TENET (film) - Christopher Nolan

[Neil]

LdOM0x0XDMo

[bassman]

I always look forward to new Nolan!

I’ve heard some speculation that this film will be the first major theatrical release since the shut down. It will basically be the test run to see if audiences will really go back.

[EvilNed]

I always look forward to new Nolan!

I’ve heard some speculation that this film will be the first major theatrical release since the shut down. It will basically be the test run to see if audiences will really go back.

As someone who works in the next from theatrical distribution - specifically a partner of Warner to boot (I don't know, I just assume this is a Warner pic) - I can confirm this is the case.

And personally, i can't see a better film to do it. I ALWAYS see Nolan's films in the theater and come hell or high water - I'm seeing this. I know a lot of people who feel the same way about Nolan's films.

[bassman]

As someone who works in the next from theatrical distribution - specifically a partner of Warner to boot (I don't know, I just assume this is a Warner pic) - I can confirm this is the case.

And personally, i can't see a better film to do it. I ALWAYS see Nolan's films in the theater and come hell or high water - I'm seeing this. I know a lot of people who feel the same way about Nolan's films.

Indeed. Of all the big name directors working today, Nolan is easily at the top of the list for films that are required to be seen theatrically, preferably on the largest and highest quality screen possible. Depending on how my local cinemas handle the sanitation and seating, I definitely plan on trying to see it.

[EvilNed]

So I went to see this yesterday with two friends. It's not my first time in the cinema since after (during?) the pandemic - I saw Unhinged a few weeks back.


Spoilerfree;

Unengaging, messy, spectacular, creative, drawn-out, drab, stylish. All apply. Overall, it's basically a film which dials up the worst things about a Nolan film and removes all the rest. His strong suit has been creating engaging, stylish and creative stories with rather complex scripts and massive setpieces filled with practical effects. As with Inception - this film has a very specific gimmick involving time-travel which permeates almost every aspect of the film. Unlike Inception - that's all there is. There is no personal journey for the protagonist at all, we don't get to know him or anyone else really. There is a very weak emotional subplot that feels almost shoehorned in, and whenever it surfaces amidst the film it exists only as a contrived way for our character to make awkward choices that the plot needs him to make in order for the conflict to deepen.

The dialogue, of which there is a lot, is almost entirely exposition and maybe this is the films worst aspect. So much information about the world, the gimmick and the complex layers of the conflict are thrown at you piecemeal that it's difficult to sit down and enjoy the film - and the downside is that if you don't piece all of these things together, you will not be able to enjoy the action scenes to their fullest since they actually rely on you having grasped how they intend to use the gimmick in this particular scene.

At the end of the day, I feel this is peak Nolan. This is what Nolan is interested in - setting the stage for elaborate and unique setpieces. The plot is very complex, but also contrived. One aspect of this is that the protagonist, who is thrown into this world as a newcomer, seems to learn and accept this new reality far too quickly. He doesn't really act as the placeholder for the audience that we need him to be. None of the characters do, and they are all paper-thin. They are paper-thin clichés of Nolan characters - stoic, ready, excellent at their craft and never, ever dropping even the slightest quip to lighten the mood. This is a film that takes itself very, very seriously and unfortunately... It doesn't quite hold up to that.

As I mentioned, there are a few nice scenes. The time-travel aspect is certainly used creatively a couple of times, to good effect. The film works best when it's not trying to be all that epic, but focuses on how one character is trying to figure his way through a scenario. Of course - there's also larger action scenes and these do not work. Imagine the messiest of Nolan's action scenes and then add an extra layer of narrative complexity that unfolds at breakneck speed. I couldn't enjoy it.

I've loved all of Nolan's films. Great cinema experiences, all of them. Upon second viewing, I've always felt that their weaknesses have shined through. This is the first time I've seen a Nolan film in the cinema and felt a bit bored, or unengaged. There's just zero emotion and all technical and narrative gimmicks.


I was gonna write a bit with spoiler tags as well, but can't be arsed. There's lots of interesting setpieces in this which try to one-up the audiences expectations, but to my mind there's no outright provocative plot holes. Some things don't make sense, but the big problem with me is just that I don't really care about them, rather than them being glaring plot holes.

[Neil]

I've read other reviews that it's time travel feature is great, but too much of the rest of the film is weak. And a lot of dialogue is hard to listen to.

[shootemindehead]

Ah, that's a shame.

Might head along to check it out anyway. Just to relieve the drought that's been in play for the whole whole year.

[EvilNed]

I've read other reviews that it's time travel feature is great, but too much of the rest of the film is weak. And a lot of dialogue is hard to listen to.

You'll love it.


Ah, that's a shame.

Might head along to check it out anyway. Just to relieve the drought that's been in play for the whole whole year.

You'll hate it.

[MinionZombie]

There seems to be a lot of talk online about the sound mix - specifically that in numerous scenes you can't hear a feckin' thing anyone's saying. Is this so?

