The last part was pretty much all scene setting, introducing the characters of Cobb and Arthur. In this part we’re off to Paris to say hello to Michael Caine, as well as to find out a little bit more about what needs to be done to create a believable dream world.
29. Ooh, Paris is pretty.
30. Yay! Michael Caine. I love Michael Caine!
31. Cobb blames Michael Caine for him not being able to get legitimate work anymore. Bad Michael Caine! Does Michael Caine's character have a name in this?
32. Cobb wants one of Michael Caine’s students. Michael Caine is sceptical but Cobb can’t do it himself because of Mal. Something else that will be explained later.
33. They couldn’t have made Ariadne’s role more obvious if they tried. They might as well have flashed neon letters that said ‘SHE’S GOING TO BE INVOLVED WITH MAZES’ on the screen when she first appeared.
34. Then Cobb sets her the challenge of making an actual maze on paper, so they kind of do it anyway. But I don’t care because I like spotting symbolism and all that jazz.
35. Meanwhile Arthur is setting up their new HQ.
36. Cobb gives us a little bit more information about how dreams and architecture works. Ariadne will be making dream worlds.
37. I love this bit. Cobb points out that Ariadne doesn’t know how they came to be sitting in a cafe on a street in Paris. She’s confuzzled. Then everything starts exploding. It was seeing this bit that made me want to see the film, that and the folding up roads.
38. Then they wake up.
39. Dream sharing was used by the military. And time goes slower in a dream. More dream world lessons.
40. We’re in Cobb’s mind. In a dream world the subject’s mind populates it. Ariadne’s able to shape the world though and so does so by screwing with physics, folding the buildings over on top of one another so roads start running at right angles to each other.
41. Unfortunately this alerts Cobb’s subconscious to the fact that someone is messing with the place. Everyone is giving Ariadne evils. Not going to end well.
42. So I totally jumped when the mirror shattered. And I knew what was coming.
43. But then Cobb freaks out. You’re not supposed to make something which is a recreation of reality because you can get lost in it. To demonstrate this Mal shows up and stabs Ariadne to death.
44. I love Arthur’s reaction: “Oh, so you met Mrs Cobb?”
45. And here’s where we learn about totems. Arthur’s is a loaded die, clearly Cobb’s is the spinning top. It’s got something about it that makes it unique so you know whether or not you’re in a dream.
46. Despite this, Ariadne’s off. She’ll be back though. Cobb wants her to build mazes. What else.
47. Cobb’s off to Mombasa in search of some guy names Eames. Eames believes Inception can be done and doesn’t think very highly of Arthur.
48. He also has some experience of Inception, but the idea has to be really, really simple to stick. Cobb spells out the job that needs to be done again, just in case you missed it the first time: Make man dissolve father’s empire.
49. Eames has notices someone is following Cobb though. That means it’s time for a high speed chase through a crowded marketplace. This is so you know you’re watching an action blockbuster.
50. If you need a bathroom break, now would be a good time to go.
51. Cobb steals some guy’s seat and he’s really not pleased about it. So much for not drawing attention to himself.
52. Fist fight. Guns. More running through crowded streets. Then down a not-so crowded street. Then squeezing through a really thin gap between two buildings.
53. Conveniently Saito shows up and knocks out one of the guys chasing Cobb with the car door.
54. Back in Paris, Ariadne is back.
55. Time for another lesson in dream worlds. They can play around with architecture and make M.C. Escher-style features to help escape from the dreamer’s subconscious.
56. Oh and Mal is dead. Just in case you were wondering and hadn’t figured it out yet.
57. Back in Mombasa, Saito, Eames and Cobb have gone to visit Yusef who can create the drugs they need to make them enter the dream world. And this is where we hear about having a dream within a dream within a dream.
58. Downstairs is a sort of modern opium den where a dozen people gather to share a dream world. They’re dream addicts. Cobb decides to have a go. And look, there’s Mal again.
Next week we’ll finally get into the first of several Dream Worlds. It’s the beginning of more complicated things to come.
I haven't seen this movie yet. I keep meaning to but haven't.
ReplyDeleteI'd definitely recommend it. It was made out to be really hard to follow but my first viewing in the cinema didn't confuse me at all. It only really gets confusing when you really try to think about it too much, hehe.
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