Cobb
Ariadne, do you remember how we came here? We always find ourselves in middle of the dream. Most of us, don't remember how our dreams started, it requires years of practice.
Played by Jack Gilroy 
Inception (2010) · 81 quotes
Inception (2010) · 81 quotes
Most-quoted character in Inception (2010): in 53 of its 81 quotes
Most scenes with: Arthur (17), Eames (17), Ariadne (16)
Dreams feel real while we're in them. It's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange.
More lines from Cobb
10 quotes
Cobb
There's something you should know about me. About inception.
Cobb
You're asking me for inception. I do hope you understand the gravity of that request.
Cobb
Downward is the only way forward.
Cobb
Never recreate places from your memories, always imagine new places. Only use details. A street lamp or a phone booth. Never entire areas. Building a dream from your memory is the easiest way of losing your grasp on what's real and what is a dream.
Cobb
She locked away a secret, deep inside herself: a truth that she once knew...but chose to forget.
Cobb
An idea is like a virus. Resilient. Highly contagious. And even the smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can grow to define or destroy you.
Cobb
Must have blown you off. That is unless her phone number really is only six digits. Funny way to make friends, someone stealing your wallet like that.
Cobb
Strange weather. Isn't it?
Cobb
Yeah. Well, I don't like trains.
Scenes with Cobb
42 scenes
Cobb
What is the most resilient parasite?...A bacteria?...A virus?...An intestinal worm?
Uh....What Mr. Cobb is trying to say...
Cobb
An Idea...Resilient. Highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold in the brain, it's almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed, fully understood, that sticks. Right in there somewhere.
For someone like you to steal?
Yes. In the dream state, your conscious defenses are lowered and it makes your thoughts vulnerable to theft. It's called extraction
Cobb
Mr. Saito, we can train your subconscious to defend itself from even the most skilled extractor.
How can you do that?
Cobb
Because I am the most skilled extractor. I know how to search your mind and find your secrets, I know the tricks and I can teach them to you so that even when you're asleep, your defense is never down. Look, if you want my help, you're gonna have to be completely open with me. I need to know my way around your thoughts better than your wife, better than your therapist, better than anyone. If this is a dream, and you have a safe full of secrets, I need to know what's in that safe. In order for this all to work, you need to completely let me in.
Cobb
It doesn't matter. I can get it.
Put the gun down, Dom. [points her handgun at Arthur, her hostage] Please.
Cobb
Did she tell you? Or have you known all along?
That you are here to steal from me? Or that we are actually asleep? I want to know the name of your employer.
Cobb
[Mal holds her gun to Arthur's head]
Ah, no use threatening him in a dream, right, Mal?
That depends on what you're threatening. Killing him will just wake him up. But pain – [suddenly shoots Arthur in the knee] Pain is in the mind. And judging by the decor, we're in your mind, aren't we, Arthur?
[Cobb suddenly shoots Arthur in the head, waking him]
Cobb
[Cobb is speaking with Saito in his apartment] [holding Saito's gun in his lap]
You came prepared.
Not even my head of security knows about this apartment. How did you find out?
Cobb
Very difficult for a man in your position to keep a love nest like this secret, particularly when there's a married woman involved.
She would never –
Cobb
Yet, here we are...With a dilemma
You got what you came for.
Cobb
Well, that's not true. You left out a key piece of information didn't you? You held something back because you knew what we were up to...Question is, why'd you let us in at all?
An Audition
Cobb
An Audition for what?
Doesn't matter. You failed
Cobb
We extracted every bit of information you had in there.
But your deception was obvious.
So, leave me and go.
Cobb
You don't seem to understand, Mr. Saito. The corporation that hired us, they won't accept failure. We won't last two days.
Cobb
Looks like I'm going to have to do this a little more simply. [throws Saito onto the floor] Tell us what you know! Tell us what you know now!
[touching the carpet and laughing]
I've always hated this carpet. Stained and frayed in such distinctive ways. But very definitely made of wool. Right now... I'm lying on polyester. Which means, I'm not lying on my carpet in my apartment. You have lived up to your reputation, Mr. Cobb. I'm still dreaming.
[after Arthur suddenly disappears, having woken]
A dream within a dream. I'm impressed. But in my dream, you play by my rules.
Nash Ah, yes, but you see, Mr. Saito...
Cobb
We're not in your dream.
Nash We're in mine.
[Saito's subconscious projections suddenly break into the room and attack Nash]
What the hell was all that?
Cobb
I have it under control.
I'd hate to see you out of control.
Our rides on the roof.
Cobb
Right.
Hey are you okay
Cobb
Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Why?
Well, down in the dream, Mal showing up
Cobb
Look, I'm uh, sorry about your leg. Won't happen again.
