Tenet Spoiler-Free Review

 

"...........Dude what's going on?......."

Christopher Nolan returns with a sci-fi thriller about time inversion and spies...and other stuff.

The Good

-For the most part, the cast of the film delivers solid performances that certainly work for the film. The roles as written lack depth, but Washington, Pattinson & Debicki do their best to try add a sense of humanity to the machinery of the plot of the film.Washington gives a solid turn as The Protagonist (his actual name), Pattinson tries to riff a bit of character into his part, and Debicki again provides a sense of humanity, which I feel is even more impressive considering her character isn't much more than a damsel-in-distress. The rest of the cast is also good in their limited exposition roles (Caine, Poesy, Taylor-Johnson).

-Some of the technical elements of the film I would classify at the very least as "good enough." The score on its own is decent, as a couple of the pieces are notable. The cinematography is also good in giving you a sense of a globetrotting spy mission, even when the narrative doesn't really achieve it. There are several shots that would be deserving of a good James Bond film or a good sci-fi thriller, and I would definitely give Hoyte van Hoytema kudos there.

-Some of the action scenes as directed are well-staged on their own. They certainly deliver on the thrills and do show signs of the film sparkling to life. I would give special mention to a main action setpiece at the midpoint of the film, as it's one moment of the film that certainly drew me more to the narrative, at a point where my interest was beginning to wane.

The Bad

-As I did with positives, I'll get one main negative out of the way: Mr. Kenneth Branagh. He's given many performances I like-to-love, however, I'm afraid I can't express support for him here. Branagh gives an over-the-top performances that isn't anything more than "ROOSIAN" Bond villain, though the character as written practically is that. However, Branagh doesn't help matters here, as his performance is all surface and doesn't attempt to add any gravitas to himself. I'm honestly not sure whether more fault lies with Nolan or Branagh or maybe even both, but in the end, he is the weak link of the cast.

-The sound mixing here is Nolans' worst so far, and it's far more detrimental to the film here than say, Dunkirk, since many scenes in the film are loaded with exposition. These scenes needed far better work in that department, as pretty much all of the plot requires you to pay close attention to everything the characters are saying. 

-But of course, the real main problem with the film is the narrative itself. For starters, it is convoluted beyond belief, as every time the plot starts to take a clearer direction, here comes another exposition scene that needlessly another layer to the machinery of the films' plot. Nolan presents you with the general idea of the film, yet doesn't draw you into it in a compelling way.

-What exacerbates the above point is that the plot of the film rings hollow, as there really aren't any themes or great characters that allow the film to stay in one's mind after the film ends. A film can of course get away with this if it's style is great, however, the convoluted plot makes the approach of the film rather inert.

-Speaking of great characters, Nolan has written (sometimes co-written) his fair share of them over the years, such as The Joker, Angier & Borden, and Leonard Shelby. Even in his films such as Inception & Interstellar have lead roles that provide a solid anchor for the films, and you do understand what their motivations are (Cobb trying to return to his children, Fischers' relationship with his Dad, Cooper & his daughter etc.) In Tenet...we have....the Protagonist.

-This honestly feels like a parody of a Nolan film...but made by the man himself.

The Ugly 

-I won't spoil it here, but one key scene towards the end of the film comes off as..."different"...than I assume was the intention.

Conclusion

-In the end, all of the negatives of the film completely override the points of merit that the film DOES have to offer. It is a merging of all of Nolans' flaws combined into one outing, and as a result, it is the worst film that one of cinema's best working directors has made to date.

2.5/5

P.S. Can Jim Carrey as Howard Hughes be next?

Have you seen Tenet? If so, what did you think of it? Answer off in the comments below.