Tenet 2020

When coming up with the idea for this film, I imagine Nolan asking himself: can you take a Roger Moore era Bond plot, up the amount of sci-fi and dial down the camp? Yes, you can, but this isn’t exactly the way to do it.

Pros:
- I love it when directors aim big. Give me someone who tries something as ambitious as this over the average blockbuster anyday.
- Directing & cinematography, as is to be expected from a Nolan film at this point.
- Score. Especially during the opening scene and inversion stuff.
- Action sequences, especially the car chase.
- Most of the acting is solid. JDW is excellent, Robert Pattinson and Elizabeth Debicki are great.

Cons:
- This film has been edited to shit. It’s got pacing that’s all over the place, and there’s a rushed sense to it all. Scenes aren’t allowed to breathe, exposition is delivered so rapidly that you barely have any time to process it. I’m lucky to have a brain that can keep up with difficult plot mechanics, and yes, I could follow what was happening all the way through, but it all makes for a film that’s inaccessible for most people on their first watch. Unfortunately, it definitely doesn’t feel like the film that mainstream audiences are going to embrace during the time of a pandemic.
- Just like with Dunkirk, Nolan once again deliberately chooses to not flesh out his characters, resulting in a film that feels emotionally shallow. It’s very hard to connect with the film on a personal level in that regard. Take Inception, for example. Even when you strip away all the amazing stuff from that film (rotating cities, hotel fight), there’s still an emotional core about a man who’s been estranged from his kids because of what happened to his wife. There’s a reason why we want Leonardo DiCaprio to succeed at implanting this idea into Cillian Murphy’s head. Tenet has none of that. Who’s the protagonist? Who’s Robert Pattinson? What’s this agency they’re working for? We just don’t know.
- The sound mix. The dialogue just isn’t very clear for a lot of the film. Why they didn’t use ADR for some scenes (especially when people wear masks, as that’s easy to edit around) is beyond me. I honestly started to read the subtitles after the opening scene.
- Kenneth Branagh. He’s a great actor, but his hammy performance feels like it comes out of a different movie (a campy Roger Moore era Bond movie, that is)
- I found the climax to be uninspired, and a little dull.
- Minor point, but there’s some really unsubtle foreshadowing during the fight at the airport ( when you have a character unmask an inverted person offscreen, and they look surprised, who do you think it’s going to be? )

Overall, I feel like this could’ve easily been an 8 if the film was about 30 minutes longer, thereby taking its time to flesh out the characters, world and mechanics of the plot. It almost feels like WB forced Nolan to trim a lot of scenes in order to get a shorter runtime, but that’s also doubtful as WB isn’t beyond releasing movies that are way shittier at 3 hours (It: Chapter 2). Besides, he’s Christopher Nolan, so I assume he has final cut. As it stands, I just cannot recommend it.

5/10

Rating: 1.75/5

The concept was brilliant but it felt lacking. Like the movie, I go both forward and backward in my thoughts on the film. I did enjoy the time travel loop and I watched it twice just to catch the bits I may have missed the first time. Enjoyed it a bit less the second time after feeling the first time was intriguingly ok. It could have been so much better or maybe I'll like it better the next time through. The characters' motivations were lacking and underdeveloped. Even the explanation for why was lacking and somewhat ridiculous. Perhaps that was the point, however, the focus is on the loop and time travel, pre-destiny, so the lacking details don't matter. Maybe this should have been a series where they could have more time so the payoff and explanations were better. I assume that some points that were then meant to be surprising revelations when they come back around were actually duh moments. However, they did work for action points. Those were beautiful and attention-grabbing but even here it could have been more but not sure what. The last fight was somewhat confusing but still interesting in the forward and backward elements. What happened, happened and even The Protagonist seemed bored at one point or simply going about the motions to see it play out as if he figured it out sooner but still wanted to see for himself. I did enjoy Neil and his cycle. First run, I did have the feels when you realize.

Fix the sound! The action was sooo loud and the talking low in comparison.

Oh and let's just also point out that this movie does not pass the Bechdel test. And only had three people of color. I do appreciate that the main was a POC, however.

The cinematography? Fantastic.

The score? Heart-pounding and creative.

The dialogue? Serviceable, at best. Incomprehensible, at worst.