It's getting worse, isn't it?
Cobb
One apology's all you're getting alright Arthur?...Where's Nash?
He hasn't shown. You wanna wait?
Cobb
No. We were supposed to deliver Saito's expansion plans to Cobol Engineering two hours ago. By now, they know we failed. It's time we disappear.
Cobb
Buenos Aires. I can lie low there, maybe sniff out a job when things quiet down. You?
Stateside.
Cobb
Send my regards.
[Saito is sitting in a helicopter with Nash, Cobb's architect]
He sold you out. Thought to come to me and bargain for his life. So I offer you the satisfaction. [a gun is offered to Cobb]
Cobb
That's not the way I deal with things. [Nash is dragged from the helicopter] What will you do with him?
Nothing. But I can't speak for Cobol engineering.
Cobb
What do you want from us?
Inception. Is it possible?
Of course not.
If you can steal an idea from someone's mind, why can't you plant one there instead?
Okay, here's me planting an idea in your head: I say to you, "Don't think about elephants." What are you thinking about?
Elephants.
Right. But it's not your idea because you know I gave it to you. The subject's mind can always trace the genesis of the idea. True inspiration is impossible to fake.
Cobb
That's not true.
Cobb
Are you offering me a choice? Because I can find my own way to square things with Cobol.
Then you do have a choice.
Cobb
Then I choose to leave, sir.
Tell the crew where you want to go....[Cobb and Arthur begin to leave] Hey Mr. Cobb. How would you like to go home? To America, to your children?
Cobb
You can't fix that. No one can.
Just like inception?
Cobb, come on.
Cobb
How complex is the idea?
Simple enough.
Cobb
No idea is simple when you need to plant it in somebody else's mind.
My main competitor is an old man in poor health. His son will soon inherit control of the corporation. I need him to decide to break up his father's empire.
Cobb, we should walk away from this
Cobb
Hold on...[regarding Saito's job] If I were to do this, if I even could do it, I'd need a guarantee. How do I know you can deliver?
You don't. But I can. So, do you want to take a leap of faith? Or become an old man, filled with regret, waiting to die alone? [Cobb says nothing] Assemble your team, Mr. Cobb. And choose your people more wisely.
Cobb
[Cobb meets in Paris with his father-in-law, Miles]
You never did like your office, did you?
No space to think in that broom cupboard...Is it safe for you to be here?
Cobb
Extradition between France and the United States is a bureaucratic nightmare, you know that.
I think they might find a way to make it work in your case.
Cobb
[holding a bag]
Look, I, uh, brought these for you to give to the kids when you get a chance.
It'll take more than the occasional stuffed animal to convince those children they still have a father.
Cobb
I'm just doing what I know. I'm doing what you taught me.
I never taught you to be a thief.
Cobb
No, you taught me to navigate people's minds. But after what happened there weren't a whole lot of legitimate ways for me to use that skill.
...What you doing here Dom?
Cobb
I think I found a way home. It's a job for some very, very powerful people. People who I believe can fix my charges permanently...But I need your help
You're here to corrupt one of my brightest and best.
Cobb
You know what I'm offering. You have to let them decide for themselves.
Money.
Cobb
Not just money. You remember. It's the chance to build cathedrals, entire cities, things that never existed, things that couldn't exist in the real world.
So you want me to let someone else follow you into your fantasy?
Cobb
They don't actually come into the dream. They just design the levels and teach them to the dreamers. That's all.
Design it yourself.
Cobb
Mal won't let me.
...Come back to reality, Dom. Please.
Cobb
Reality. Those kids, your grandchildren, they're waiting for their father to come back home. That's their reality. And this job, this last job, that's how I get there. I would not be standing here if I knew any other way...I need an architect who's as good as I was.
I've got somebody better.
Pleased to meet you.
If you have a few moments, Mr. Cobb has a job offer he'd like to discuss with you.
A work placement?
Cobb
Not exactly.
Cobb
I have a test for you.
You're not gonna tell me anything about this first?
Cobb
Before I describe the job, I have to know you can do it
Why?
Cobb
It's not, strictly speaking, legal...You have two minutes to design a maze that it takes one minute to solve.
Cobb
[Ariadne draws a maze]
Stop...[Cobb solves puzzle quickly].....Again.
Cobb
[Ariadne draws a new maze]
Stop...[Cobb solves puzzle again].....You're gonna have to do better than that
Cobb
[Ariadne flips over notepad and draws a difficult maze] [Cobb is confused on where to start]
That's more like it.
Cobb
They say we only use a fraction of our brain's true potential. Now that's when we're awake. When we're asleep, our mind can do almost anything.
