Tenet Reviews/Reactions [Possible SPOILERS]

Christopher Nolan's time inverting spy film that follows a protagonist fighting for the survival of the entire world.
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Nicolaslabra wrote:
August 30th, 2020, 3:20 am
rbej wrote:
August 30th, 2020, 2:56 am
User reviews will be big disappointment for Nolan. Not critics but normal people. I'm very curious the next Chris movie after all this. Maybe Tenet is last movie with time manipulation.
people here act like the feedback will make chris reconsider his whole career and go back to making memento 2 or something, time will tell what chris chooses to do next, but its not like this film is the one to topple his career, he hasnt pulled a shamalan on us yet, i also think chris will keep finding new ways of telling stories in a non linear way, whatever the scale he works at, in fact, in the future i do imagine him making smaller and ever more bold films, flexing all of his auteur skills in a completely avant garde way.
It's time for the Hughes Biopic 8-) No one cares about that Scorsese movie anymore.

My guess why Tenet is rated so "low" on imdb/letterboxd. This time I didn't care so much for the protagonists. During Interstellar and Inception, I genuinely cared for the protagonist and hoped he can finally reunite with his children. Nolan this time failed (or it was on purpose) to build a emotional bond between viewers and characters. Even big Nolan Fans like Chris Stuckmann admitted that. Maybe thats why many people like the movie, but didn't love it as mush as his previous films.
Last edited by X-MementoMori-X on August 30th, 2020, 3:53 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Are we really gonna sit here and use IMDb as a reference?

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Joined: August 2020
misho92 wrote:
August 30th, 2020, 3:49 am
Are we really gonna sit here and use IMDb as a reference?
IMDB & Letterboxd :D I bet those scores keep Chris Nolan up at night :D

Prefer to look at the positive, still over 80% on RT after 124 reviews, from official critics, not IMDB & Letterboxd where some people review who’ve clearly not even seen it. Seeking negative reviews won’t help.

The most important, almost everyone on this forum loved it :thumbup:

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Intonestellar wrote:
August 30th, 2020, 4:07 am
misho92 wrote:
August 30th, 2020, 3:49 am
Are we really gonna sit here and use IMDb as a reference?
IMDB & Letterboxd :D I bet those scores keep Chris Nolan up at night :D

Prefer to look at the positive, still over 80% on RT after 124 reviews, from official critics, not IMDB & Letterboxd where some people review who’ve clearly not even seen it. Seeking negative reviews won’t help.

The most important, almost everyone on this forum loved it :thumbup:
Exactly. That 81% on RT means for every 10 people that watched this movie, 8 liked it, and 2 did not. For what people are saying is a very "divisive", "convoluted", and "incomprehensible" film, that's REALLY good.

Also we can't expect Nolan to make a total crowd pleaser each and every-time. He understands he has a responsibility to push the envelope and challenge the norm when it comes to these blockbusters. He's gonna get some push-back, just like Inception did initially, and there' nothing wrong with that.

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Nicolaslabra wrote:
August 30th, 2020, 3:20 am
rbej wrote:
August 30th, 2020, 2:56 am
User reviews will be big disappointment for Nolan. Not critics but normal people. I'm very curious the next Chris movie after all this. Maybe Tenet is last movie with time manipulation.
people here act like the feedback will make chris reconsider his whole career and go back to making memento 2 or something, time will tell what chris chooses to do next, but its not like this film is the one to topple his career, he hasnt pulled a shamalan on us yet, i also think chris will keep finding new ways of telling stories in a non linear way, whatever the scale he works at, in fact, in the future i do imagine him making smaller and ever more bold films, flexing all of his auteur skills in a completely avant garde way.
1. Tenet have too flat characters without any emotions. For me this is not problem, but most people and critics dont like it.
2. Too much complicated time manipulation for most people. Almost no one knows what's going on in Tenet.

Nolan make film for himself and his hardcore fans. He forgot about normal people. One bridge too far.

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Joined: August 2020
rbej wrote:
August 30th, 2020, 4:44 am
Nicolaslabra wrote:
August 30th, 2020, 3:20 am
rbej wrote:
August 30th, 2020, 2:56 am
User reviews will be big disappointment for Nolan. Not critics but normal people. I'm very curious the next Chris movie after all this. Maybe Tenet is last movie with time manipulation.
people here act like the feedback will make chris reconsider his whole career and go back to making memento 2 or something, time will tell what chris chooses to do next, but its not like this film is the one to topple his career, he hasnt pulled a shamalan on us yet, i also think chris will keep finding new ways of telling stories in a non linear way, whatever the scale he works at, in fact, in the future i do imagine him making smaller and ever more bold films, flexing all of his auteur skills in a completely avant garde way.
1. Tenet have too flat characters without any emotions. For me this is not problem, but most people and critics dont like it.
2. Too much complicated time manipulation for most people. Almost no one knows what's going on in Tenet.