The action? Some of the most creative stuff I've ever seen.

The plot? Interesting.

The story? Overwhelmingly confusing.

The idea of this movie is so high concept that it had to have been directed by Christopher Nolan. Unfortunately, it was also written by Christopher Nolan. He spent so much time fleshing out the mechanics of this world he built, he forgot to give the audience anything to which they could connect, instead opting to lazily tack on a shallow something that resembles a connection in the form of a mother-child relationship (which means nothing to the movie). And the fact that the protagonist doesn't have a name and lacks any want, need, or motivation besides saving the world, to the point that he's credited as "The Protagonist", almost makes me think that Nolan wrote him poorly on purpose.

All this movie has going for it are what I listed above: the shots, the score, the action scenes, and the interesting ideas. However, you need characters that make meaningful decisions that impact the plot, not characters that follow the plot you've already written. But looking back on the movie, isn't that exactly what Tenet is? Isn't it just characters reacting to and moving according to a pre-planned plot? Is this whole movie just a meta-commentary on movies that are all plot and no story?

If it is, I deserve a pat on the back for coming to that conclusion. As I see it, this is a 2.5 star movie with an extra half-star for style. It would have gone a long way for him to have written stronger characters; if the story was stronger as a result of that, this could have been up there with his other films, or it could have even been one of his greatest films.

I saw it once and thought "what?!"

I saw it twice and thought "wow!"

I cannot wait to see it for a third time.

This is one of those mind-bending movies that absolutely warrants repeat viewings. See it on the biggest screen you can and preferably IMAX.

The first time was entertaining but confusing - I was too busy trying to understand the plot that I missed the spectacle... I was almost "out" of the movie.

So I went home and watched all the trailers, behind the scenes videos and the ending explanation.

Then, after a few weeks I went a second time and boy was it so much better for me - I was literally "in" the movie - completely immersed and loved it. I saw the film in a whole new light and was completely blown away.

I caught all the clever easter eggs and visuals I had missed first time.

I appreciated the directing and acting a lot more.

My score first time was 6.5.

My score second time is 8.5.

It's true what they say in the film...

"Don't try to understand it. Feel it."

I felt it and will be looking forward to that feeling again.

Cinema is supposed to take you away to another world, away from the harsh realities of life.

Let this film do that and then thank yourself.

Tenet is a science fiction action film directed by Christopher Nolan, starring John David Washington as a CIA agent who must confront Russian oligarch Andrei Sator, played by Kenneth Branagh, who is using weapons from the future to change the past. The plot is complex and fast-paced, but ultimately a variation of the "save the girl, save the world" trope. The film is visually stunning, with impressive action sequences and a strong performance from Kenneth Branagh as the villain. The cast also includes Elizabeth Debicki, Robert Pattinson and Tom Hardy. Tenet is a dense and ambitious film, that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats and is a departure from the traditional James Bond film, but with similar elements.

Tenet es una película de acción y ciencia ficción dirigida por Christopher Nolan y protagonizada por John David Washington como un agente de la CIA que debe enfrentarse al oligarca ruso Andrei Sator, interpretado por Kenneth Branagh, que utiliza armas del futuro para cambiar el pasado. La trama es compleja y de ritmo rápido, pero en última instancia es una variación del tropo "salva a la niña, salva al mundo". La película es visualmente impactante, con impresionantes secuencias de acción y una gran actuación de Kenneth Branagh como el villano. El elenco también incluye a Elizabeth Debicki, Robert Pattinson y Tom Hardy. Tenet es una película densa y ambiciosa, que mantendrá al público al borde de sus asientos y se aleja de la película tradicional de James Bond, pero con elementos similares.

I sat in the cinema, was highly motivated to understand the film and it worked out quite well. Then came the first small block about inversion. I was still on the ball. It was strange and you weren't allowed to think about it too much, but it was possible to stick with it. Thereupon a monologue by Sir Michael Caine. At this point I was already quite out of it. I admired more the sets, the action. The subject of inversion was then taken more and more to the extreme. At some point, people moved back and forth in time in parallel. On the one hand it was incredibly cool and chicly staged, but basically absolutely incomprehensible. The problem is this: While it would take a lot of (damned much) time to really understand what is happening in front of you, Christopher Nolan's creation does not slow down. You have to put the thinking behind you in order to somehow follow the new confusion on the screen.

