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Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Listen! Christopher Nolan is one of my all-time favorite directors. He is number 2 on my list. Still behind Steven Spielberg, but the dude knows how to direct. Inception, The Dark Knight Trilogy, and Dunkirk are excellent films. When Tenet came out, it was at the beginning of the height of Covid. I never made it to the movie theater to watch it. It was high on my list. This summer, I took a vacation to London and Paris. Do you know what was one of the movies to watch? You got it, Tenet. The excitement was high within me, and it was the first film I watched on my 10- or 11-hour flight.
I want to say again, that I love a good Christopher Nolan film but what the hell was this? Have you ever seen that meme where the person puts up one finger and is about to say something only to put it down? That was me. Tenet confused the hell out of me, and I don’t know if I want to watch it again. Nolan went way beyond blowing my mind, and I understood Inception and Interstellar. Nolan went big brain and needed to bring it back a little bit.
Nolan spent over five years writing the screenplay, and the mind trip and understanding of this film will take you another five years to understand. Let’s dive into this mind trip. Tenet follows a former CIA agent who learns how to manipulate the flow of time to stop a global attack that could end the world. After a firefight and being captured, an unnamed CIA operative known as the Protagonist (Washington) is recruited to join an unknown government agency called Tenet. Tenet has a special task of ensuring the safety of the world. The Protagonist learns about a new way of fighting. The new method is going back through time in reverse fashion. Once again, the shit is trippy to watch. While searching for answers on how the world would end on a specific date, the Protagonist meets his new partner, Niel (Pattinson). Through small clues, they land upon Russian arms dealer and billionaire Sator (Branagh). As the days pass, time becomes shorter as both parties have the ability to reverse time. Can the Protagonist and Niel avert Armageddon and change the fate of the world?
I am going to be honest with you, Tenet confused the absolute shit out of me. It’s one of those movies you must watch multiple times because it went completely over my head. People say Inception was confusing. The plot was good, with the Protagonist being recruited to stop a billionaire. That part was clear to me. The sections that confused me were going forward or back in time. That shit confused the f**k out of me, and I don’t even know where to begin. The start was fascinating with the opera scene and shootout. As the story progresses, you learn the character’s motivations. Sator wants to bring the world to an end and is sent back plans for an algorithm on how to do it. You have Niel, who seems to know a lot and even more about the Protagonist than himself.
The problem with the film is trying to put the freakin time loop and how it connects with everyone together. When people go through the time machine and go reverse in time, it gets quite confusing and hard to keep up. The ending was where the film completely lost me. You had people going forward in time, you had people going backward in time, there were explosions, and at the end, the heroes made it through. Still, it seemed unresolved as characters seemed to know their future. Don’t get me wrong, the film was exciting, but damn it was confusing. I need to sit down and watch it another 6 times to really get it.
Even though the story is confusing, I give it to Nolan for bringing the thrills and action to this film. Nolan always does an outstanding job ensuring he holds the audience’s attention. The start of the movie with the shootout and having the main character take cyanide brings you into the film. Nolan makes sure he holds your attention with a short explanation of how the weaponry in the movie works. The car chase scene was thrilling. Holy shit, does Nolan know how to make an exciting chase scene. The one fantastic scene was the art heist scene. That scene had me on the edge of my seat as the main characters fought their opponents. What makes it crazy is that one is going forward in time, and the other is going reverse in time. It is crazy to look at. I like that Nolan brings it all together at the end, and when you realize what happened, your mind will stop working.
I will say that the acting does carry this film. First off is John David Washington as the “Protagonist.” Just like his famous father, Washington brings a type of smooth coolness to the film. Sometimes, he presses in this film but does bring it back. Working for Nolan is a big deal, which is why he works with a few actors.
I want to give a MAJOR BIG UP to Robert Pattinson. The days of Twilight are behind Pattinson, and Homeboy has really come on big with his career. Playing as Neil, he is the Protagonist’s handler. Pattinson brings such suave to his role. It made it seem like I was watching a young James Bond.
Elizabeth Debicki, as Katherine “Kat” Barton, held her own in this film. Even though, at times, she was a background character, when the time came, she really made sure that she was seen and heard. She really shined towards the end of the film. Finally, as Andrei Sator, Kenneth Branagh was menacing in his own way. I like watching Branagh perform because he has major range throughout his career. In this film, he was docile, but when he snapped, the dude snapped.
Tenet is one of those films that you will either love or hate. It is one of Nolan’s most confusing films, where you have to watch it a few times. When dealing with time loops and time travel, things get confusing because so many other films have many different rules. Once again, Nolan finds a way to confuse the audience when dealing with time. The action is excellent as it holds your attention. The acting is one of the major highlights, with Washington and Pattinson leading the way. Watch this film during the Nolan movie marathon.
BONUS CLIP!!!!
