Movie Review: Tenet ⏳

Tenet is a confounding film that requires multiple viewings.

Robert Pattinson (left) and John David Washington (right) star in Tenet. CREDIT: Warner Bros.

This post for Tenet is spoiler-free.

Tenet (2020, written and directed by Christopher Nolan) is one of the few Hollywood blockbusters brave enough to battle COVID-19. With a plot that is unexplainable, Tenet is a film about international espionage and time travel, led by The Protagonist (John David Washington) and his sidekick Neil (Robert Pattinson).

My average person takeaway after watching 150 minutes of Tenet is summed up in the following tweet:

Umm soooo #Tenet 🤔 here are some of my thoughts that an average person would understand: 1. Elizabeth Debicki is 1.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

—
Tracy Low (@tracyl0w) August 28, 2020

It doesn’t help when the film tries to be expository, as the science behind how Tenet works is pure mindf*ck. I thought watching three seasons of HBO’s Westworld would have done me some good, but Nolan proves that no one can create a more convoluted piece of work than him.

All jokes aside, Tenet is visually groundbreaking as it plays with inverse objects, movements and scenes. Every fight or action scene in the movie is carefully curated and planned—watching it come to life is pretty surreal. The plot itself, as mentioned earlier, is confusing. It would take a while to process what’s happening on-screen, but it’s best to just go with the flow when watching the spectacle unfold before your very eyes.

I certainly found the behind the scenes footage of Tenet useful in gaining a better understanding of the film. Perhaps, if you’ve had the opportunity to watch Tenet in theatres, amidst COVID-19, do watch the cast and crew discuss how they went about filming the movie.

Rating: 3/5