At some point the film ends. And it is just as I had read it before: No idea what just happened there, but it was cool. And that's what makes the film worse than Nolan's other works, which often and gladly played with time.

From an actor's point of view, they did everything right. John David Washington is just a tough, inscrutable guy and therefore fits perfectly into the film. Robert Pattinson is a great sidekick with loose sayings. Elizabeth Debicki is just beautiful and Kenneth Branagh is a great villain.

Finally, just a few words that were said at the beginning of the film: "Don't even try to understand it."

Not as solid as I hoped. It's confusing for sure, but they could have done so so much more with this concept and world. But they didn't. It has left us with a story that is interesting, yet unrelatable. Things move way too fast and I would have preferred a longer runtime because it is that intriguing. And while the ending is great, the way that Nolan tries to merge the two viewpoints isn't done well. Leaving me feeling like my dad when he watches Transformers (2007) and asks who is who.

It needed to be simplified a little more because everything else is amazing. The effects, the overarching story, the acting. The music, however, is terrible and overblown to give a sense of action when there isn't enough happening. The only part where it worked well was in the final fight, but even then it needed to be quieter.

The cinematography is good as always, but I feel it is lacking compared to Nolan's previous work.

When it comes to action and the draw to this movie, the reversal shots. They deliver, but they are too and far between. It gives us great scenes of reversal action, then one drawn-out segment at the end that doesn't feel rewarding as like I said before, it isn't merged well.

This movie may grow on me more after a second viewing, but it left me in a state that I don't wish to see it again any time soon. It is not fun enough to see again, it is not engaging enough to associate and learn from. Something that Nolan has done well at in the past is his ability to leave questions with the audience after they finish his films. Here, it just provides answers and left me unsatisfied in that regard.

7/10

“I sleep”.

Man, it feels great to be back at the cinema again. Also, I forgot how loud the IMAX speakers can be.

The first major blockbuster in five months is also the one that’s closing off an uneventful summer season. But then again, that alone is a nice filling when you think about it, because a movie with so much meat on its bone, sizzling with rich flavours and so much to chew on, there’s really no need for appetisers.

‘Tenet’ is a head scratcher of a movie, but I really really liked it. I did not fully understand all of it, especially on my first watch, and that is perfectly alright. Despite the movie being 2 hours and 30 minutes long, the movie runs at a quick pace with characters speaking at a fast rate, so it is a rush against time to try and keep up. Repeat viewings and discussions will be seriously needed to solve this complex, but grand puzzle.

As I said before, you can love or hate Christopher Nolan, but there is no denying the craftsmanship on screen is nothing more than extraordinary. I am not a die-hard fan of Nolan, even though I would consider him one of the best working director. I can recognise his flaws, but also cheer on his strengths. An ambitious filmmaker that wants to make every movie he makes special. I mean, there literally crashed a Boeing 747 plane for real in this movie. I have no idea how they filmed and executed it. I rarely asked this, but it gives me great pleasure to sit in a cinema and say, “how the hell did he do that?” And trust me, there was plenty of that throughout the movie. This Nolan guy is a madman.

All of Nolan movies follow the theme of time, but in this movie, time becomes his playground. There was some stunning and jaw dropping scenes involving time bending and reversing of time that was easily the highlight of the movie. I also love how it involves objects and the environment around the characters. What is even more impressive is that there was a mixture of both practical and visually trickery in some scenes. There was a fight between scene a SWAT guard and The Protagonist (John David Washington), one is fighting in reverse, while the other is fighting normal. A fantastic scene. The cast and crew trained for weeks learning how to move and fight backwards, while visual trickery was used in some aspect. Some old school movie magic.

Basically, the whole movie is one big UNO card game.

The performances from everyone was solid. The presence of John David Washington makes his character The Protagonist compelling to watch. Robert Battinson, on the other hand, was the show stealer for me as this charming and sly fox. I hope his performance further makes mainstream audiences move away from his ‘Twilight’ days. I was surprised to see Aaron Taylor-Johnson in this movie and almost did not recognise him at first, but he was great. Elizabeth Debicki was also great, and her character was the only emotional anchor of the movie, in terms of the audience finding some attachment to.

