Tenet delivered in every way I could have wanted. It’s been my most anticipated film of the year since the first trailer dropped and exceeded all my expectations. This is the best film I’ve seen all year and for me, the best Nolan film since Inception back in 2010. Like how Inception was his take on the heist genre with a twist, Tenet takes on the spy genre with a more complicated Nolan-like twist to it.
Early in Tenet, a character says, “Don’t try to understand it. Feel it.” That’s a perfect way to describe this film. While I didn’t find it as confusing as many moviegoers have, mainly due to my love for the work of David Lynch, I know some will have a hard time with this as it’s a film that requires you to pay a lot of attention. For a first time view, the best way to make this film is to enjoy everything you’re seeing and try piecing it together on the second or third viewing. Tenet will require multiple viewings.
The best way to describe what this film is about is a secret agent (John David Washington) manipulates the flow of time to prevent World War III. Nolan makes it clear that he doesn’t view the film as a time travel one. He makes sure the characters let you know that they call it time inversion and explain how it’s shown in the film. To me, this is a time travel film and one of the best I’ve ever seen. It’s merely a time travel film done in the way that only Christopher Nolan could. There is some brilliant stuff he does.
Seeing time inversion work is a thing of beauty. We see characters move backwards while some move forward at the same time. I was so pumped seeing it in the flesh, smiling ear to ear, trailers can’t even do it justice. The choreography in the fight scenes was outstanding. Seeing inversion being used in the fight sequences was stunning, and one of the best sequences ever put on screen.
The opening of Nolan’s classic sophomore effort Memento features an opening that happens backwards, and to me, it’s like he’s been working his whole career for this film.
The acting is impressive here. It’s not Oscar-winning material, but it’s great stuff. John David Washington already showed in BlacKkKlansman that he is a talented actor. Here he shows he has what it takes to be an action star. While what he has to do is more challenging than anything Denzel has ever done, I saw his dad’s shades here. John David has the killer instinct in this film, and he’s the one who gets to shine the most during the film’s inversion fights, making fair use of his athleticism from his football days.
He has excellent chemistry with Robert Pattinson, and they both come off very charismatic. If his indie work didn’t convince you that Pattinson was a perfect choice for The Batman, this film will. He feels so at home in the action scenes.
Elizabeth Debicki, who’s work in Widows and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. I enjoyed, gives one of the most excellent female performances in a Nolan film. It doesn’t surpass Anne Hathaway’s work in The Dark Knight Rises, but she comes very close. She is the heart of the film. She is very crucial to the mission, more than I was expecting.
Kenneth Branagh as her husband and villain of the film, is so great. This is his best performance since his Oscar-nominated turn as Sir Laurence Olivier in My Week with Marilyn. He chews the scenery in this film, and I’m so happy he was correctly used here, as I felt he was wasted in Dunkirk. In this film, he earns his paycheck, delivering a performance that aggravated me with his evil.
Aaron Taylor Johnson, who has barely been shown in the marketing, shows up for the final stretch, and Nolan wasn’t lying when he said he was critical to the story. At first, his character comes off like a stereotypical all about the rules soldier, but Johnson manages to make him stand out and be a lot more than what his initial appearance might make you think.
I loved the film in its entirety. Still, the last act is what truly pushed it next level for me. This is the best action that Nolan has ever directed. As shown in the trailer, we see buildings reassemble then get dismantled again, and it was just amazing. Nolan has come a long way from Batman Begins. The action scenes looked too choppy in that film, but it shows in Tenet how much he has developed in the past 15 years in that area.
Some open jaw-dropping action sequences, including one where he legit blew up a real plane. Seeing everything he does here and knowing it has less CGI than the average romantic comedy is mind-blowing. Reading how the film contains no green screens, just practical effects, including the time inversion scenes, is why I feel it is the film’s MVP. He accomplished these mesmerizing sequences by choosing instead to shoot each scene twice: one time moving forward, and once with the actors doing everything backward.
While his work in the action sequences was excellent, the screenwriting wasn’t as polished as it usually is for a Nolan film, and that’s the only issue I have with the film. While the ideas and world-building are incredible, there is no character development what so ever. We aren’t made to care for any of the characters because we don’t get to know them much. The little bit we do care about is due to the work of the actors who make us have some connection to them.
The score by Oscar-winning Black Panther composer Ludwig Göransson was incredible. It’s used so entirely, especially in an opening scene that rivals but don’t surpass the iconic bank heist in The Dark Knight as the best opening in a Nolan film. If you didn’t know beforehand that Hans Zimmer wasn’t involved, you wouldn’t have realized he didn’t score it. Ludwig adapted perfectly to the Nolan sound.
I’ve heard people say that they hated the sound mixing, with the score overpowering the dialogue at times but that honestly only happens in two scenes, and I didn’t think those two moments offered much in regards to importance.
The cinematography and production design were beautiful. Some such shots and locations are awe-inspiring. This felt like a real globe-trotting adventure as Nolan shot it in many countries and made fair use of his environments. The scenery was beautiful to look at.
Is Tenet the film that will save cinemas? No, because one movie can’t do that, but it’s the film we needed as theaters reopened. It felt surreal being back in a theater, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Seeing Tenet in IMAX was a great return to my home away from home. Nothing beats the theater experience, no matter how great your surround system is at home and this film proved it for me after being away for six months.