Such as?
Cobb
Well, imagine you're designing a building. You consciously create each aspect. But sometimes it feels like it's almost "creating itself", if you know what I mean.
Yeah, like I'm discovering it.
Cobb
Genuine inspiration, right? Now, in a dream, our mind continuously does this. We create and perceive our world simultaneously, and our mind does this so well that we don't even know it's happening. That allows us to get right in the middle of that process.
How?
Cobb
By taking over the creating part. Now this is where I need you. You create the world of the dream. We bring the subject into that dream, and they fill it with their subconscious.
How could I ever acquire enough detail to make them think it's reality?
Cobb
Well, dreams, they feel real while we're in them, right? It's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange...Let me ask you a question. You never really remember the beginning of a dream, do you? You always wind up right in the middle of what's going on.
I guess, yeah.
Cobb
So how did we end up here?
Well, we just came from the... [she trails off, looking confused]
Cobb
Think about it, Ariadne, how did you get here? Where are you right now?
Cobb
You're actually in the middle of the workshop right now, sleeping. This is your first lesson in shared dreaming. Stay calm.
[As Ariadne's perception fails, the Paris street begins to explode and collapse] [Cobb tries to dodge some of the debris]
If it's just a dream then why are you--?
Cobb
[Debris falls on Ariadne waking her up] [Now both awake]
Because it's never just a dream is it? And a face full of glass hurts like hell. When you're in it, it feels real
That's why the military developed dream sharing. It was a training program for soldiers to shoot and stab and strangle each other..and then wake up.
How did architects become involved?
Cobb
Well, someone had to design the dreams, right?[to Arthur] Why don't you give us another five minutes.
Wha, Five minutes? We were talking for at least an hour!
Cobb
In a dream, your mind functions more quickly. Therefore, time seems to feel slower.
Five minutes in the real world gives you an hour in the dream.
Cobb
Why don't you see what you can get up to in five minutes?
Cobb
You've got the basic layout. Bookstore, cafe. Almost everything else is here too.
Who are the people?
Cobb
Projections of my subconscious
Yours?
Cobb
Yes. Remember, you are the dreamer. You build this world. I am the subject. My mind populates it. You can literally talk to my subconscious. That's one of the ways we extract information from the subject.
How else do you do it?
Cobb
By creating something secure, like a bank vault or a jail. The mind automatically fills it with information it's trying to protect. You understand?
Then you break in and steal it?
Cobb
Well....
I guess I thought that the dream space would be all about the visual, but it's more about the feel of it. My question is what happens when you start messing with the physics of it all?
Cobb
Yes, it is
Cobb
Cause my subconscious feels that someone else is creating this world. The more you change things, the quicker the projections start to converge on you.
Converge?
Cobb
They sense the foreign nature of the dreamer. They attack, like white blood cells fighting an infection.
What, they're gonna attack us?
Cobb
No, no....Just you.
Cobb
[Ariadne creates a bridge]
This is great, but I'm telling you, if you keep changing things like this...
[One of Cobb's projections bumps into Ariadne]
Jeez, mind telling your subconscious to take it easy?
Cobb
It's my subconscious. Remember? I can't control it.
Cobb
[Ariadne comes to a stop, Pulls two mirrors together and creates a pathway]
Very impressive. [Cobb starts to realize the location]. I know this bridge. This place is real, isn't it?
Yeah, I cross it every day to get to the college.
Cobb
Never re-create places from your memory. Always imagine new places.
You gotta draw from stuff you know, right?
Cobb
[Cobb starts to become nervous]
Only use details. A streetlamp or a phone booth, Never entire areas.
Why not?
Cobb
Building a dream from your memory is the easiest way to lose your grasp on what's real and what is a dream.
Is that what happened to you?
Cobb
Listen to me. [Cobb grabs Ariadne, All projections stop and stare] This has nothing to do with me, understand?
Is that why you need me to build your dreams?
Cobb
[Projections start to converge on Ariadne, Cobb tries to fight them off]
Hey, get off her. Back up. Back up
Cobb
GET OFF OF HER!
LET ME GO! LET ME GO!
Cobb
MAL! MAL!
COBB! WAKE ME UP!
[Cobb's projection of his wife, walks up and stabs Ariadne, waking her up]
[After Ariadne is stabbed by Mal in a dream, she wakes up gasping for air]
Hey, hey, hey. Look at me. You're okay. You're okay. Hey
Why wouldn't I wake up?
Cause there was still some time on the clock. You can't wake up from within the dream unless you die.
Cobb
[Cobb wakes up and immediately heads to the bathroom to check his reality]
She'll need a totem.
What?
A totem. It's a small personal...
