They should've sound tested this movie. I couldn't hear half the dialogue. Then after reading other people's reactions, I realised most people had the same problem
Tenet User Reviews/Reactions [Possible SPOILERS]
I need to watch it again properly to judge my reaction better (which might not happen until home release) but so far (the audio - you think you had issues, imagine that downmixed to stereo then broadcast over FM. It was FUCKED. Just could not handle, not just dialogue but the score utterly ruined too)...it's Nolan's most nuts film but also feels like what his career was leading up to. I love how it gradually progresses to going batshit insane in the way that it eventually does.
Ugh! I wrote a long ass post about the audio mix and it just disappeared...
It’s definitely by design. I mean, come on, it’s Chris Nolan we’re talking about. He has his hand on everything - trailers, home video releases. Some premium Blu-ray company couldn’t make their edition of Dunkirk because he did not approve.
He has talked about this issue and so did Hans Zimmer when he was asked about during the Interstellar campaign.
I had no issues with the mix at all. There’s one sequence that had muffled dialogue for obvious reasons (Foils). The rest was totally fine. The best experience was in a premium screen equipped with an Atmos system. Everything was balanced.
Now the real issue is that he doesn’t care about getting the clearest line deliveries from his actors. Some lines are unintelligible because of that and no I’m not talking about Dimple Kapadia - I understood her just fine.
Thanks to subs, I can finally confirm JDW says “I’ll take the help” in the prologue.
But it does not bother me at all. All the important lines are intelligible in my experience except said sequence. If a line or two slips that doesn’t and shouldn’t ruin anyone’s experience in my opinion.
It’s definitely by design. I mean, come on, it’s Chris Nolan we’re talking about. He has his hand on everything - trailers, home video releases. Some premium Blu-ray company couldn’t make their edition of Dunkirk because he did not approve.
He has talked about this issue and so did Hans Zimmer when he was asked about during the Interstellar campaign.
I had no issues with the mix at all. There’s one sequence that had muffled dialogue for obvious reasons (Foils). The rest was totally fine. The best experience was in a premium screen equipped with an Atmos system. Everything was balanced.
Now the real issue is that he doesn’t care about getting the clearest line deliveries from his actors. Some lines are unintelligible because of that and no I’m not talking about Dimple Kapadia - I understood her just fine.
Thanks to subs, I can finally confirm JDW says “I’ll take the help” in the prologue.
But it does not bother me at all. All the important lines are intelligible in my experience except said sequence. If a line or two slips that doesn’t and shouldn’t ruin anyone’s experience in my opinion.
This is something I haven't seen mentioned by others, but a good chunk of the movie is quite traditional. You get the opera house prologue, but then for at least 30-40 minutes it's your "typical" spy thing, and I could be wrong but it must be around the 1 hour mark when the first crazy things start. I don't mind it at all! Just pointing out that there really is a progression of ideas here. Nolan doesn't go "all out" with the weird workings of this world, he really tries to settle you in first.
Back home after watching the movie. Less than 15 people were at the cinema. It was a morning show, so maybe more will turn up for the night time screening. I enjoyed it, and am keen to watch it again in the cinema soon. The biggest hurdle for me was understanding the dialogue. I got the gist of the story, but the finer points went over my head. My initial thoughts below:
Posts: 1408
Joined:
July 2013
Just got home from my second watch and man does this get better on multiple views. I still didn't fully get some parts, particularly in the third act, but because I knew the story beats beforehand, that allowed me to focus more on the inversion mechanics and they now make more sense to me.
I still wish there was an emotional core to the story and depth at least to the Protagonist, and that the film didn't move at such a frenetic pace so it could let scenes breathe more, but I really enjoyed myself this time around, and I gained even more appreciation for the action sequences. The sound didn't bother me this time around too.
I still wish there was an emotional core to the story and depth at least to the Protagonist, and that the film didn't move at such a frenetic pace so it could let scenes breathe more, but I really enjoyed myself this time around, and I gained even more appreciation for the action sequences. The sound didn't bother me this time around too.
