Tenet NFometer

Christopher Nolan's time inverting spy film that follows a protagonist fighting for the survival of the entire world.
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When I first watched the movie it was probably a 8/10 for me. But after watching it multiple times it gets better and better. This is probably in my top 2 Nolan films. 9,5/10. An incredible achievement.

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Vader182 wrote:
September 1st, 2020, 3:04 am
Frankly amazed at the reactions here. Really hope I am among you. This is what a friend said who saw it tonight at the IMAX I'm going to on Thursday:

"I have no idea what the characters were trying to do on a basic level, scene to scene. It's like a heist movie where they never explain what they're stealing, why they're stealing it, or what the plan is... except it also spends a lot of time supposedly trying to sell you what they're stealing, why they're stealing it, and what the plan is. It's either Nolan's worst movie or in the top 3. I have no idea."

He barely heard the dialogue half the time, I guess.


-Vader
I hope as well :D The main thing that sets this apart from films such as Inception or Interstellar is how Tenet feels almost in medias res. As I explained earlier, the crazier events don't start until about an hour, but how this world and the characters are introduced are really fast, and it feels like Nolan saying "Okay, let's move on". And at this point, in 2020, when I've seen most of Nolan's films at least 15 times, this just felt refreshing. This comes off as a flaw for half the people who've seen the film, but I honestly like this approach, and it doesn't ruin the tension, drama and "substance" of the film. I think it will depend on how you feel about the tempo and the aforementioned approach to writing/directing.

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Vader182 wrote:
September 1st, 2020, 3:04 am
Frankly amazed at the reactions here. Really hope I am among you. This is what a friend said who saw it tonight at the IMAX I'm going to on Thursday:

"I have no idea what the characters were trying to do on a basic level, scene to scene. It's like a heist movie where they never explain what they're stealing, why they're stealing it, or what the plan is... except it also spends a lot of time supposedly trying to sell you what they're stealing, why they're stealing it, and what the plan is. It's either Nolan's worst movie or in the top 3. I have no idea."

He barely heard the dialogue half the time, I guess.


-Vader
That was exactly how I felt during my first viewing.

I would sit there thinking to myself pretty much those exact words.

Trust me, a second viewing is eye-opening in that regard.

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Vader182 wrote:
September 1st, 2020, 3:04 am
Frankly amazed at the reactions here. Really hope I am among you. This is what a friend said who saw it tonight at the IMAX I'm going to on Thursday:

"I have no idea what the characters were trying to do on a basic level, scene to scene. It's like a heist movie where they never explain what they're stealing, why they're stealing it, or what the plan is... except it also spends a lot of time supposedly trying to sell you what they're stealing, why they're stealing it, and what the plan is. It's either Nolan's worst movie or in the top 3. I have no idea."

He barely heard the dialogue half the time, I guess.


-Vader
For someone who continuously asks people to not give too much credence to other peoples' experiences, you have seemed overwhelmingly reliant on them the past couple of weeks. Not an attacking post, just saying that it seems like you're going in with pretty clear expectations of disappointment.

Also, Artemis gave it a 5/5 and BlairCo gave it a 4/5 on Letterboxd, but idk if we have to wait for them to post their reviews/scores ;)

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Bacon wrote:
September 1st, 2020, 11:21 am
Vader182 wrote:
September 1st, 2020, 3:04 am
Frankly amazed at the reactions here. Really hope I am among you. This is what a friend said who saw it tonight at the IMAX I'm going to on Thursday:

"I have no idea what the characters were trying to do on a basic level, scene to scene. It's like a heist movie where they never explain what they're stealing, why they're stealing it, or what the plan is... except it also spends a lot of time supposedly trying to sell you what they're stealing, why they're stealing it, and what the plan is. It's either Nolan's worst movie or in the top 3. I have no idea."

He barely heard the dialogue half the time, I guess.


-Vader
For someone who continuously asks people to not give too much credence to other peoples' experiences, you have seemed overwhelmingly reliant on them the past couple of weeks. Not an attacking post, just saying that it seems like you're going in with pretty clear expectations of disappointment.

Also, Artemis gave it a 5/5 and BlairCo gave it a 4/5 on Letterboxd, but idk if we have to wait for them to post their reviews/scores ;)
Not at all. If you look at my posts, I’m frequently reminding others not to be swayed by the reactions of others. I certainly have not been. I can’t wait to see it.