Nolan make film for himself and his hardcore fans. He forgot about normal people. One bridge too far.
“Normal people” :)

1. It’s on 81% and most reputable critics loved it.
2. Most people seem to be raving on social media but neither of us know what most people think (IMDB certainly proves nothing). It is complicated but personally rather have Tenet than another Marvel film.

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Vader182 wrote:
August 30th, 2020, 2:27 am
I recently reread the Inception shooting script with that interview with Jonah, and they talk at length about how you need a massive emotional stakes and clarity to guide an audience through a movie. It seems for the first time in his career he went too far away from that, seemingly on purpose (?) (haven't seen it yet). I wonder if he'll talk about Tenet through that lens at some point.
Interestingly, as days go by, I find myself thinking about this film on the same terms as I used to think about my favorite Nolan films. It's possible that this changes in the future, but right now I think that Tenet is giving me all I love about the man's filmography - and, to be honest, the emotional core of his films were hardly the reason I fell in love with Nolan in the first place.

As an aspiring filmmaker myself I understand that, when we talk about emotional stakes, it means that it serves as a "subconscious" way of drawing in the viewer. It doesn't necessarily mean that people will actively realize how "emotionally deep" your film is, and how it is driven by that, but rather it works like water when you're trying to swallow a pill. Weird analogy, sorry. What I'm trying to say: I think there are emotions in Tenet, there are emotional moments, but many viewers and critics think that it doesn't work well, or it doesn't form a coherent emotional core to draw audiences in properly. But, to me, this doesn't make a difference when compared to any of his previous works.

It would be too obvious to point out all the emotional aspects of Interstellar or the Batman-films, or The Prestige. But, for me personally, this was always the secondary aspect of Nolan's films, something to discover and immerse myself on second, third, etc. viewings. Even if it is obvious (like, I get it, Coop really loves his daughter), the primary experience I get from Interstellar is the world that is built in front of our eyes, the large scale, the stakes arising from the plot, and the inner workings of this new world. Then, as I re-watch the film, I love to discover the complex morality and emotional drive of the heroes, villains, etc.

Now, this is where Tenet is a bit unusual. I think the moral fabric of this film is quite straightforward. Gone are the complex, moral dilemmas of The Prestige or The Dark Knight, it's all quite simple. But I still think there are some exciting emotional moments to delve into and explore, so I just simply cannot agree with those who say Tenet is completely devoid of character and emotion.

The fact is, as days go by, I'm growing more and more fond of Tenet because it really harks back to my teenage years when I first saw The Dark Knight and Inception. And I already explained somewhere else that rewatching Inception the past week didn't feel as satisfying as I thought it would. Seeing Tenet proved me that Nolan does change his game by making a more compact and "fresh" film. So, it's interesting for me to experience that I used to love Inception for its spectacle and large scale, then as years went by I appreciated its emotional fabric even more, and now, after 10 years, it just felt heavy. And compared to this, Tenet feels really refreshing.

Long story short: I have a feeling that Nolan made Tenet the way he made it on purpose. And I see a progression in Nolan's style and approach to filmmaking. Tenet is so 2020, if that makes any sense. Many people are still ranking Memento as their favorite Nolan film, I myself always go for The Dark Knight. Maybe that is telling, straight away. To me, TDK always embodied what I loved about the man, and Tenet is really, really close to that at the moment.

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DHOPW42 wrote:
August 30th, 2020, 4:59 am
Vader182 wrote:
August 30th, 2020, 2:27 am
I recently reread the Inception shooting script with that interview with Jonah, and they talk at length about how you need a massive emotional stakes and clarity to guide an audience through a movie. It seems for the first time in his career he went too far away from that, seemingly on purpose (?) (haven't seen it yet). I wonder if he'll talk about Tenet through that lens at some point.
Interestingly, as days go by, I find myself thinking about this film on the same terms as I used to think about my favorite Nolan films. It's possible that this changes in the future, but right now I think that Tenet is giving me all I love about the man's filmography - and, to be honest, the emotional core of his films were hardly the reason I fell in love with Nolan in the first place.

As an aspiring filmmaker myself I understand that, when we talk about emotional stakes, it means that it serves as a "subconscious" way of drawing in the viewer. It doesn't necessarily mean that people will actively realize how "emotionally deep" your film is, and how it is driven by that, but rather it works like water when you're trying to swallow a pill. Weird analogy, sorry. What I'm trying to say: I think there are emotions in Tenet, there are emotional moments, but many viewers and critics think that it doesn't work well, or it doesn't form a coherent emotional core to draw audiences in properly. But, to me, this doesn't make a difference when compared to any of his previous works.

