Tenet User Reviews/Reactions [Possible SPOILERS]

Christopher Nolan's time inverting spy film that follows a protagonist fighting for the survival of the entire world.
Posts: 1
Joined: August 2020
Absolutely. The irony is that nobody will ever make a movie like this, ever, again. Even if I didn't get the whole plot, the way it's filmed is a revolutionary move from Nolan (no green screens as usual). Ill give this movie a 10/10 because of the plot idea and how creative it is (these days). Might not be mindblowing for some but the whole idea of tenet seems absolutely impossible (at least for me) to imagine and create. It's not a perfect Nolan movie but everyone should aknowledge the idea of it. Why? Because I think it's super creative and hard to come up with.

User avatar
Posts: 2197
Joined: January 2016
Maximillian wrote:
August 26th, 2020, 3:43 pm
So yay or nay? In terms of recommendation? Worth seeing?
The real answer is I have to watch it again to wrap up all my feelings (and understand half of what went on). It's a lot. I really do think it's too complicated but I respect the fact that Nolan has made something that is extremely complex. I don't see this doing really well with the audience tbh, especially with the sound issues on top (which I myself didn't have any troubles with since my theater had subtitles). With that said Dunkirk did way better than I thought too so who knows.

One thing is for sure. Nolan is the best in the world when it comes to nerve-wracking action. For his sixth consecutive film (TDK - this) my pulse just kept on rising and at the end I'm left completely breathless. Although I'm not sure yet if I love it or "just" like it (that's a new one for me when it comes to Nolan), it's hard not to recommend people to see this in theater. It tuly is a thrilling experience.

Posts: 175
Joined: May 2011
Is the song use in the movie? Travis Scott

Posts: 140
Joined: August 2020
Finally seen it!

Mind BLOWN! It was an incredible experience. IMAX was LOUD!!! Chair shaking loud but no issue hearing the dialogue.

It’s an awe-inspiring film, one that demands to be seen again, I’ve booked for next week already!

Did I understand more than I thought I would? Yes. Did I understand it all? No. Can’t wait to see it again and again.

JDW is amazing, real character & charisma. Pattison was excellent, suave. Debicki was the soul, anyone saying they felt no emotional tie clearly has emotional probs, she is awesome (& hot!). Branagh is a great villain, nasty piece of work.

The whole film worked for me, the opera scene, the quieter moments, the motorway, the finale, just everything clicked.

Chris Nolan is on another level, a smart blockbuster way ahead of its time.

Phenomenal film 10/10.

Do ask any Q I’ll try and answer but can’t promise I’ll understand what I’ve seen :D
luxneji wrote:
August 26th, 2020, 4:34 pm
Is the song use in the movie? Travis Scott
I think the instrumental part is, the actual song is over the end credits.
Last edited by Panapaok on August 27th, 2020, 7:23 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Stop double posting

Posts: 140
Joined: July 2012
Sanchez wrote:
August 26th, 2020, 4:02 pm
Maximillian wrote:
August 26th, 2020, 3:43 pm
So yay or nay? In terms of recommendation? Worth seeing?
The real answer is I have to watch it again to wrap up all my feelings (and understand half of what went on). It's a lot. I really do think it's too complicated but I respect the fact that Nolan has made something that is extremely complex. I don't see this doing really well with the audience tbh, especially with the sound issues on top (which I myself didn't have any troubles with since my theater had subtitles). With that said Dunkirk did way better than I thought too so who knows.

One thing is for sure. Nolan is the best in the world when it comes to nerve-wracking action. For his sixth consecutive film (TDK - this) my pulse just kept on rising and at the end I'm left completely breathless. Although I'm not sure yet if I love it or "just" like it (that's a new one for me when it comes to Nolan), it's hard not to recommend people to see this in theater. It tuly is a thrilling experience.
I don't understand why people make too much of the plot or the story or how things work. It is pretty straightforward and there is really nothing fancy about it. But because of the hype, the marketing campaign and because of "directed by Chris Nolan" people might have a tendency to overthink his work now and especially TENET. They make so much of it that if they do not understand, the insult Nolan for showing them how dumb they are (not saying that's your case tho).
Here, it's not totally not the case. No long dialogues to explain what's what. No need explain the rules of the world.
It's just "look there's something happening and we can experience it but we cannot understand or explain it, so if you wanna know: see for yourself" (better show than explain).
He literaly takes the audience by the hand (The Main character's ID is Protagonist) and take you for one hell of a ride.