That's some subconscious you've got on you, Cobb! She's a real charmer.
Ah, I see you've met Mrs. Cobb.
She's his wife?
Yeah. So a totem. You need a small object, potentially heavy. Something you can have on you all the time that no one else knows.
Like a coin?
No, it needs to be more unique than that. [shows her a small red die] This is a loaded die. [Ariadne reaches for it, he pulls his hand away] No, I can't let you touch it, that would defeat the purpose. See, only I know the balance and weight of this particular loaded die. That way, when you look at your totem, you know beyond a doubt that you're not in someone else's dream.
I don't know if you can't see what's going on, or if you just don't want to, but Cobb has some serious problems that he's tried to bury down there. And I'm not about to just open my mind to someone like that.
Cobb
[Ariadne leaves as Cobb comes out of the bathroom]
She'll be back. I've never seen anyone pick it up that quickly before. Reality's not gonna be enough for her now, and when she comes back....when she comes back, you're gonna have her building mazes.
Where are you gonna be?
Cobb
I gotta go visit Eames.
Eames?...No, He's in Mombasa. It's Cobol's backyard.
Cobb
It's a necessary risk.
There's plenty of good thieves.
Cobb
We don't just need a thief. We need a forger.
Cobb
[to Eames, regarding his gambling chips]
Rub them together all you want, they're not going to breed.
You never know.
Cobb
Let me get you a drink.
Cobb
[Eames turns in fake chips, Cobb grabs one]
You're spelling hasn't improved.
Piss off
Cobb
How's your handwriting?
Versatile
Cobb
Good.
Cobb
Inception. Now, before you bother telling me it's impossible, let me.
No, it's perfectly possible. It's just bloody difficult.
Cobb
Interesting. Because Arthur keeps telling me it can't be done
Hmm. Arthur. You still working with that stick in the mud?
Cobb
He is good at what he does, right?
Oh, he's the best but he has no imagination
Cobb
Not like you
Listen, if you're gonna perform inception, you need imagination.
Cobb
Let me ask you something. Have you done it before?
We tried it. Uh, we got the idea in place, but it didn't take
Cobb
You didn't plant it deep enough?
No, it's not just about depth. You need the simplest version of the idea in order for it to grow naturally in your subject's mind. It's a very subtle art. So, what is this idea that you need to plant?
Cobb
We need the heir of a major corporation to dissolve his father's empire
Well you see right there you have various political motivations and anti-monopolistic sentiments and so forth. But all of that stuff, it's um.... It's really at the mercy of your subject's prejudice, you see? What you have to do is start at the absolute basic.
Cobb
Which is what?
The relationship with the father. [Cobb gives a look of approval]. Do you have a chemist?
Cobb
No, not yet
Right. Okay, well, there's a man here, Yusuf. He, uh, formulates his own versions of the compounds
Cobb
Why, don't you take me there?
Once you've lost your tail. The man at the bar.
Cobb
Cobol engineering. That price on my head, was that dead or alive?
Don't remember. Let's see if he starts shooting.
Cobb
Run interference. I'll meet you downstairs in the bar in, say, uh, say half an hour?
Back here?
Cobb
It's the last place they'd suspect
You are seeking a chemist?
Cobb
Yes.
To formulate compounds for a job?
Cobb
And to go into the field with us.
No, I rarely go into the field, Mr. Cobb.
Cobb
Well, we'd need you there to tailor compounds specific to our needs.
Which are?
Cobb
Great depth.
A dream within a dream? Two levels?
Cobb
[Cobb leans in]
...Three.
Not possible. That many dreams within dreams is too unstable.
Cobb
It is possible. You just have to add a sedative.
A powerful sedative....How many team members?
Cobb
Five.
Six...The only way to know you've done the job is if I go in with you.
There's no room for tourists on a job like this, Mr. Saito.
This time, it seems there is.
This, I think, is a good place to start. I use it everyday.
Cobb
What for?
Here, I'll show you... [Yusuf grabs his keys, then gives it second thoughts]...Perhaps you will not want to see.
Cobb
...After you.
[Cobb, Eames, Saito, and Yusuf enter a room with a dozen dreaming people]
Ten, twelve all connected. Bloody hell.
They come every day to share the dream. [An old man slaps one of the dreamers, who does not wake] You see? Very stable.
Cobb
How long do they dream for?
Three, four hours, each day.
Cobb
In dream time?
With this compound? About 40 hours, each and every day.
Why do they do it?
Tell him, Mr. Cobb.
Cobb
After a while it becomes the only way you can dream.
Do you still dream, Mr. Cobb?
They come here every day to sleep?
Old Man
No. They come to be woken up. The dream has become their reality. Who are you to say otherwise, sir?