I enjoyed Kenneth Branagh as the Russian villain of the movie and Branagh fully goes for it, as he is chewing up the scenes. Then again, famous poet Charles Bukowski once said, “If you're going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don't even start.” Whenever the scene requires seriousness, I think Branagh pulled it off well, even if the character itself was a stereotypical Russian that you would see in a James Bond movie. Other actors such as: Himesh Patel, Dimple Kapadia, Clémence Poésy, and Michael Caine were all good.

The sound work in the movie was incredible. There was an extreme focus on certain details with sounds that adds so much to the intensity and scope of the movie, especially the gunshots which sounded very realistic and had that loud echo to it. It reminded me of Michael Mann’s ‘Heat’ and ‘Collateral’, in terms of gun shots.

The score from Ludwig Göransson was phenomenal and hearing it in the cinema was intense. It fitted every scene so perfectly. An electronic soundtrack with the melody playing backwards. The cinematography by Hoyte Van Hoytema was great once again and it was incredibly striking to watch. Everything on a technical standpoint was a marvel.

I was not expecting to hear music from Travis Scott at the end of a Christopher Nolan movie. I never thought I'd hear a "SKRRT, SKRRT" in a Nolan film, but it’s a welcoming addition, because when the song came thumping and throbbing through the speakers at this heavy pace, it was so good.

However, I have my issues with the movie. First, I had a hard time understanding some of the dialogue or what the characters were saying. Not because it was complicated, but because it was hard to make out what was being said. I mean, some of it was muffled. Subtitles would have been lovely. It also did not help that the characters talk really quick.

Out of all the Nolan movies, I think this movie lacks at the emotional core. As I said early, Debicki’s character at least gives you some emotional attachment with her story-line involving her son and her toxic relationship with her Russian husband, but even that doesn’t get developed enough. There wasn’t quite that emotional tug at the heart strings that you get in Nolan’s other movies. Although, I would not call the movie hollow or anything, because watching the movie, I felt that awe and intensity, so at least I felt something.

And that is really it for the issues.

I am confident that this movie will have a special place in the future, as the ideas this movie presents is too fascinating to forget or brush off. Even days after seeing the movie, I am still examining the elements that came to light and piece together the puzzle to get the whole sense of the picture. Even those who think they got the plot; I can bet they are dead wrong. Those are the best qualities to a movie, in my opinion. A movie that only tells you so much and leaves your brain fighting for hints, but it’s that urgency of knowing the answers and returning to a movie that you weren’t keen on before, to only discover something new that you never got before.

Overall rating: “ᴡᴇ ʟɪᴠᴇ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴛᴡɪʟɪɢʜᴛ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ. ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀʀᴇ ɴᴏ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ ᴀᴛ ᴅᴜꜱᴋ.”

”.ᴋꜱᴜᴅ ᴛᴀ ꜱᴅɴᴇɪʀꜰ ᴏɴ ᴇʀᴀ ᴇʀᴇʜᴛ ᴅɴᴀ .ᴅʟʀᴏᴡ ᴛʜɢɪʟɪᴡᴛ ᴀ ɴɪ ᴇᴠɪʟ ᴇᴡ“ :gnitar llarevO

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.”“

Tenet is Christopher Nolan's attempt at utilizing similar timeslip mechanics as Primer, and should not be confusing at all to anyone who has ever watched that film. In fact, the moment that we are introduced to turnstile, it should be immediately clear how the film ties its loose ends, connecting the ending with the first minutes of the film.

The interesting take is how, and I think Nolan does much better job than the film I mentioned.

The point of the film, I think, is that there is no multiple realities. The future is already set in stone. "What happened's happened" means basically the world has been like that since the movie start. “Ignorance is the Tenet team’s ammunition” only because they don’t know how or what happens in the future, they do what they do to save the world. Basically everything in this film has already happened and no one is in control.

And I think that's the beauty, and the sad deterministic view of the film. "What about free will?" the Protagonist asks very early in the film. There is none; only fate.

So unlike what others have claimed, Tenet does have a plot, albeit a deterministic one. As a film, Tenet does not trouble itself by laying out vague scientific jargons or trying to explain the time mechanics to the audience. Nolan takes a straight point, focusing on the heist/mission like he did with Inception.

