No joke, Tenet is my only anticipated film of the year. The last movie I saw in cinemas? Sonic the Hedgehog starring Jim Carrey…and let’s just say that Tenet was more…intellectual. That's not to diss Sonic by the way (it was okay?), but rather to foreshadow what I have to say regarding this....
It would seem to me that Christopher Nolan’s name is enough to sell a movie. His high concept/philosophical narratives draw in massive crowds; people searching for something meatier than the majority of what Hollywood spews. Just look at the Dark Knight and Inception! Incredible achievements in cinematic innovation, especially the latter! I don’t love all of his films, but I’m always excited to see what he’s going to dish out next!
Which is why it was certainly a ‘different’ experience sitting in a near-empty theatre today; a testament to the times that we’re living in. Nevertheless, nothing could prepare my friend and I for the complexities of this film…When Inception first came out, many believed it was difficult to understand. That’s no less true of this film…except for one detail. Tenet makes Inception look like the kind of film you would watch when you’re doing the ironing, confident that you will easily be able to follow along with its ‘straightforward’ premise.
I’m just going to briefly post below the synopsis of the film that can be found on IMDB. No spoilers! Just a blurb:
Armed with only one word, Tenet, and fighting for the survival of the entire world, a Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.
So it’s not a spoiler to say that the film has something to do with time…Guys…if you except to casually walk into this film and have a ‘nice’ couple of hours to relax that overworked brain of yours, ha ha…your attitude is mistaken (or maybe you’re much smarter than me; let me know!) But if you’ve seen Nolan’s work before, you should already know that! Just be aware this is perhaps his most puzzling movie. Off the bat this is more of an initial reaction, as there are still things I’m trying to work out on a narrative level (although research has helped!).
I’ll say this however…the ‘concept’ of the film is awesome. Like seriously, it’s a really neat idea and the way it plays out in a lot of scenes is brilliant. Again though, there are still things I’m trying to decipher! But the idea that Nolan is going for is really unique; something I’ve never seen before. And credit where credits due! He’s an ideas man! There were moments in the film that had my jaw drop to the flaw, especially moments that brought greater clarity to where the story was going. Dare I say it’s his coolest idea yet? Now there’s a debate! Needless to say the whole thing is stunning to look at, with top notch special effects. I also have a special love for Nolan's wide night-time city shots...beautiful!
I’d say that the first half of the film really serves to set up the second half. It did seem for a time to drag a little, but when it gets going it gets going; you see why they did what they did. You neeeeeed to pay attention to the exposition scenes; I guarantee you will miss something if you switch off for even a brief moment. There was something I totally missed which left me in confusion regarding a certain plot point, and it wasn’t until I read up on the film that I even noticed!
The performances are commendable all round, especially John David Washington and Robert Pattinson! No longer haunted by the dark days of the Twilight Saga, our mate Rob has proved himself a talented craftsman. I’m looking forward to seeing his iteration of Batman in Matt Reeves “That Batman” (2021). But oddly enough, it’s actually on the level of character that I find the movie to be at its weakest.
The performances are great, but I believe that the focus of this film is more on developing the ‘concept’ that I was talking about earlier, rather than its human characters. And I totally get that, especially when your concept is as innovative as this. But it does mean that, inevitably, you aren’t really given as great an opportunity to connect to human persons, as you are to say “hey! that ‘thing’ was so cool!” What I think Inception was able to do better in this case was have that “really cool thing!” and give us a protagonist who we can relate to emotionally. But again, the whole plot of this movie is far more complex, so I can see why there was less time to do what Inception did so well on that front. Still, it does mean that there won’t be many of those ‘felt’ experiences that you might expect to pop up at some point in a Nolan film. He would usually have at least one.
There are also particular plot elements that I thought to be a little over the top (which isn't helpful for me to say here because this is a Sci fi!) But although they’re important, they don’t actually take centre stage in the film, for which I’m grateful! There are also quite a few choices made by main characters that are more than a little morally questionable, that don’t really get probed any further. But we can save that for when I do a spoiler filled review at some point in the future…
All in all, how can I describe Tenet? It does some things better than his other movies, other things not so much. I can’t really say anymore without spoiling it. I’d just say that on the emotional level I did feel it was missing a bit of a punch, and there were some character choices that were a bit off. That said...regarding the core sci-fi idea of the film, this is Nolan at his cleverest. It truly wowed me.
Caveats
· Action violence
· Moments of revealing attire
· A few instances of profanity
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