Cobb
[to Yusuf]
Let's see what you can do.
Robert Fischer, heir to the Fischer Morrow energy conglomerate.
Cobb
What's your problem with this Mr. Fischer?
That's not your concern.
Cobb
Mr. Saito, this isn't your typical corporate espionage. You asked me for Inception. I do hope you understand the gravity of that request...Now, the seed that we plant in this man's mind will grow into an idea. This idea will define him. It may come to change...Well, it may come to change everything about him.
We're the last company standing between them and total energy dominance. And we can no longer compete. Soon, they'll control the energy supply of half the world. In effect, they become a new superpower...The world needs Robert Fischer to change his mind.
That's where we come in...How is Robert Fischer's relationship with his father?
Rumor is the relationship is quite complicated.
Cobb
Well, we can't work based solely on rumor, can we?
Can you get me access to this man here? Browning. Fischer Senior's right-hand man. Fischer Junior's godfather.
It should be possible, if you can get the right references.
References are something of a specialty for me, Mr. Saito.
Cobb
No, no, I was just, uh, running some experiments. I didn't realize anyone was here, so...
Yeah, I was-- I was working on my totem, actually.
Cobb
Here. Let me take a look [he offers his hand to take the chess piece, but Ariadne withdraws it] So you're learning, huh?
An elegant solution for keeping track of reality. Was it your idea?
Cobb
No, it was uh... was Mal's, actually. [showing his top] This, This one was hers. She would spin it in the dream and it would never topple. Just spin and spin.
Arthur told me she passed away.
Cobb
How are the mazes coming along?
[explaining the "mazes" of Fischer's subconscious]
Each level relates to the part of the subject's subconscious that we are trying to access. So, I'm making the bottom level a hospital so Fischer will bring his father. You know, I--Actually, I have a question about this layout –
Cobb
No, no, no. Don't show me specifics. Only the dreamer should know the layout.
Ariade
Why is that so important?
Cobb
In case one of us brings in our projections. We don't want them knowing the details of the maze.
You mean in case you bring Mal in. You can't keep her out, can you?
Cobb
Right.
You can't build because if you know the maze, then she knows it. Well, She'd sabotage the whole operation. Cobb, do the others know?
Cobb
No. They don't.
You've got to warn them if this is getting worse.
Cobb
No one said it's getting worse. I need to get home. That's all I care about right now.
Why can't you go home?
Cobb
Because they think I killed her. [stands to walk away] Thank you.
For what?
Cobb
For not asking rather I did.
Cobb
[The team devises the strategy for the inception]
"I will split up my father's empire." Now, this is obviously an idea that Robert himself will choose to reject. Which is why we need to plant it deep in his subconscious. The subconscious is motivated by emotion, right? Not reason. We need to find a way to translate this into an emotional concept.
How do you translate a business strategy into an emotion?
Cobb
That's what we're here to figure out, right. Now Robert's relationship with his father is stressed, to say the least.
Well can we run with that? We could suggest him breaking up his fathers company as a "screw you" to the old man.
Cobb
No, cause I think positive emotion trumps negative emotion every time. We all yearn for reconciliation, for catharsis. We need Robert Fischer to have a positive emotional reaction to all this.
Alright, well, try this? "My father accepts that I want to create for myself, not follow in his footsteps."
Cobb
That might work.
Might? Were gonna need to do a little better than "might".
Forgive me for wanting a little specificity, Eames. [Eames looks confused, saying nothing] Specificity?!
Cobb
Inception's not about being specific. When we get inside his mind, we're gonna have to work with what we find.
[The team are standing in the first constructed dream level, an empty city]
On the top level, we open up his relationship with his father. Say, "I will not follow in my father's footsteps". Then, the next level down, we feed him "I will create something for myself". Then, by the time we hit the bottom level, we bring out the big guns:
Cobb
My father doesn't want me to be him.
Exactly.
The compound we'll be using to share the dream creates a very clear connection between dreamers whilst actually accelerating brain function.
Cobb
In other words, it gives us more time on each level.
Brain function in the dream will be about 20 times normal. When you enter a dream within that dream, the effect is compounded. It's three dreams, that's 10 hours times 20--
Cobb
It's a week the first level down, Six months the second level down, The third level--
That's 10 years. Who'd would want to be stuck in a dream for ten years?
Depends on the dream.
So, once we've made the plant, how do we get out? I'm hoping you have something more elegant in mind than shooting me in the head?
Cobb
A kick.
What's a kick?
This, Ariadne, would be a kick. [kicks Arthur's chair; Arthur flails but manages to right himself]
Cobb
It's that feeling of falling you get that jolts you awake. It snaps you out of the dream.
