I just saw this movie! (and also kind of feel like I was the last person on the internet to see it /o\). I agree with a lot of your criticisms of it; there were a lot of things I really loved about it, but too much of it felt, idk, kind of shallow? Like you, I felt like some of the character motivations were missing or incomprehensible (Ariadne especially), and I also felt like character interactions and relationships were only shakily developed. (For instance, I'm not sure why Arthur/Eames is the big slash pairing to come out of this movie? I mean, I kind of see it, but barely. D:)
The world building seemed weak too; I wanted to know more about where this technology/ideas had developed, how these people fell into this line of work, how they know each other, etc.
I think the ending was supposed to be purposely ambiguous. Which is kind of frustrating, because the whole sequence was so ridiculously too good to be true, with the inspiring music and the kids in the same clothes and in the exact same position on the lawn, that I didn't think it could be anything BUT a dream.
But then, I also think they totally underused the whole idea of the totems. (i mean, why did Ariadne make a chess piece? how do totems help if you are stuck in your own dream?)
I don't have a reaction post, but the comments to this post (http://coffeeandink.dreamwidth.org/1079996.html) bring up the possibility that Ariadne is Cobb's grown-up daughter who is in his dream trying to perform inception on him, and HOLY SHIT, I want that to have happened in the actual film!
(I kind of think I understand why fandom has exploded around this film in that there are incredibly interesting ideas at play and the characters are so -- well, lightly drawn, that it's the perfect fandom for fans to step in and fill in the blanks much more awesomely than the film did or, in fact, could have.)
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Date: 2010-08-05 02:03 am (UTC)The world building seemed weak too; I wanted to know more about where this technology/ideas had developed, how these people fell into this line of work, how they know each other, etc.
I think the ending was supposed to be purposely ambiguous. Which is kind of frustrating, because the whole sequence was so ridiculously too good to be true, with the inspiring music and the kids in the same clothes and in the exact same position on the lawn, that I didn't think it could be anything BUT a dream.
But then, I also think they totally underused the whole idea of the totems. (i mean, why did Ariadne make a chess piece? how do totems help if you are stuck in your own dream?)
I don't have a reaction post, but the comments to this post (http://coffeeandink.dreamwidth.org/1079996.html) bring up the possibility that Ariadne is Cobb's grown-up daughter who is in his dream trying to perform inception on him, and HOLY SHIT, I want that to have happened in the actual film!
(I kind of think I understand why fandom has exploded around this film in that there are incredibly interesting ideas at play and the characters are so -- well, lightly drawn, that it's the perfect fandom for fans to step in and fill in the blanks much more awesomely than the film did or, in fact, could have.)