Posts: 70
Joined:
May 2014
After two viewings I think I'll give the movie 7.5/10 (or 8 if / when I finally understand everything 
). Although the action is phenomenal and this is high quality cinema, IMO it does not reach the Nolan blockbuster top 3 TDK / Inception / Interstellar. The movie really is too fast and needed more exposition and explanations. As a Nolan fan I obviously love to see the movie multiple times to understand everything, but this time it's really too much IMO and I understand why some people criticize it for its opacity. Also I think the whole story with the adds an unnecessary layer of complexity to the already very complex movie, is redundant with Interstellar and is quite lame (humans bad, climate change bad, booo).
). Although the action is phenomenal and this is high quality cinema, IMO it does not reach the Nolan blockbuster top 3 TDK / Inception / Interstellar. The movie really is too fast and needed more exposition and explanations. As a Nolan fan I obviously love to see the movie multiple times to understand everything, but this time it's really too much IMO and I understand why some people criticize it for its opacity. Also I think the whole story with the 
Saw Tenet again yesterday, but this time in the cinema chain's own VMAX format (basically unbranded LieMAX with Dolby Atmos and laser projector on a larger than normal screen).
The sound was clear and understandable this time. I noticed so many more details that I missed the first time. Whilst I can't rate Tenet as being perfect, I'd say its one of Nolan's best. The criticism about lack of emotion/character depth is invalid in my opinion - the film doesn't necessitate it at all. We're dealing with a completely new genre/style of film with Nolan. He makes his own rules and I think that's what makes Tenet such a masterpiece - its something we've never seen before and a breath of fresh air for cinema.
Tenet really justifies Nolan's stance on the 'theatrical experience'. Being in the cinema watching the film was such a unique experience and one that only a real cinema can provide. Tenet is proof that Nolan has absolutely perfected action cinema. The Laagna Rd scene is by far my favorite action sequence, ever (with a fitting score by Ludwig).
And 'The Plan' is such a perfect (and badass) choice for the end credits because it gives the audience time to appreciate what just happened and gather their thoughts.
The sound was clear and understandable this time. I noticed so many more details that I missed the first time. Whilst I can't rate Tenet as being perfect, I'd say its one of Nolan's best. The criticism about lack of emotion/character depth is invalid in my opinion - the film doesn't necessitate it at all. We're dealing with a completely new genre/style of film with Nolan. He makes his own rules and I think that's what makes Tenet such a masterpiece - its something we've never seen before and a breath of fresh air for cinema.
Tenet really justifies Nolan's stance on the 'theatrical experience'. Being in the cinema watching the film was such a unique experience and one that only a real cinema can provide. Tenet is proof that Nolan has absolutely perfected action cinema. The Laagna Rd scene is by far my favorite action sequence, ever (with a fitting score by Ludwig).
And 'The Plan' is such a perfect (and badass) choice for the end credits because it gives the audience time to appreciate what just happened and gather their thoughts.
Posts: 602
Joined:
May 2020
Yea before I watched the movie, I thought the lack of emotional stakes would be an issue. But after watching it, I thought the 'coldness' of the movie is a deliberate feature and it gives Tenet a unique touch to it.ChristMAX wrote: ↑August 29th, 2020, 7:42 pmSaw Tenet again yesterday, but this time in the cinema chain's own VMAX format (basically unbranded LieMAX with Dolby Atmos and laser projector on a larger than normal screen).
The sound was clear and understandable this time. I noticed so many more details that I missed the first time. Whilst I can't rate Tenet as being perfect, I'd say its one of Nolan's best. The criticism about lack of emotion/character depth is invalid in my opinion - the film doesn't necessitate it at all. We're dealing with a completely new genre/style of film with Nolan. He makes his own rules and I think that's what makes Tenet such a masterpiece - its something we've never seen before and a breath of fresh air for cinema.
Tenet really justifies Nolan's stance on the 'theatrical experience'. Being in the cinema watching the film was such a unique experience and one that only a real cinema can provide. Tenet is proof that Nolan has absolutely perfected action cinema. The Laagna Rd scene is by far my favorite action sequence, ever (with a fitting score by Ludwig).
And 'The Plan' is such a perfect (and badass) choice for the end credits because it gives the audience time to appreciate what just happened and gather their thoughts.
I would give Tenet an A- and say it's certainly Nolan top 5 movie thus far. It's much better than Interstellar.