Are we going to feel a kick with this kind of sedation?
Ahh, that's the clever part. I customize the sedative to leave inner ear function unimpaired. That way, however deep the sleep, the sleeper still feels falling, or tipping.
Cobb
The trick is to synchronize a kick that can penetrate all three levels.
We could use the musical countdown to synchronize the different kicks.
[The team are discussing a method to get Fischer by himself]
He hasn't got any surgery scheduled, no dental, nothing.
Cobb
Wasn't he supposed to have a knee operation?
Nothing. Nothing that they'll put him under for, anyway. We need at least a good ten hours.
Sydney to Los Angeles. One of the longest flights in the world. He makes it every two weeks.
Cobb
He must be flying privately.
Not if there were unexpected maintenance with his plane...
It would have to be a 747.
Cobb
Why is that?
Cause on a 747 the pilots up top, and the first class cabin is in the nose, so no one would walk through. But you'd have to buy out the entire cabin. And the first class flight attendant.
I bought the airline. [Everyone looks at him incredulously. Awkwardly;] It seemed neater.
Cobb
Looks like we have our 10 hours...Ariadne? Terrific work, by the way.
[Ariadne has entered one of Cobb's hidden memories] [turning towards Ariadne]
What are you doing here?
I know who you are. What are you doing here?
I'm just trying to... understand.
How could you understand? Do you know what it is to be a lover? To be half of a whole?
No.
I'll tell you a riddle: you're waiting for a train, a train that will take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you, but you don't know for sure. But it doesn't matter. How can it not matter to you where the train will take you? [she picks up a jagged wine glass]
Cobb
[behind Ariadne]
Because you'll be together.
What is this place?
Cobb
This is the hotel suite where we used to spend our anniversary.
What happened here?
[Mal suddenly dashes towards them, as Cobb and Ariadne throw themselves in the elevator]
You promised! You promised!
Cobb
Please! I need you to stay in here! Just for now!
You said we'd be together! You said we'd grow old together!
Cobb
[starting the elevator]
I'll be back. I promise.
[After they awake in the real world]
Did you think that you could build a prison of memories to lock her in? Did you think you could contain her?
[Everyone has just entered Yusuf's dream, a city in a heavy downpour]
You couldn't have peed before you went under?
Sorry.
A bit too much free champagne before takeoff, eh, Yusuf?
Cobb
Well, we know he's going to be looking for a taxi in this weather.
Cobb
[After Saito has been shot in the first dream layer]
Get Fischer in the backroom now. [Opens car door] Get him in the backroom. Move. What the hell happened?..Has he been shot? Is he dying?
I don't know.
Cobb
Jesus Christ.
Where were you what happened to you?
Cobb
We were blocked by a freight train.
I didn't!
Then where'd it come from?
Cobb
Let me ask you a question: why the hell were we ambushed? Those were not normal projections, they've been trained, for God's sake!
How could he be trained?
Fischer has had an extractor teach his subconscious to defend itself. His subconscious has militarized. It should have shown in the research. I'm sorry.
Cobb
When why the hell didn't it?!
Calm down.
Cobb
Don't tell me to calm down! This was your job, God damn it! This was your responsibility! You were meant to check Fischer's background thoroughly! We are not prepared to deal with this type of security!
We have dealt with some security before! We'll be a little more careful, and we'll be fine!
Cobb
This was not a part of the plan! [on Saito] He's dying, for God's sake!
Cobb
Don't do that! [shoves him back] Don't do that.
Cobb
No. It won't wake him up.
What do you mean, "it won't wake him up"? If we die in a dream, we wake up.
Not from this. [everyone looks at him] We're too heavily sedated to wake up that way.
So, what happens when we die?
Cobb
We drop into Limbo.
Limbo?
Unconstructed dream space.
Well, what the hell is down there?
Just raw, infinite subconscious. Nothing is down there. Except for whatever that might have been left behind by whoever's sharing the dream who was trapped down there before. Which in our case, is just you.
But how long could we be stuck there?
Not even think about waking up until –
How long?!
Decades! It could be infinite! I don't know! [motioning to Cobb] Ask him, he's the one who's been there!
[Saito is moved upstairs]
Great. [to Cobb, sarcastic] Thank you. So, now we're in Fischer's mind battling his own private army. And, if we get killed, we'll all be lost in Limbo until our brains turn to scrambled egg. Hm?
[Cobb says nothing and walks away]
Someone got First Aid? [Lays Saito on table, then turns to Cobb] So, you knew about these risks and you didn't tell us?
Cobb
There weren't meant to be any risks. I didn't know we'd be dealing with a load of gunfire.
You had no right.
Cobb
This is the only way to go three layers deep.