That said, I’d be lying if having a friend see Tenet in the exact same auditorium I am on Thursday, and to have an awful experience where 50% of the dialogue (in a talky movie no less) is literally impossible to understand, isn’t worrisome.


-Vader

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Vader182 wrote:
September 1st, 2020, 11:50 am
Bacon wrote:
September 1st, 2020, 11:21 am
Vader182 wrote:
September 1st, 2020, 3:04 am
Frankly amazed at the reactions here. Really hope I am among you. This is what a friend said who saw it tonight at the IMAX I'm going to on Thursday:

"I have no idea what the characters were trying to do on a basic level, scene to scene. It's like a heist movie where they never explain what they're stealing, why they're stealing it, or what the plan is... except it also spends a lot of time supposedly trying to sell you what they're stealing, why they're stealing it, and what the plan is. It's either Nolan's worst movie or in the top 3. I have no idea."

He barely heard the dialogue half the time, I guess.


-Vader
For someone who continuously asks people to not give too much credence to other peoples' experiences, you have seemed overwhelmingly reliant on them the past couple of weeks. Not an attacking post, just saying that it seems like you're going in with pretty clear expectations of disappointment.

Also, Artemis gave it a 5/5 and BlairCo gave it a 4/5 on Letterboxd, but idk if we have to wait for them to post their reviews/scores ;)
Not at all. If you look at my posts, I’m frequently reminding others not to be swayed by the reactions of others. I certainly have not been. I can’t wait to see it.

That said, I’d be lying if having a friend see Tenet in the exact same auditorium I am on Thursday, and to have an awful experience where 50% of the dialogue (in a talky movie no less) is literally impossible to understand, isn’t worrisome.


-Vader
I think his reaction is very reasonable, I had subs on my first showing and that helped a lot. The narrative (and movement of characters) makes perfect sense and is very interesting, but I found it almost impossible to grasp on my first viewing. First on round three did everything click for me, perhaps the first time I've been so confused by a big mainstream effort. Inception is nothing compared to this.

I'm not sure if that's a good or bad quality, but this is a feature that needs to be seen more than once. I actually feel for people having to write reviews for it - I'm not at all surprised by the polarizing reception.

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Vader182 wrote:
September 1st, 2020, 3:04 am
Frankly amazed at the reactions here. Really hope I am among you. This is what a friend said who saw it tonight at the IMAX I'm going to on Thursday:

"I have no idea what the characters were trying to do on a basic level, scene to scene. It's like a heist movie where they never explain what they're stealing, why they're stealing it, or what the plan is... except it also spends a lot of time supposedly trying to sell you what they're stealing, why they're stealing it, and what the plan is. It's either Nolan's worst movie or in the top 3. I have no idea."

He barely heard the dialogue half the time, I guess.


-Vader
It's always good to keep your expectations in check. I find Tenet to be Nolan's most straightforward (no pun intended) film thematically but also his most dense when it comes to story and plot, and I think that's the general consensus. It often doesn't let you process what's going on, so it's just best to accept it and go with it. That can make for a mixed first impression, at least it did for me.

But like many have said, it's a different experience on your second viewing. You know how many (or some) think that Nolan's films start to "crumble" on rewatches? I think history will be kind to Tenet.

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If a movie has to be seen twice to understand the basics of the plot and engage with it.... is it a good movie? Should a movie need two viewings? You need to have enough there to really engage with it the first time, obviously.

Not saying that is or isn't how I'll feel about Tenet, but that's a pretty common experience among people on this site. Just sayin'.


-Vader

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Movies like Tenet need multiple viewings. Even if you think it's good the first time. Just to see if it holds up, makes sense for the most part. Some movies I see I'm initially in awe of without thinking about the things may not make sense or plot holes and other factors. When I watch it again I still may like the movie but feel some things don't make sense like TDKR.

Some movies like BR2049, which I didn't love initially because it didn't make sense or was boring, made sense on repeated viewings and i was able to put the entire film together and now I love it. The first time I saw this film was in the theaters where you have that initial feeling of not knowing what to expect and also watching it with an audience, maybe there are some distractions in the theater and other factors. The next time I watched it was in the comfort of my own home with little to no distractions and was able to fully process what was going on. I feel like Tenet could be this way for some people that don't initially like it.

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