the very end, where the camera cuts away just before the audience knows for certain whether or not Cobb is awake, but that's more of a waggling of eyebrows. From pretty early on you're given enough to piece together Mal's part in the story, so I kinda assumed there would be another level. Someone trying to plant an idea in Cobb or something like that.

I was also kind of disappointed that they didn't do more with the aspect of layered dreams. The element of time, and the idea that stuff continued to happen in the other dreams, both seemed kinda downplayed. Reduced to a car chase and one little zero gravity fight. I suppose that's a matter of time constraints. The movie was fairly long, even though I didn't realize that until it was over. I actually thought the movie had been really short until I checked the time.

[dreamweaver13]

My wife hated this theory, but I am sticking to it: I believe this is all just a plain-old dream that the Cobb character was having. EVERYTHING- all of the rules, the technology, all of that, is just some of the crazy stuff we have in dreams. It is all a fiction of a single, strange, dream.

Totems, projections, architects, everything- all a dream.

Well of course it is. It is just a movie, after all.

It's nit really over thinking it, that idea that cobb is still dreaming at the end is one that Nolan obviously wants you to consider

Yup, definitely the idea that Cobb might still be dreaming is an idea put forward by Nolan (meaning, he was still trapped in limbo). But I don't think anything in the movie implies that the whole thing (from start to finish of the movie) was a dream. Sure, they had "approriate names" (honestly, I think Ariadne was the only one that really fit), but that, to me, doesn't really say much, other than that the writer that likes to use irony or symbolism a bit too much.

All movies are, in a way, dreams; seeing as that even a movie based on a true story is not actually the true story. And a movie that shows that reality may be relative is all the more subject to that comparison. But I still don't think there was anything in the movie to strongly hint or push the idea that the whole of it was actually a dream of one of the characters. Sure, you can imagine that to be so (that's completely your prerogative), but I don't think that was the point of the spinning top at the end of the movie.

Edited July 26, 2010 by dreamweaver13

[EXO]

Actually it's been implied all thru out the movie that it's all a dream. And Mal even vocalizes it at the end. Well... Mal, the one in Cobb's head.

The first thing I told my friend on the way out was it seemed unrealistic that the kids were the same age, but I feel like it was done deliberately for dramatic effect and to keep the audience wondering if it was all a dream. If they showed them as older kids then it would have been too realistic.

[eugimon]

Well of course it is. It is just a movie, after all.

Yup, definitely the idea that Cobb might still be dreaming is an idea put forward by Nolan (meaning, he was still trapped in limbo). But I don't think anything in the movie implies that the whole thing (from start to finish of the movie) was a dream. Sure, they had "approriate names" (honestly, I think Ariadne was the only one that really fit), but that, to me, doesn't really say much, other than that the writer that likes to use irony or symbolism a bit too much.

All movies are, in a way, dreams; seeing as that even a movie based on a true story is not actually the true story. And a movie that shows that reality may be relative is all the more subject to that comparison. But I still don't think there was anything in the movie to strongly hint or push the idea that the whole of it was actually a dream of one of the characters. Sure, you can imagine that to be so (that's completely your prerogative), but I don't think that was the point of the spinning top at the end of the movie.

there's some things to suggest the whole thing is a dream. Mal brings it up during one of their confrontations. Then there's how they're constantly just showing up in places the way Cobb tells Ariadne about. Then there's just the opening sequence with them trying to hack Saito, the guy is wealthy enough to buy an entire airline but he rides coach on the train with no security?

[EXO]

And Saito shows up out of nowhere in the beginning.

The reason that I dont think it's all a dream is that only certain number of people are chasing him. If it's his own dream then the projections wont go after him. If it's someone else then ALl of the projections would try to hurt him. But then again I dont remember any projections going specifically after him.

[dreamweaver13]

Actually it's been implied all thru out the movie that it's all a dream. And Mal even vocalizes it at the end. Well... Mal, the one in Cobb's head.

The first thing I told my friend on the way out was it seemed unrealistic that the kids were the same age, but I feel like it was done deliberately for dramatic effect and to keep the audience wondering if it was all a dream. If they showed them as older kids then it would have been too realistic.

there's some things to suggest the whole thing is a dream. Mal brings it up during one of their confrontations. Then there's how they're constantly just showing up in places the way Cobb tells Ariadne about. Then there's just the opening sequence with them trying to hack Saito, the guy is wealthy enough to buy an entire airline but he rides coach on the train with no security?

Yup, Mal indeed brought it up during their last dialogue, but after some thought, Cobb came up with an answer that, for me, pretty much closed off that train of thought. For the life of me, I can't remember what he said (and I can't find the quote at IMDB), but I remember thinking to myself, "ok, that's one twist that won't be coming at the end". I'll have to watch it again to remember that line.

eugimon, come on, you almost had me with your first 2 signs, then you suddenly use Saito's travel habits as evidence?