You trusted him? When he promised you half his share?
No! [beat] His whole share. Besides, he said he'd done it before.
What, with Mal? Because that worked so good?!
Cobb
It had nothing to do with you. I did what I had to to get back to my children.
So you led us into a war zone with no way out?
Cobb
There is a way out. We continue on with the job, and we do it as fast as possible and we get out using the kick, just like before.
Forget it. We go any deeper, we just raise the stakes. I am sitting this one out on this level boys.
Cobb
Fischer's security is surrounding this place as we speak. Ten hours of flight time is a week at this level. That means each and everyone of us will be killed. That I can guarantee you. We have no other choice but to continue on and do it as fast as possible. Downwards is the only way forwards. [To Eames] Get ready. [To Arthur] You, come on. Let's go shake him up.
[to Cobb]
When were you in Limbo?...You might have the rest of the team convinced to carry on with this job, but they don't know the truth.
Cobb
Truth? What truth?
Ariandne
The truth that, at any minute, you might bring a freight train through the wall. The truth that Mal is bursting through your subconscious, The truth that as we go deeper into Fischer, we're also going deeper into you. And, I'm not sure we're gonna like what we find.
Cobb
We were working together. We were exploring the concept of a dream within a dream. I kept pushing things. I wanted to go deeper and deeper. I wanted to go further. I just didn't understand the concept that hours could turn into years down there...that we could get trapped so deep that when we...when we would up on the shore of our own subconscious, we lost sight of what was real. We created. We built the world for ourselves. We did that for years. We built our own world.
How long were you stuck there?
Cobb
...Something like 50 years.
Jesus. How could you stand it?
Cobb
It wasn't so bad at first, feeling like gods.The problem was knowing that none of it was real. Eventually, it just became impossible for me to live like that.
And what about for her?
Cobb
She had locked something away, something deep inside her. A truth that she had once known, but chose to forget. Limbo became her reality.
What happened when you woke up?
Cobb
Well, to wake up from that after years, after decades. To become old souls thrown back into youth like that? I knew something was wrong with her. She just wouldn't admit it. Eventually, she told me the truth. She was possessed by an idea. This one very simple idea that changed everything. That our world wasn't real. That she needed to wake up to come back to reality...that in order to get back home...we had to kill ourselves.
What about your children?
Cobb
She thought they were projections. That our real children were waiting for us up there somewhere.
Cobb
[Mal yelling to try and convince Cobb they are still dreaming as Cobb carries the children into the next room. "Mal": I'm their mother!. "Cobb": Calm down . "Mal" Don't you think I can tell the difference. "Cobb": If this is my dream, why can't I control this? "Mal": BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW YOUR DREAMING.]
She was certain there was nothing I could do no matter how much I begged, no matter how much I pleaded. She wanted to do it, but she could not do it alone. She loved me too much, so she came up with a plan on our anniversary.
Cobb
[Cobb finds his wife, Mal, sitting on a window ledge]
Sweetheart, what are you doing?
Join me.
Cobb
Just step back inside, alright? Just step back inside now, come on.
No. I'm going to jump and you're coming with me.
Cobb
No, I'm not. You listen to me: if you jump, you're not gonna wake up, remember? You're going to die. Now, just step back inside so we can talk about this.
We've talked enough. [her slipper falls into the street below] Come out onto the ledge, or I'll jump right now.
Cobb
Okay. We're gonna talk about this, alright?
I'm asking you to take a leap of faith.
Cobb
No, honey. I can't. You know I can't do that. Take a second and think about our children. Think about James. Think about Philipa.
If I go without you, they'll take them away, anyway.
Cobb
What does that mean?
I filed a letter with our attorney explaining how I'm fearful for my safety. How you've threatened to kill me.
Cobb
Why would you do that? Why would you do this to me?
I love you, Dom. I've freed you from the guilt of choosing to leave them. We're going home. To our real children.
Cobb
No, no, no, Mal, you listen to me, alright? Mal, look at me, please!
You're waiting for a train...
Cobb
Mal, goddamn it! Don't do this!
..A train that will take you far away..
Cobb
James and Phillipa are waiting for you!
..You know where you hope this train will take you,..
Cobb
They're waiting for us!
..But you can't know for sure..
Cobb
Mal, look at me!
..But it doesn't matter...because you'll be together.
Cobb
Sweetheart, look at me! [Mal falls off the window ledge into the street below] Mal, No!! Jesus Christ!
Cobb
[to Eames]
What did you get?
That boy's relationship with his father is even worse than we imagined.
This helps us how?
Cobb
The stronger the issues, the more powerful the catharsis.
How are you going to reconcile them if they're so estranged?
Well, I'm working on that, aren't I?
