Christopher Nolan has stood the test of time as my favorite director. The fact that I had no idea what Tenet was about and I still wanted to see it just to support him is a testament to that. Toying with the ideas for the movie for almost twenty years, but spending roughly five to seven years on the screenplay, Nolan has been fighting the struggles of our current pandemic to get theaters open, as he is, unlike other filmmakers who are perfectly okay putting their films on streaming, convinced that it needs to be seen in theaters. Does it live up to such hype, or is this Nolan's first misfire?
The Story
John David Washington plays our protagonist, whose name I won't spoil (though in a way, I kinda just did), who gets wrapped up in a battle to prevent World War III, as they put it. Part of how he does this is by mastering objects and environments that have been altered to invert, meaning they go in the opposite directions they would normally go; in other words, when you go through the reverse motions of dropping a bullet, it comes back into your hands. Along the way, he meets up with several different people, but mostly gets accompanied by a wisecracker played by Robert Pattinson, as they discover more and more secrets about this crazy world and even a few about themselves.
What's Good About It
The Concept of Inversion is Cool
Once you catch on to how the inversion works, which, unlike Inception where even in the film's climax they have to start explaining all kinds of crazy rules, Tenet tells you "Don't try to understand it, just feel it," which I feel ends up working in the film's favor, it leads to a bunch of cool action scenes, including a pretty awesome final battle that takes advantage of every possible concept of the scenario.
Washington & Pattinson are Quippy
This is what tells me that this was meant to be a Bond-style thriller. These two not only have good chemistry, but they have funny lines at just the right times. It's not the funniest thing you'll ever hear, but it is a good offset to all the seriousness it has to back up.
Other bits:
-The soundtrack is cool
-The cinematography is gorgeous
-The cast is great
What Doesn't Work About It
The Story is Simple & Complicated in the Wrong Ways
This is especially strange to me, as this is something Nolan usually handles well, but let me explain. In a typical Nolan film, he would take one simple idea and break down the complexities of said simple idea. In Tenet, he takes a rather basic good versus evil story (Don't believe me? Just wait until you hear what they call Washington's character!) and sprinkles it with all kinds of crazy and unnecessary subplots. This is a trap that has been plaguing blockbusters for over a decade, but honestly, I thought Nolan was above that.
The Villain is Weak
(Should I post a picture here? Probably not.)
Aside from the Batman movies where he most likely got much needed assistance from David Goyer, Nolan's films have mostly been known to have antagonists, but not really villains, just people with opposing beliefs. Here, without spoiling anything, there's a villain, and he is cartoonishly cookie cutter. I can see where he was going with this; it wouldn't be a James Bond spy espionage without a James Bond villain, but it's just not his style. Either he would have to be more relatable like, say, Thanos in Infinity War, or the film around him would have to be just as over the top. What's worse, though, is that he says his bare basic lines in such a tough manner, as if he's aggressively trying to be intimidating.
It Does NOT Need to be Seen in Theaters
I have been vouching for theaters to reopen ever since they were first shut down. I have been thankful for the re-releases I've gotten to see since they first reopened such as E.T., Back to the Future, & Jurassic Park. I do think there are advantages to going to the theater (larger screen, improved sound systems, and turning the film into a major event) and films that take advantage of those perks. Tenet is NOT one of them. There's one cool car chase, one awesome final battle set piece, and aside from that, most of the movie is just people talking. Again, Nolan's usually great at delivering larger than life visuals and recapturing that blockbuster magic, but I honestly wouldn't have minded streaming this.
Other bits:
-The sound mixing could be messy sometimes
Overall Thoughts
Tenet is not a bad movie. To say that Christopher Nolan has lost his grasp of the craft of filmmaking in the same route as M. Night Shyamalan or Neill Blomkamp would be a lie. It's still a well crafted spy thriller with a great cast, exhilarating action scenes, and some fresh, creative concepts with the inversion. I will, however, go as far as to say that with a bare basic story wrapped around a ton of subplots and a weak villain, I would call it his least good movie. If you're still worried about catching the coronavirus, you can probably save this one for Redbox. I'd still recommend it, it's just not a must see like his other work, and as a huge Nolan follower, I'm slightly disappointed.
Rating: 7/10
