Many of these ideas were presented in The Matrix but the "idea" of n-deep illusions was central to Inception. I appreciated the time multiplication, even given the 20x fast brain function bodge.
Why were the acceleration changes only go one layer deep? Perhaps inner ear sensation (balance, acceleration) in the dreamer's world are the only modifiers. It doesn't matter, the construct produced intriguing new effects that I was pleased to experience.
We should be arguing about interesting ramifications. Personally I'd like to believe that Mal was correct and Cobb was dreaming all through the film.
The film reminds me of a couple of Red Dwarf books: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Better_Than_Life (especially) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Human These are definitely worth a read if you are interested in science fiction.