The ending was so they could end the movie without an outright statement of "it worked/it didn't work". It forces watchers to be able to watch it without having to deal with the explicitly hard writing it would take to make the ending work by telling you how his exploits went.
Think about it: if they said he succeeded, it would have been a Happily Ever After. He failed? Angst is Art... And the ending would have jarred with the rest of the writing, not to mention that people would have seen it as a Sequel Hook because if he failed, that just meant he was still in a dream state and all he'd have to do is find the Old Japanese Man and get the fack out of there, for real this time. So, both of these are unsatisfactory. This means that viewers would have to think to find out the ending, which is, of course, the scenario: either he made it out (the top DID shake, after all) and it's all good, or he didn't, and he's got to try again, and hopefully succeed this time. A far superior ending than the other two options, in my own opinion.
Of course, there's the ending that I personally would have written, which is him getting to the airport and finding out that the Japanese guy tricked him and he gets arrested anyways. But that's just me.
I don't get why people are so frustrated by the ending. It was fairly unsubtle, but it was functional, and allowed the movie to close whilst focusing on one last, iconic image that represents the whole idea of the movie.
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My favorite movie of the year
This is a great movie. It is a heist film, with lots of action scenes, fights, etc. However, the setting allows them to do things in new and interesting ways. The effects are amazing, especially the hallway fight. The plot is a little deeper than a typical action film. There is some Fridge Logic, but it is easy to suspend disbelief.
The only real flaw is the ending, which feels like a cheap and predictable gimmick. Overall though, I'd definitely recommend it.