Move fast. Projections are closing in quick. [he loads an assault rifle] We gotta break out of here before we're totally boxed in.
Cobb
We need to shift his animosity from his father to his godfather.
We're going to destroy his one positive relationship?
No, we repair his relationship with his father whilst exposing his godfather's true nature. We should charge Fischer a lot more than Saito for this job.
Cobb
[Fischer and Cobb are speaking in the hotel bar] [as "Mr. Charles"]
I specialize in a very specific type of security. Subconscious security.
Are you talking about dreams? Are you talking about extraction?
Cobb
I am here to protect you... [the projections in the bar suddenly look at Cobb, and he glimpses images of his children through a window] ...Mr. Fischer, I am here to protect you in the event that someone tries to access your mind through your dreams. You're not safe here. They're coming for you. [rain suddenly begins pouring down outside] Strange weather, isn't it? You've actually been trained for this, Mr. Fischer. [chairs and glasses in the bar begin shifting sideways] Pay attention to the strangeness of the weather, the shift in gravity. None of this is real. You're in a dream. [the projections stare at Cobb again] Now, the easiest way for you to test yourself is to try and remember how you arrived at this hotel. Can you do that?
Yeah, I, uh... [looks confused]
Cobb
Breathe, remember your training. Accept the fact that you're in a dream and I'm here to protect you. Go on.
You're not real?
Cobb
No, no. [the projections ignore him again] I'm a projection of your subconscious. I was sent here to protect you in the event that extractors tried to pull you into a dream. And I believe that what's going on right now, Mr. Fischer.
Yeah, okay. Can you get me out of here?
Cobb
Right away. Follow me.
[The team is entering Fischer's subconscious]
Wait, whose subconscious are we going into, exactly?
Cobb
We're going into Fischer's. But I told him it was Browning so he can be a part of our team.
Cobb
That's right.
Security is going to run you down hard.
And I will lead them on a merry chase.
Make sure to be here in time for the kick –
Go to sleep, Mr. Eames.
[Cobb watches through a window with a sniper rifle as Mal sneaks up on an unaware Fischer]
Cobb. No! She is not real!
Cobb
[hesitating]
How do you know that?
She is just a projection. Fischer is real!
What happened?
Mal killed Fischer.
Cobb
[about Mal]
I couldn't shoot her. There's no use in reviving him. It's over.
So that it, then? We failed?
Cobb
We're done. I'm sorry.
Well, it's not me that doesn't get back to my family, is it? It's a shame, I really wanted to know what was going to happen in there. I swear we had this one.
Cobb
Let's set the charges.
Wait, there's still another way! We just have to follow Fischer down there.
Not enough time.
No, but there will be enough time down there, and we will find him! As soon as Arthur's music kicks in, use the defibrillator to revive him. We can give him his own kick down below. You get him in there (the vault). You blow the building, and we all ride the kick back up the layers.
[The last scene in limbo, Saito's dining room]
Have you come to kill me?... I am waiting for someone...
Cobb
...Someone from a half-remembered dream.
Cobb? [chuckles] Impossible. We were young men together. I'm an old man...
Cobb
...Filled with regret...
...Waiting to die alone....
Cobb
...I've come back for you... To remind you... Something... Something you once knew... That this world is not real...
...To convince me to honor our arrangement...
Cobb
...To take a leap of faith, yes. Come back. So we can be young men together again... Come back with me...Come Back.
[Scene cuts to all team members waking up on the plane, Saito gives a look of appreciation to Cobb for going into Limbo to pull him out. [The plane is about to land]
Cobb looks at Saito to see if he will honor the agreement. Saito makes a phone call. Each team member passes through customs, Cobb goes last; Cobb is able to safely walk through without being arrested. Miles is at pickup to take Cobb home.]
Welcome. This way.
[Cobb has a look of joy finally going back home. Cobb arrives home happy to see his children, but after thinking about the events of the day, decides to check his reality one last time with the spinning top, [As the top spins] Cobb see's his children outside as they usually appear in his dreams but now visibly older.]
James? Phillipa? Look who's here [Unlike in his dreams. The kid's look up and see their father and run to him]
Cobb
Hey...Hey, guys! Hey! How are you?
Phillipa
DADDY! DADDY!
DADDY!
Cobb
[Cobb runs to embrace his children. Miles smiles as he goes inside]
How are you?
Look what I've been building.
Cobb
What are you building.
We're building a house on the cliff!
Cobb
On a cliff? Come on...I want you to show me. Can you show me?
Let's go.
Phillipa
Come on, Daddy!
[Scene transitions back over to the spinning top...still...spinning...but...just as the top begins to topple, the scene cut's to black. [movie ends] ]