I think Interstellar was labelled "cold" when it released and now it's a tear jerker. I have watched it again in theater two months ago and the entire audience was sobbing like babies.

I agree with you with the fact that it will be take it or leave it experience with the audience. Reception in France are at Nolan's standard: 4/5 but it tends to get better in time with him.

Posts: 1408
Joined: July 2013
It’s weird, but my main thought after finally having watched Tenet is how this one felt to me both like Nolan’s lightest and most confusing film to date.

Even though this film obviously tackles some very big concepts, I don’t think it had anything in particular to say, and what it did say in the end felt strangely superficial. Characters, while really charismatic (seriously, I think Washington, Pattinson and Debicki might just be the best group of actors Nolan has assembled so far in terms of chemistry), there was a not a lot of depth to them, generally speaking there was no real emotional thread to grab on to. So in the end, I think this is probably his most blockbuster-y film he’s done so far.

Which is strange to say when I also think this is also his most mind-boggling one as well, at least on a first watch. Like many have said, I also found it to be very fast-paced, but because it’s constantly throwing at you these seriously complex, but very cool looking concepts, I found myself simply not understanding some of the plot points during the second half of the film. Which is fine by me, I’m already planning on giving it a second watch sometime this weekend.

I’m probably sounding overly negative so far, but the thing is I still had a damn good time watching this. Like most Nolan films, this one is a grower too, and I think once I fully grasp some specific plot points, my appreciation for it will only get bigger. As soon as Poésy’s character said “Don’t try to understand, feel it.”, I was all in on the journey.

As of right now, I’d give this a 7 or an 8 out of 10. But I’m watching it again ASAP.

On a side note, holy shit was the sound loud. I watched it on a regular screen, but man are the complaints valid for this one. Thank the lord my country does subtitles because otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten half of the dialogue. I couldn’t even hear much of the soundtrack because of how loud/distorted it got at times.

Posts: 8437
Joined: August 2012
Okay so where do I start. Keep in mind that these are my mostly unfiltered thoughts that are more than likely to change and mutate with repeated viewings. I haven’t read anyone’s user reviews yet so sorry in advance if I repeat something that’s already been said. I REALLY need to sit on this more. But at its core, to me this film is very much a modernized spy flick with a very stripped down, dare I say, even primitive plot. Characters are simply thrusted into the middle of action of that world and there’s rarely time for anything else. But that’s where this film’s magic lies. It’s very much an experience film and when it comes to said experience, it is honestly unlike anything else I’ve ever seen. You’d think with its incredibly fast pulsing and equally as confusing pace the film would be akin to an anxiety attack itself, but anecdotally my brain was so occupied I literally did not have any time to be anxious lol. So, I guess, thank you Nolan!

I guess I would have prefered for Nolan to dare to open some of the thematic doors he dangled right in front of our faces. He came close - but ultimately, not close enough.
(So I’m not reciting plot beats here, but if you haven’t seen the film, probs best not to click on this yet)
The whole climate change tidbit, the doom we impose upon ourselves, and humanity’s responsibility of paying for our collective sins were all things, I thought, just asking to be inspected more closely. The omnicidal motives of Sator, mixed with the film’s concept of inversion, calls a little close to home to a very uniquely human inclination to always turn to the past in obsessive and ill-fated attempts of rewriting their regrets and failures, instead of promising betterment in the future. Sator IS an interesting character, but there’s just something left to be desired for when it came to the film trying to properly communicate his pessimistic incentives. Also. While Elizabeth Debicki is kind of a god anyway, her Kat veers dangerously close towards being entrapped in an old as time “damsel in distress” cliche, which, honestly.. is a sight equally as disappointing as it is unsurprising. However, she does have agency as a human, and it’s showcased, despite it coming to fruition late enough into the film for the mission’s success to already be guaranteed. Therefore, her decision making ends up standing as a different kind of heroism - not the grandstanding world saving one with epic thrill rides, but one where an abused and humiliated woman, a mother, puts an end to her and her son’s torment by actively showing capability for retribution. Another saving grace is her character not relying on romance or seduction to be saved - she is helped simply because the protagonist is a stand up dude who ultimately believes in doing the right thing. That... was heartwarming.
Going back to address a criticism I did not understand (the “humorless” one), I have to say, I still don’t get it. The movie is a blast. There’s a more passive tone to it, but passive doesn’t mean non-existent in my books. I think a lot of those smaller things that would have made the film feel more intimate legitimately fall victim to the film’s pace - everything is happening so fast and all at once that there’s simply no time (in story mode) for most of it to evolve. But there are jokes. There are little flirtings, and “bro” moments. I honestly don’t get why this would be a “joyless” experience to the viewer, unless you completely manage not to be able to keep up with the pace, for which I couldn’t really fault anyone. Once again, it’s... confusing. I like the confusion myself, because I also like to look for reasons to see something more than once, but I also know not everyone does. And that’s totally okay. It just doesn’t render the film to be a completely drab experience to me. But it really is fucking confusing.

