Film: Tenet

 

GENRE: Sci-Fi, Action
RATING: PG-13 for violence and brief strong language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 30 minutes
STARRING: John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman, Ballers)
Robert Pattinson (Twilight); Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby)
DIRECTOR: Christopher Nolan (Dark Knight, Dunkirk, Insomnia)
WRITER: Nolan (Inception, Interstellar, Memento, The Prestige)
PLOT: An operative will have to go beyond real time to save the world. 
I think.  

FULL DISCLOSURE: I was eagerly anticipating this film.  

STORY STUFF: I think I’m pretty intelligent and can figure out movie plots but this one was a challenge for me. There were numerous times at the end of scenes where I would think “what the hell is going on?” The opening sequence is visually interesting but I had no idea what was happening. Didn’t help that valuable dialogue was spoken behind masks (go figure) while overpowering music drowned stuff out. I purposefully avoided learning about the plot of the film as I wanted to be surprised by the twists. And there were some genuine surprises. I think I should read a detailed plot synopsis and watch the film again so I can fully appreciate the intricate writing of Nolan. The basic premise is understandable but the exposition of how this time stuff works needs way more detail.

ACTING STUFF: I’m really enjoying the work of Washington. I loved him in BlacKklansman. Just realized he is Denzel’s son which makes perfect sense. He is awesome as the lead in this film. I am not a fan of Pattinson but was surprised that I actually liked his character and what he brought to the film. Kenneth Branagh was a bit much. His accent and character just seemed too super-villainy to be taken seriously.  

ARTISTIC STUFF: Since time moves forward and backward, there are some really cool effects in this film. Pretty trippy to see some things move backward while others move forward at the same time. If you enjoy the speaker-rattling bass found in Nolan films, you won’t be disappointed in the score. I’m not a fan. Also the sound mixing needed work as mentioned earlier.

VERDICT: Three and a half stars out of five
SEE IT IF: You want a good post-film discussion on what happened.
UPCOMING REVIEW: Wonder Woman 1984