Some might say that the characters are soulless, unlike Inception. I think it might be the consequence of fast-moving scenes cut/edited with high efficiency. Especially in the first half of the film; at times I had to pause the film a few times to understand what's going on. But character's relationship leaves a better impression as we get to the ending. Although I have to admit that the villain's motivation was not at all convincing/interesting; they serve more like as a background to the whole mission.

I also see Tenet as Nolan's further experiments with sound design/ambient music, after what he did with Dunkirk: in certain scenes, like the inverted car chase scene, Nolan contrasts a seemingly linear/flat cinematography with shepard tonal music that makes the scene getting more intense and pressured only through repeating the pitch (see Vox's video/article on this subject).

Tenet might not be Nolan's masterpiece, but it's a very interesting experiments that does things well and really streamlined in the timeslip/time travel genre.

I went into this movie with high expectations but knowing little to nothing about the movie itself (I hadn't even seen the trailer). A Nolan movie, packed with action, a touch of sci-fi and time travel: that's all I knew. And to be honest, it was more than enough. I went into Tenet sure that I would love it.

The reality, though, is not as pretty.

But let's start with the positives.
The soundtrack was great. Even though I feel that Zimmer would have elevated this movie to another level, Göransson did an excellent job. The music was appropriate, underlining every single moment of the movie.

The cast did really well. Especially Pattinson, which I really appreciated in this. Also pleasantly surprised by John David Washington, whom I didn't know before. He did really well as The Protagonist. Good job also by Debicki. Really, considering their characters, they all did the best they could.

The cinematography, as expected by Nolan, was top notch. Great CGI as well. The action sequences were done really well, I truly enjoyed them. Same for the car chase. I don't know how they managed to film/edit the inverted scenes, but they were amazing!

Now for the not so positives.
The sound mixing was really poor. Often the music completely covered the dialogue, making it really hard to understand what was going on. Thank God for subtitles.

The pacing was off. It felt really rushed, in a movie that should have left the viewer some time to understand the situation. Almost like a magician that doesn't want you to fixate your eyes too long or else you might discover his trick, the movie is always rushing you from scene to scene. I get what they were going for, but it was not executed properly.

The dialogue was also not as good as I expected. Very hand-wavy if that makes sense. Coupled with very one-dimensional characters, it really put me off. With the exception of Pattison's (and even then, not that much better), every character felt so flat.

And finally, the plot.

While it starts from an interesting and, at least for me, unheard idea, it quickly devolves into a generic spy/bond movie. I'm not personally a fan of the "it's always been this way" time travel solution, but I won't hold that against the movie. What I didn't like is that there was no sense of empathy for the characters. I didn't give a damn about their actions, because they felt more like automatons than human beings. Same thing for the time travel gimmick: it was really intriguing, but I soon didn't care for it because the movie couldn't be bothered to keep it consistent and to play by its own rules it had set up

In the end, I still think that Tenet is an interesting movie. Just not perfectly executed. Maybe a longer runtime would have given time to sort some of the issues by slowing down the pace a bit. But the interesting time travel mechanic, the fact that the movie will have you think about what was going on (in a good way!) even after it's over, the great score and the gorgeous looking cinematography make me recommend it. Especially to fan of the director or those who liked Inception (which is a superior movie, IMO).

7.5/10

This is a bit of a nitpick, but in the fight at the airport it was obvious that they were fighting another version of The Protagonist. I mean, Pattison unmasked him and looked surprised, while the camera didn't show who it was. Who the hell could have been?

I have seen every Christopher Nolan film except Larceny and those 3 shorts he did. He may be my favorite director. This is the worst movie he has ever made. When I think of this movie I think of George Costanza yelling ITS FINE and that's what I want to do. I am pretty sure Nolan had the idea about a backwards car chase and thought, "well how do I make that into a movie?" and poof, here we are. The writing is extremely snappy, almost to the point of parody. People non-stop rattling off 6 word sentences at one another with almost zero silence between them. The action, well, I had no idea what the heck was going on most of the time. It's just not written well. I am a geek for time movies or time-anything. I watch it all. I have never once not understood the movie/whatever. Even the so-called complicated ones. This? I have no idea what was going on. I mean I get what the evil Russian big bad was doing, but the actual action sequences with the inverse-whatever its called? No idea. There's also stupid stuff like loudly discussing terroristic plans on airport subways in a crowd while everyone around does seem to notice. But its a pretty movie with pretty people that are all good to great actors. Nolan should be glad COVID made it so nobody saw this in theaters. It helps his reputation to not see it, because this was not up to his standards in anything but the visuals. Maybe he can get back to that Jim Carrey cum Howard Hughes movie he had to cancel all those years ago. As for Tenet? ITS FINE.