It would be too obvious to point out all the emotional aspects of Interstellar or the Batman-films, or The Prestige. But, for me personally, this was always the secondary aspect of Nolan's films, something to discover and immerse myself on second, third, etc. viewings. Even if it is obvious (like, I get it, Coop really loves his daughter), the primary experience I get from Interstellar is the world that is built in front of our eyes, the large scale, the stakes arising from the plot, and the inner workings of this new world. Then, as I re-watch the film, I love to discover the complex morality and emotional drive of the heroes, villains, etc.

Now, this is where Tenet is a bit unusual. I think the moral fabric of this film is quite straightforward. Gone are the complex, moral dilemmas of The Prestige or The Dark Knight, it's all quite simple. But I still think there are some exciting emotional moments to delve into and explore, so I just simply cannot agree with those who say Tenet is completely devoid of character and emotion.

The fact is, as days go by, I'm growing more and more fond of Tenet because it really harks back to my teenage years when I first saw The Dark Knight and Inception. And I already explained somewhere else that rewatching Inception the past week didn't feel as satisfying as I thought it would. Seeing Tenet proved me that Nolan does change his game by making a more compact and "fresh" film. So, it's interesting for me to experience that I used to love Inception for its spectacle and large scale, then as years went by I appreciated its emotional fabric even more, and now, after 10 years, it just felt heavy. And compared to this, Tenet feels really refreshing.

Long story short: I have a feeling that Nolan made Tenet the way he made it on purpose. And I see a progression in Nolan's style and approach to filmmaking. Tenet is so 2020, if that makes any sense. Many people are still ranking Memento as their favorite Nolan film, I myself always go for The Dark Knight. Maybe that is telling, straight away. To me, TDK always embodied what I loved about the man, and Tenet is really, really close to that at the moment.
I with you. I also can't stop thinking about Tenet. I came out of my initial viewing really energized by it. I find it really quite annoying when people talk about Nolan's filmography, usually saying that Memento is his best; or the Prestige, which has become the favorite Nolan film of film twitter. His Blockbusters have so much to offer, and he has evolved way past his early work into a different filmmaker, and I think a more confident, better one.

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X-MementoMori-X wrote:
August 30th, 2020, 3:49 am
Nicolaslabra wrote:
August 30th, 2020, 3:20 am
rbej wrote:
August 30th, 2020, 2:56 am
User reviews will be big disappointment for Nolan. Not critics but normal people. I'm very curious the next Chris movie after all this. Maybe Tenet is last movie with time manipulation.
people here act like the feedback will make chris reconsider his whole career and go back to making memento 2 or something, time will tell what chris chooses to do next, but its not like this film is the one to topple his career, he hasnt pulled a shamalan on us yet, i also think chris will keep finding new ways of telling stories in a non linear way, whatever the scale he works at, in fact, in the future i do imagine him making smaller and ever more bold films, flexing all of his auteur skills in a completely avant garde way.
It's time for the Hughes Biopic 8-) No one cares about that Scorsese movie anymore.

My guess why Tenet is rated so "low" on imdb/letterboxd. This time I didn't care so much for the protagonists. During Interstellar and Inception, I genuinely cared for the protagonist and hoped he can finally reunite with his children. Nolan this time failed (or it was on purpose) to build a emotional bond between viewers and characters. Even big Nolan Fans like Chris Stuckmann admitted that. Maybe thats why many people like the movie, but didn't love it as mush as his previous films.
I really like Chris Stuckmann’s reviews but he said something similar about characters in Dunkirk; they were lacking according to him. To me, Dunkirk has the emotional side coming from the soldiers actions and what they go through as we follow them but not all people will find a resonating connection in that. It’s one of the biggest complains I’ve seen about Dunkirk among many people, which is that "there were no characters". Although I don’t agree, I’ll say that it wasn’t the conventional way of making the audience relate with characters perhaps?

It makes me think about how people’s response to emotionality can vary a lot too. In any case, it’s not the first time Nolan’s characters have been referred to as "cold" (or something similar) yet when I watched those films I didn’t think that. It isn’t always great writing in that respect but it isn’t as they put it either. Let’s not forget there are some people who consider Interstellar "cold" when it comes to that. So who knows. :P

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misho92 wrote:
August 30th, 2020, 3:49 am
Are we really gonna sit here and use IMDb as a reference?
Yes, because you see like people rate Tenet compared to other Nolan movies. This is not important??. For me people's opinion is more important than critics, because almost every director create movies for people, not critics.

The Dark Knight: 9.0
Inception: 8.8
Interstellar: 8.6
The Prestige: 8.5
Memento: 8.4
The Dark Knight Rises: 8.4
Batman Begins: 8.2
Tenet- 8.0 (and dropping)
Dunkirk: 7.9
Following: 7.5
Insomnia: 7.2

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