The story concept is a mixed of The Matrix (1999) + The Thirteenth Floor (1999) + Dark City (1998) + Jacob's Ladder (1990) ...

The dream planting idea is from Paprika (2006) The multiple layers of dream idea is from Perfect Blue (1998)

It is a better movie than Shutter Island (2010), but doesn't make it worth all the buzz and box office success. Hollywood, just like any other American culture, is suffocating from all the NWO agendas - thus this mediocre sci-fi generated so much success compared to other "sugar coated" movies that requires 0% of using your brain such as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), Going the Distance (2010), ... all these movies requires no imagination - pure visual receptions - just like porn.

Maybe that's what the movie bosses want these days - further dumping down the population till they have no intellect to speak their minds, to think for themselves, just become a pack of sheep.

If you are disappointed like me, go watch Perfect Blue (1998) Paprika (2006) Esp the first one, the best psycho-thriller anime/film I've ever seen