An aesthetic showcase that's completely uninterested in human beings (and for the love of God, what does Christopher Nolan have against decent sound mixing?)

It's undeniably fascinating to see a tent pole Hollywood production engaging with issues such as entropy, thermodynamics, reversibility and irreversibility, time's arrow, the grandfather paradox, and T-symmetry, all the while keeping proceedings housed firmly within the spy genre (it's a Bond movie in all but name). Indeed, one of the film's central questions is especially noteworthy – if what and who we remember from our past defines who we are in our present, do things that haven't happened to us yet also speak to our identity? Do our future actions determine who we are as much as our past actions? It's a fascinating question. And one with which Nolan does precisely nothing. However, the film's main problems aren't related to the squandered existential potential, the much ballyhooed complexity, the puzzle-like structure, the philosophical musing, or the thematic similarity to Nolan's previous work. Rather, they are more fundamental, existing almost entirely at a structural level (although some of the performances don't help matters, nor does the abysmal sound mixing). The film looks incredible, the practical effects in the action scenes are extraordinarily mounted, the cinematography is stunning, and the editing is superb, but there simply isn't anything of note under the shiny veneer. It's a film with virtually no interest in human beings.

For my complete review, please visit: https://boxd.it/1lbO1H

My impression after just finally watching this...

First 40-45%: 4/10.
So many scenes felt clipped, rushed into the next, with not nearly enough connection to follow what was going on or why. Visually impressive, and I had the distinct impression that something big and interesting was going on, but I was very confused about what it was.

Last 55-60%: 7/10.
A little after we meet Sator, events started flowing somewhat more understandably. Still a bit confused here and there, but not as much. And the big ambitious sequences closer to the end were mostly well-executed (and in stunning detail), including some loopbacks that belatedly filled in some of the earlier-on confusion while completing the story well. Still not quite up to the greatness level the ads promised, IMO, but better.

I have the impression that a second watch would make more sense, in part due to some of the revelations near the end. My issue is that a second watch shouldn't be this necessary to get the story enough to appreciate it.

While I appreciate some degree of mystery and confusion up front that gets explained later on, that doesn't quite work any more when the confusion reaches a level that I don't understand why people are doing what they're doing.

I suspect that this would have been much better if given the additional time to flesh things out, especially the first half. Maybe as a limited series over four to six hours.

“Tenet” is yet another Christopher Nolan blockbuster that shows off intriguing ideas and spectacular action, but unfortunately struggles at telling an emotionally engaging story. I dig the dark tone and ambitious scale of his films, but always find it hard to connect with the paper-thin characters. Neil might be the only exception here, but it felt like credit should go to Robert Pattinson for his performance. Overall, I quite enjoyed it, and can totally see myself revisiting it a few years from now, but at the same time, I can’t help feeling like it was in many aspects also a missed opportunity.

Even more than “Inception”, the film can be described as a more daring take on a James Bond flick. The problem is that Nolan has always been awkward with two of the vital trademarks of a successful 007 film: wit and sensuality. The humor was a bit better than usual, though.

Despite its reputation as a tremendously convoluted film, the plot is as simple as ”Avengers: Infinity War”: the bad guy is collecting powerful artifacts that could lead to the destruction of the universe, and a group of heroes travels across time to stop him. The only thing to be really confusing is the way time travel is handled. There is no machine that instantly takes you to a particular point in time: you have to “invert” yourself and physically walk your way backward, with the whole world around you appearing as it is “rewinding” itself. This results in action sequences that are as visually breathtaking as they are mechanically overwhelming, particularly when you get to see characters moving in opposite temporal directions interact on screen. When it’s a couple of characters you can more or less figure out what is going on, but when we are talking about color-coded troops, it gets a bit too much for your eyes to handle.