Comments on The Fred Venturini Web Presence: Inception Ending Explained. Yes, This Will Ruin t...

I just watched it for the second time. The end is ...

2010-09-15T09:28:00.407-07:00

I just watched it for the second time. The end is definitely reality. There are two main reasons to support this theory.

1) I'll start with the wedding ring. Nolan was clever to create a secret totem for the audience. I'll admit, I wasn't the first to notice this, but I have verified that he only has a ring on while dreaming.

2) Cobb's totem is his children's faces. At the end, it doesn't matter to Cobb whether or not the top falls, because he looks up and see's his children, immediately knowing that it isn't a dream.

In addition, the "inception" on the audience is the same as the inception that Cobb performed on Mal. The idea that "this world isn't real". Nolan cleverly plants this idea into the viewers head so that by the end of the movie, we, like Mal & Cobb, question reality.

To be sure, we must check our totem, the wedding ring. And sure enough, Cobb isn't wearing it, so it is in fact reality.

I don't believe that it was a dream at the end...

2010-08-08T23:34:37.975-07:00

I don't believe that it was a dream at the end, and he had actually returned to reality. The reason I believe this is because Cobb stated that the top was Mals' and once a totem is touched by someone else it is useless. Therefore if totem was Mals' it would have made no difference if it kept spinning or not at the end, because the totem could not measure whether or not it was a dream. I believe Cobb's true totem was the faces of his children. Cobb tells Adrienne that a totem has to be physical in shape, however it was stated in the movie that Cobb usually does not implement his own rules. Having said this it can be easily understood why Cobb would have chosen his kids as his totem. Whenever he was in a dream he would never be able to see the faces of his children, however, at the end of the movie, his kids turn around and he can see their faces clearly.

It's theories like the ones you discussed here...

2010-07-30T05:48:45.260-07:00

It's theories like the ones you discussed here that make me realize that I am not a deep thinker. I completely bought in to what I'm sure the director intended - That the events truly happened and the only debate was whether he was in the real world at the end or not. Like a sheep being led... I've got to get some critical thinking skills!

I agree with Jamey here Fred Mr. Charles was throw...

2010-07-23T15:42:26.510-07:00

I agree with Jamey here Fred Mr. Charles was throwing me off a few times because I was really wondering if it was him or just the forger the whole entire time which make me wonder if Mr. CEO had hired Mr. Charles to be on his team which is why Mr. CEO wanted to go with them in the first place

Primer is a mind-bender. Jamey, if you like The Pr...

2010-07-22T07:25:58.856-07:00

Primer is a mind-bender. Jamey, if you like The Prestige film (also directed by Nolan), check out Memento or Following or even better the book The Prestige by Christopher Priest.

Great post, Fred. I've gone back and forth wit...

2010-07-21T19:01:34.325-07:00

Great post, Fred. I've gone back and forth with different theories, but in the back of my head I've been wondering if there was a forger or a Mr. Charles involved here. The link you posted explains it perfectly, and that's what I'm going with: Saito pulls a "Mr. Charles" on Cobb.

I've been trying to think of the last movie that made me think as much as this one. There are a few: The Prestige, Gone Baby Gone, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, etc. But I'd say the one that stands out is Primer. If you enjoyed thinking through Inception, I'd highly recommend Primer.

#2, he has those flashes after the test in the bas...

2010-07-21T18:35:45.863-07:00

#2, he has those flashes after the test in the basement and then he's "up." I turned to Stacey at that point in the movie and said something along the lines of "I don't think he's awake."