John David Washington oozes charisma here. So does Robert Pattinson. The two have great chemistry and share such cool bromance vibes, they, along with Elizabeth Debicki, are my favorite performances here. Kenneth Branagh I’m sort of undecided on yet. Obviously the most polarizing performance, he’s not “laughably bad” and he works, but there’s also something offputting about him as well. Others have smaller roles, but still pretty great! No weak spots whatsoever, in my opinion. Such a great, well rounded, charismatic (and diverse) cast!

All in all, I think it’s a film only Nolan could’ve made. I am just in complete awe of that man’s brain and the things it imagines, and how he conceptualizes those things. There is something to be desired for in terms of characterization, yet at the same time if you accept this as an experience, you (and the protagonist) just going through everything for the first time while trying to keep track of it all, you simultaneously sort of accept that certain things and ideas come to an end before they’re properly given space to flourish. It’s less of a “movie is bad because x wasn’t done” than “I personally would have liked it happening because I recognize the enrichening thematic potential it had”. It’s a self aware effort - he amplifies the things that, to him, constitute for the ultimate innovative theater experience in film, while stripping down the rest. I have never really seen anything like this, in terms of spectacle, and I am not sure how much time will have to pass until I see something like that again. Unless Nolan decides to outflex his own muscles he’s been steadily growing with each film of his. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, and given the state of the world, it’s honestly hard to gauge how the general audiences will engage with this film. In essence it’s pure Nolan, while also not shying away from more bizarre territories and wacky concepts, even if they are entangling a bit more than they really needed to. In truth, I’m just glad it exists.

Posts: 4
Joined: May 2020
Just came back from a packed (considering Covid-19 regulations) open cinema in Greece.

Simply outstanding film, Nolan's best since Inception.

Will be seeing it tomorrow again.

For now, 9/10.

User avatar
Posts: 2197
Joined: January 2016
@Ruth brilliant review!! :clap:

Zimmeredge wrote:
August 26th, 2020, 6:00 pm
Here, it's not totally not the case. No long dialogues to explain what's what. No need explain the rules of the world.
Not sure if we watched the same movie, because I don't think ten minutes ever went by without somebody needing to explain something or talk about how the world or certain objects worked. The scenes with Poésy (the same ones from the trailer where she talks about 'catching the bullet' and shit) are the only ones where it's straightforward. Halfway through and to the end you're bombarded with info.

Sure I can just ignore what I'm being told and rather focus on the action, but I want to try and understand everything that's going on. That's really hard on the first viewing. Not saying it's inherintly a bad thing, I love to find new things upon rewatching movies, but I think with Tenet it is much more convoluted than it needed to be. Your brain is already working overtime trying to process the visualization of the inversions, which makes it even harder to also having to figure out all the laws of the physics as well as the complexity and objective of the mission and so on.

Posts: 70
Joined: May 2014
Bacon wrote:
August 26th, 2020, 12:41 pm
morlock84 wrote:
August 26th, 2020, 6:41 am
I liked the movie, even if I didn't get a large part of the plot (asked a few questions if the spoiler thread for those who have seen it :D ). I'm going again tonight to get a definitive opinion. However I can already say that :
- it is Nolan's most complex movie to date and least accessible.
- the action was phenomenal. Although I loved the
time-reversed scenes
my favourite scene is the
prologue / opera attack.
This was SO intense. Reminded me a lot of the robbery scene at the beginning of TDK. I found it particularly bone-chilling because of the very recent terrorism history in Europe, couldn't not think about the 2015 Paris attack during a concert. The only action scene that was a disappointment for me is the final one. Rushed and nearly incomprehensible. But I need to see it again.
- the pace is very VERY fast. Nolan really should have put more explanations / exposition for people to catch up with the plot.
- loved every actor, especially JDW and Pattinson.
Your favorite scene was the
prologue? :?
Yes, mostly because it was so intense and for the reasons I detailed in my post. But don't get me wrong, I loved almost every other action scene and especially the
Tallinn highway one
. The only one that didn't work so much for me was the
final one / Eagle mountain
. It felt very video game like and was too chaotic for me.

Post Reply