Now then, DA has a problem with the end. I'm warning you now that I'm going to dispense with any SPOILERS since I think people should only read these threads if they have seen a film. So here goes:
Concerning the final scene, I assume your problem is with the spinning top and the attempt to make us ask: Is it all still a dream?
Quite right. My assumption is the same as yours (that they were 'back'); what I resented was the attempt to create that little 'mystery'. I would be fine with it if it the mystery was a natural result of the story, but that scene seemed forced to me. It just wasn't needed. I think people would have wondered "Is it real or not?" anyway, since the nature of the plot lends itself to such questions. But that scene seemed like Nolan making a conscious effort to make us wonder, and he didn't need to because the movie was plenty clever as it is. Don't force it.
1) The top had already begun to fall if you listen to it rather than watch.
I heard it, too. Definitely wobbling.
2) If it was still a dream, then who’s dream? It would have to be Cobb’s dream. So, he dreamt that everyone returned. So if they didn’t, are they all still dreaming and no one returned? That really doesn’t work.
Not all of them would be dreaming. If it all, the possibility is that all the rest returned, but Cobb didn't make it out.
3) If it was Cobb’s dream wouldn’t he put Mal in it, still alive?
Not necessarily. A dream in which she was alive might be too unrealistic for his subconcious to accept, so it's possible the dream he would create would be one that is more 'believable'.
4) But mainly because Cobb could never remember his children’s faces in his dreams, however this time he saw them both.
I don't think it's that he couldn't remember. I mean, they're his kids. Surely, he wouldn't forget what they look like in such a short period of time. I think it was basically guilt.
He left without saying goodbye to his children, without looking at their faces one last time. So now, that's how he remembers them. It's not that he can't remember; it's that he
won't. Notice that when he's in Limbo with Mal, and she's convincing him to stay, she points out the kids to him, and Cobb deliberately looks away. Why did he see them in the end, then? I guess he's finally forgiven himself.
On the other hand, Cobb could have been in a dream from the very start of the film, and none of what we saw was ever reality at all.
I've heard that theory. Personally, it's my least favourite possibility, because if it was all a dream, then the events have no meaning. None of it mattered. And that's just lame.
I did think the whole process itself had been incredibly well thought out by Christopher Nolan; as if he had asked people to nitpick it and then gone back and made up explanations and ways around those various problems.
Oh, definitely well thought. I read somewhere that Nolan apparently first thought of the script before he made
Memento, and has basically been fine-tuning it since. That's remarkable.
However, there is the possibility that Limbo is a shared environment not limited to a single subconscious.
I think so.
But if that is the case, Cobb should surely be older than Saito when they meet. I’m still confused!
I don't think Cobb should be older, because Saito did die before him so he's been in Limbo longer. Cobb was there years ago, and then came out. He wasn't in there this whole time.
1) Whether Fischer Junior would remember the dream or not. He had had professional dream training just like the others, so surely he should? At the airport, he does seem to recognise Cobb for a second.
He might retain enough to get some deja vu, but I don't think he'll remember much of it. Keep in mind, they weren't
his dreams; they were Cobb's teammates'.
2) Why Fischer Junior does not recognise Saito from real life? The head of a rival Corporation!
He's an ignorant buffoon.
3) Did they actually succeed? Did Fischer Junior actually break up the company? That was the whole major plot-line wasn’t it?
I think we can assume they did succeed. They 'inceptioned' him, and the idea is now in Fischer's head. Notice him looking all thoughtful and pondersome at the end.
But that wasn't really the point of the movie. It was an excuse to get the plot moving, but ultimately the story was about Cobb, and his road to recovery/redemption.
