I have a difficult relationship with Christopher Nolan. Ever since The Dark Knight trilogy really made him a household name people have claimed with each new release of his that it is among the greatest films of all time…when in reality it’s just Nolan being a master of deception with smoke and mirror effects to make a fairly mundane film appear grander than it really is. There are certainly some exceptions to this, such as 2008’s The Dark Knight which is a defining moment in the superhero genre where they could suddenly be so much more than cheesy action flicks. I would also argue that Interstellar is one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made, with its modern take on a 2001: A Space Odyssey type of scenario. But films such as Inception, Memento & Dunkirk are little more than simple action/thriller films that are just made convoluted for the sake of Nolan’s own hubris and people just seem to lap it up like it’s some kind of divine gift. I’ll give the man credit where it’s due, I adore that he is such an advocate for the IMAX film format, and on top of that he knows how to use it well! I also love how much of an advocate he is for the cinema experience, regardless of what I think about his films they are worth going to the cinema for because they are made for that environment specifically!
But Tenet and I had rocky start which gave me a negative outlook on the film going into it. In the lead up to release there were a lot of signs that Nolan’s hubris was going to get in the way of it being a good film. Firstly, he kept making it out to be smarter than it is by using fancy buzzwords to describe the film. Then it was being compared to Inception (which I’m far from a fan of). Then finally, when the cinemas were shut due to a global pandemic Nolan kept insisting that cinemas reopen for Tenet. He refused to budge on delaying the film because he wanted cinemas to reopen across the globe just for Tenet, because he evidently seemed to think that his new film was more important than making sure a deadly virus could be contained. Unfortunately for him cinemas simply were not ready to reopen for when he wanted them to, so it had to be delayed. It has acted as a reason for people to go visit the cinema because it is the first major new film to release since everything opened back up. But is it worth risking your life to see? Short answer, absolutely not; long answer…it’s not quite as clear cut as you might expect.
After sacrificing himself at the end of a mission gone awry, our nameless protagonist (John David Washington) is inducted into a secret organisation called Tenet. Tenet’s purpose is to stop what they believe to be World War III from taking place based off information they have gathered from the future. This information has not been brought back through time travel though, instead objects and people that have been ‘inverted’ are more regularly coming into existence. If something is inverted it moves in the opposite direction of the way we interpret time, so for instance instead of seeing someone running forwards, they would be running backwards; instead of firing a gun, you’re catching a bullet.
Tenet wants to know where these inversions are coming from, and whether they can be utilised to stop the end of the world.
The Protagonist must go undercover and intercept high value targets that may know where Tenet can learn more about the inversions, and what they can do in the present to change the future.
But Tenet and I had rocky start which gave me a negative outlook on the film going into it. In the lead up to release there were a lot of signs that Nolan’s hubris was going to get in the way of it being a good film. Firstly, he kept making it out to be smarter than it is by using fancy buzzwords to describe the film. Then it was being compared to Inception (which I’m far from a fan of). Then finally, when the cinemas were shut due to a global pandemic Nolan kept insisting that cinemas reopen for Tenet. He refused to budge on delaying the film because he wanted cinemas to reopen across the globe just for Tenet, because he evidently seemed to think that his new film was more important than making sure a deadly virus could be contained. Unfortunately for him cinemas simply were not ready to reopen for when he wanted them to, so it had to be delayed. It has acted as a reason for people to go visit the cinema because it is the first major new film to release since everything opened back up. But is it worth risking your life to see? Short answer, absolutely not; long answer…it’s not quite as clear cut as you might expect.
After sacrificing himself at the end of a mission gone awry, our nameless protagonist (John David Washington) is inducted into a secret organisation called Tenet. Tenet’s purpose is to stop what they believe to be World War III from taking place based off information they have gathered from the future. This information has not been brought back through time travel though, instead objects and people that have been ‘inverted’ are more regularly coming into existence. If something is inverted it moves in the opposite direction of the way we interpret time, so for instance instead of seeing someone running forwards, they would be running backwards; instead of firing a gun, you’re catching a bullet.
Tenet wants to know where these inversions are coming from, and whether they can be utilised to stop the end of the world.
The Protagonist must go undercover and intercept high value targets that may know where Tenet can learn more about the inversions, and what they can do in the present to change the future.
That’s really all I can say without giving too much away, but rest assured it’s a pretty decent story. It’s drastically far from the complex mind-bending thriller Nolan was promising (which is why I found those buzzwords so concerning before the film’s release); in fact, so long as you’re paying attention it’s actually incredibly straightforward. I would recommend a second viewing for various reasons, but it will allow you to look at the more complex scenarios with a baseline understanding of what’s actually happening. It may also help with being able to hear what people are saying.
If you’ve seen any other reviews for Tenet I’m sure the most puzzling thing you’ll encounter is the fact that you can’t work out what people are saying a lot of the time because the speech is muffled. This is completely true, and I honestly think it’s intentional because Nolan is trying to make the film seem harder to understand than it really is. I don’t know why this is the case because he’s perfectly good at setting up puzzles in his films without the need for making them intentionally difficult to understand (another reason I don’t like Inception). This problem with the muffled dialogue is simply just poor sound editing and sloppy filmmaking, nothing more to it. Because if it’s unintentional then why wasn’t this picked up on by the sound department, or by Nolan himself. But if it is intentional it’s clearly Nolan just trying to stroke his own ego with this whole smoke and mirrors act that I talked about earlier.
