Tenet-No Spoilers
I am a massive Christopher Nolan fan. I’m a fanboy, I’ll admit. Nolan, for me, is the goat. I don’t think there’s a director out there today that can create movies like he does, the way he does it. The mix of pure spectacle, blockbuster action using real effects, combined with interesting characters and personal, real stories is something that is rarely achieved in the film industry today.
John David Washington is The Protagonist, who after a mission goes wrong is recruited by a secret organisation, Tenet, to prevent the end of the world. He learns that there is a technology in the future that allows objects to be reversed through time and that people are buying these and selling them on the black market. Objects such as inverted bullets that cause much more damage than regular ones.
There has been criticism of Tenet that it is too complicated and confusing. And yes, this is definitely the most complex Nolan film to date. The inverted/reverse time business is quite bizarre and takes a while to get your head round but towards the end it certainly becomes a little easier to understand. The plot itself however is more complicated. All Nolan films are complex and there are always clues throughout that you won’t notice on the first watch that you will on the second. But the plots aren’t as difficult to understand than Tenet. With Tenet, I think the second watch will be to understand what you didn’t from the first one, and then on the third viewing it will click. Maybe, maybe some people got it straightaway, maybe some people won’t get it on the third. I think the film, and this isn’t just a criticism of Tenet, but of most films, is that the dialogue at times was difficult to understand. It’s hard to get your head round this in the first place, never mind when you can’t make out what they are saying. During the more exposition scenes it was hard to make out what was going on, and Tenet needed these scenes to be clear in order for the viewers to maybe get a better understanding of the plot. My biggest criticism of Tenet however is that it lacks the human side of his films, especially in comparison to his other films. Not that I went in over-hyped because I never think that is a good idea. And maybe the film was his homage to the spy genre where it wasn’t intending us to care as much about the characters. But in all his films, and however epic the scenes we always care about the character, that I feel is the main part of the film, it is what we are drawn to. Whether that be magicians in the Victorian era, a caped crusader, three layers deep in a dream or floating through space; it is the human element that always keeps the film grounded. I felt that Tenet didn’t strike that balance. And that’s not to say that John David Washington wasn’t good, because he was fantastic, but I didn’t necessarily care about his character because he didn’t have anything personal for us to relate to. In Inception and Interstellar, the two main characters are fighting to see their children again. It’s personal, it shows the human side. Washington’s character didn’t have that, it was him saving the world, and yes that’s brave and courageous, but why, why did he care? What was HE fighting for? And that was what disappointed me the most about Tenet because that side of Nolan is I think the most under appreciated. I LOVE the set pieces, the action, the mind-boggling plot, but the human side is what brings it all home. I was blown away during Interstellar with the visual side of it, the black hole, the waves, all of that. But it is when Matthew McConaughey’s character breaks down seeing his grown up daughter via a TV or reuniting with her at the end of the movie that overshadows everything else. Tenet didn’t have these personal moments and that was a real shame.
No doubt about it, Tenet is the biggest Nolan film to date. It is honestly huge. No matter how confused you may, or may not get, you won’t be bored. It’s a lot of fun. In most action films you’d expect to see maybe 2 or 3 small action sequences followed by the big kick ass action sequence at the end. Tenet has 4 or 5 big kick ass action sequences. The opening of previous Nolan films, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises really set the standard for opening sequences in action movies, Tenet follows suit and kicks off from there without skipping a beat. A lot of the scenes involve the inverted time structure, where the object is going backwards in time (I think that’s how it works), it’s incredible to watch.
It’s absolute madness. I don’t think I’ve seen something like it before. If I have, not to this extent. It’s barmy, but it is fantastic. Technically it’s a delight. The whole plane scene has been talked about, how Nolan bought a real plane to crash instead of just using visual effects. That’s the standard that action films should be aiming for. Yes, visual effects are a work of art, there is no denying it and I certainly won’t be shitting on it that some people do. I am incredibly envious of the skill. But there is something magical about watching real effects, and it’s become part of Nolan’s signature.
Away from the jaw-dropping action scenes and the incredible technical ability on show the acting is fantastic. John David Washington is superb in this and should hopefully cement his name as an A-list. His character has it all, cool, scary, witty, he captures all of this. And it isn’t just his acting that is top notch but it is a very physically demanding role which as you might expect from a former American Football player, you might expect. I don’t think there are many actors who could have struck the balance quite like JDW did. Sure, an actor like Daniel Day-Lewis could do the acting, but he couldn’t do the physical side. Dwayne Johnson could do the physical side, but he can’t act. Washington achieves both terrifically. There is a huge, and brilliant supporting cast in Tenet, most notably Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki and Kenneth Branagh who each bring something different and exciting. Nolan comes under criticism for portrayals of women in his films which is something I don’t necessarily agree with but in this Debicki’s character is the one who we probably care about the most and it is her character that brings the humanity to the story.
4/5 Now I’ve had a day to digest it, and now I have written this review, I’m really excited to watch it again. If it wasn’t for COVID I would probably watch it about 4 times. Maybe on subsequent showings I could give it slightly lower (although I’ve tried to be impartial) maybe I’ll think it is better once I understand it more. Yes it is a shame that the human side of the film is lacking slightly, but the technical ability on showing will blow you away. No matter how confused you are, you won’t be bored.
p.s There has been criticisms from some corners of the film industry saying that Nolan, and the studios, are irresponsible for releasing Tenet as the film to bring cinema-goers back, especially when the film is complex. Why would the audience want to watch a film they can’t understand? Now I have an issue with this. Critics slam the Fast and Furious franchise because it is over the top, silly, action fuelled, spectacle garbage. Critics will also jizz over films such as Midsommar, The Shining, The Lighthouse for their complex and interesting storylines. Now I love these films, but what exactly are those films about, and would you know directly coming out of the cinema. Would the link between Greek Mythology, Prometheus and giving knowledge to civilisation be known to you when you came out of The Lighthouse? Probably not. Isn’t there like a whole documentary on The Shining because there are so many fan theories? That film is weird af. I’ve always found an issue of classism within the film industry, especially when reviewing certain films. Action films are seen as dumb, lowest common denominator garbage, and yet odd artsy stuff is seen as the pinnacle of film. Nolan somehow manages to get these both together and yet now they criticism him when this complex stuff is the shit they love. Now critics want a film like Fast and Furious to bring people back, but you know they’d shit on it at any other point. Maybe Nolan can do no right, people have called his films obnoxious because they are too smart. Well maybe these people mistake the intelligence of the general viewer? Who knows, I’m just mad the Nolan hasn’t won a Best Director award, or hasn’t even got a knighthood when people like Ed Sheeran or Phillip Green have?