I feel like this dialogue that is hard to hear will uncover some of the intricacies of why things are happening, or why they are happening in that particular way, but even if you do miss this dialogue the first time round you should still be able to piece together the plot to an almost complete picture.
John David Washington is fantastic as The Protagonist. His performance is utterly gripping, and it completely sold this idea of inversion to me. The way he learns how to use it to his advantage over the course of the film is fantastic, both in the way he can communicate what is going on, and in the way he can physically interact with it. Robert Pattinson is also pretty fantastic as Neil. He brings some much-needed levity to the film, whilst he is certainly not comic relief, his generally cheery demeanour makes some of the sequences more than just gripping but genuinely thrilling.
The only performance that was truly underwhelming is Kenneth Branagh as Andrei Sator, the main villain of the film. Whilst the performance is still serviceable, I feel Branagh's skills are never really given the opportunity to flourish and as a result almost everything else is more interesting than his character.
If you’ve seen any other reviews for Tenet I’m sure the most puzzling thing you’ll encounter is the fact that you can’t work out what people are saying a lot of the time because the speech is muffled. This is completely true, and I honestly think it’s intentional because Nolan is trying to make the film seem harder to understand than it really is. I don’t know why this is the case because he’s perfectly good at setting up puzzles in his films without the need for making them intentionally difficult to understand (another reason I don’t like Inception). This problem with the muffled dialogue is simply just poor sound editing and sloppy filmmaking, nothing more to it. Because if it’s unintentional then why wasn’t this picked up on by the sound department, or by Nolan himself. But if it is intentional it’s clearly Nolan just trying to stroke his own ego with this whole smoke and mirrors act that I talked about earlier.
I feel like this dialogue that is hard to hear will uncover some of the intricacies of why things are happening, or why they are happening in that particular way, but even if you do miss this dialogue the first time round you should still be able to piece together the plot to an almost complete picture.
John David Washington is fantastic as The Protagonist. His performance is utterly gripping, and it completely sold this idea of inversion to me. The way he learns how to use it to his advantage over the course of the film is fantastic, both in the way he can communicate what is going on, and in the way he can physically interact with it. Robert Pattinson is also pretty fantastic as Neil. He brings some much-needed levity to the film, whilst he is certainly not comic relief, his generally cheery demeanour makes some of the sequences more than just gripping but genuinely thrilling.
The only performance that was truly underwhelming is Kenneth Branagh as Andrei Sator, the main villain of the film. Whilst the performance is still serviceable, I feel Branagh's skills are never really given the opportunity to flourish and as a result almost everything else is more interesting than his character.
Tenet is a gorgeous film to watch and as always with Nolan films I recommend going to watch it in IMAX if possible. Where many films and studios will claim to be shot in IMAX, many of them often don’t use the equipment to its fullest. But Nolan adores the format and as a result his films always use it to their fullest potential, even pushing the boundaries of what was thought possible with the technology at times. Whilst Tenet is not ground-breaking for IMAX, it is certainly a film that deserves to be seen in said format. The action sequences are given room to breathe on the screen, particularly because they often take place in relatively confined spaces.
Said action sequences are fantastic and some of the best in recent memory. A particular highlight is a sequence at an airport which occurs early on in the film and it’s your first real exposure to inversion. The scene is revisited from a different perspective later on in the film and it just makes the sequence incredibly unique, even though you know how it’ll play out you’re just amazed by how this kind of action sequence could even be conceived let alone executed as well as it is.
So as for that long answer I spoke of earlier. Should you go see Tenet? I’ll say yes. If you’re concerned about going to the cinema because of safety, then absolutely stay home. No film, no matter how important Nolan believes it to be, is worth sacrificing your health and putting people at risk for. But I’ve been to the cinema a number of times this last week to test the waters before jumping into something that will be more crowded like Tenet and I can say that UK cinemas are doing a fantastic job of keeping people safe and comfortable during screenings. It’s definitely a film I would recommend seeing at the cinema, particularly in IMAX, and I would go so far as saying it’s one of Nolan’s best. To be perfectly honest (and this puts me in my place for being so negative about Tenet in the lead up to release) it’s pretty great, even in spite of the audio issues. Dare I say it, it’s exactly the kind of film we needed to have for the first big blockbuster for the re-opening of cinemas. Does it change my opinion on Nolan’s egotistical attitude as of late? Absolutely not.
Said action sequences are fantastic and some of the best in recent memory. A particular highlight is a sequence at an airport which occurs early on in the film and it’s your first real exposure to inversion. The scene is revisited from a different perspective later on in the film and it just makes the sequence incredibly unique, even though you know how it’ll play out you’re just amazed by how this kind of action sequence could even be conceived let alone executed as well as it is.
So as for that long answer I spoke of earlier. Should you go see Tenet? I’ll say yes. If you’re concerned about going to the cinema because of safety, then absolutely stay home. No film, no matter how important Nolan believes it to be, is worth sacrificing your health and putting people at risk for. But I’ve been to the cinema a number of times this last week to test the waters before jumping into something that will be more crowded like Tenet and I can say that UK cinemas are doing a fantastic job of keeping people safe and comfortable during screenings. It’s definitely a film I would recommend seeing at the cinema, particularly in IMAX, and I would go so far as saying it’s one of Nolan’s best. To be perfectly honest (and this puts me in my place for being so negative about Tenet in the lead up to release) it’s pretty great, even in spite of the audio issues. Dare I say it, it’s exactly the kind of film we needed to have for the first big blockbuster for the re-opening of cinemas. Does it change my opinion on Nolan’s egotistical attitude as of late? Absolutely not.