I must say, incomprehensible dialogue is a pet peeve of mine, be it in TV, games, movies ... I don't want the dialogue to stand out a mile, but I want to be able to hear it as clearly as I do the relentlessly in-your-face sound effects. I've noticed it a lot with Marvel movies - you're straining to hear people talk because of all the music and bombast going on. You jack up the volume in dialogue scenes, but then something explodes or whatever and you have to turn it down again. Stupid. Sound Mixers of the world - sort it out FFS.

[EvilNed]

There seems to be a lot of talk online about the sound mix - specifically that in numerous scenes you can't hear a feckin' thing anyone's saying. Is this so?

I must say, incomprehensible dialogue is a pet peeve of mine, be it in TV, games, movies ... I don't want the dialogue to stand out a mile, but I want to be able to hear it as clearly as I do the relentlessly in-your-face sound effects. I've noticed it a lot with Marvel movies - you're straining to hear people talk because of all the music and bombast going on. You jack up the volume in dialogue scenes, but then something explodes or whatever and you have to turn it down again. Stupid. Sound Mixers of the world - sort it out FFS.

This may have been a problem, I can't recall actually. There's just so much exposition thrown in your face every other second that the mix just isn't the problem, the amount of information thrown your way is. In an early chapter of the film they're after a Macguffin piece of art, but I can't really tell you why that was so important to the plot.

[MinionZombie]

Well, finally saw this last night.

I enjoyed it overall, but it's not a particularly well-told story. At numerous points I didn't really know what specifically was going on, or perhaps more likely why it was going on and what it had to do with the overall plot of the movie.

During the fight at the 'Free Port' I guessed the twist (revealed later in the movie) immediately, not that it was a huge twist in the first place anyway. There's some good action sequences throughout with some snazzy moments playing up to the time-bending nature of the movie (it must have been a real headache to shoot this movie!), but as a viewer, you can't help but feel you're being kept somewhat at a distance the whole time. The reason the villain is doing what he's doing isn't particularly strong, either, and I've no idea how he even started enacting his plan in the first place and how the mechanics of it worked.

The sound mix was also an issue. The sound effects and music were so loud, but the dialogue was so low - a frequent issue with audio mixes, even moreso when you don't have any choice of audio mix on the disc, you just get 7.1 and that's it, for example. Not much cop when you're just hearing a movie through your telly speakers. So there were numerous times when I was struggling to make out what some people were saying - especially when they were mumbling or talking in riddles.

It's definitely gonna have to be one of those films I re-watch a couple of times to better understand it, because it was pretty hard to follow. I followed Inception no problem, but the main issue with Tenet comes down to Nolan's script - it fails to tell the story well enough. The audience can't access it properly.

[EvilNed]

Agreed on most accounts, though can't remember having a problem with the mix myself.

But there are so many scenes which are excessively convoluted - or could have been edited for much better clarity.

like the big showdown at the end. Why was it told in two parallell lines? Tell one first, then the other. Also - why bother sending one team going backwards and one forwards - when time travel should allow for the same team doing both?

[MinionZombie]

Agreed on most accounts, though can't remember having a problem with the mix myself.

But there are so many scenes which are excessively convoluted - or could have been edited for much better clarity.

like the big showdown at the end. Why was it told in two parallell lines? Tell one first, then the other. Also - why bother sending one team going backwards and one forwards - when time travel should allow for the same team doing both?

Yeah...

Something about a ground assault for one team, and for another team it was about 'failing to defuse the bomb' so the intended outcome would happen. I suppose they had two teams going forwards and back because the enemy would have two teams going forwards and back. Nevertheless, it was quite confusing. Then when the guy tries to warm the other two about the bomb at the entrance to that underground bit - why did he run all the way back to get a vehicle, when he could have just hung around there and warned them in-person?

I did still enjoy the movie, and it certainly does have some amazing moments, but I never realised it was intended to be a "spy movie", like how Inception was basically a heist movie - but Inception was clear what it was, whereas Tenet was so complicated you couldn't spend enough time just enjoying the movie. No wonder they had a guy on-set whose specific job was to just be able to tell everyone - including Nolan himself - what the fudge was going on at any given moment! :stunned:

It must have been a huge pain in the arse to be the Script Supervisor on this one! :eek:

[EvilNed]

Yeah...

Something about a ground assault for one team, and for another team it was about 'failing to defuse the bomb' so the intended outcome would happen. I suppose they had two teams going forwards and back because the enemy would have two teams going forwards and back. Nevertheless, it was quite confusing. Then when the guy tries to warm the other two about the bomb at the entrance to that underground bit - why did he run all the way back to get a vehicle, when he could have just hung around there and warned them in-person?

I did still enjoy the movie, and it certainly does have some amazing moments, but I never realised it was intended to be a "spy movie", like how Inception was basically a heist movie - but Inception was clear what it was, whereas Tenet was so complicated you couldn't spend enough time just enjoying the movie. No wonder they had a guy on-set whose specific job was to just be able to tell everyone - including Nolan himself - what the fudge was going on at any given moment! :stunned:

It must have been a huge pain in the arse to be the Script Supervisor on this one! :eek:

But it's time-travel. The same team going forward can go backwards. You don't need two teams. It can be the exact same people. Only within the constraints of a movie does it need to be two separate teams - yet it also made it more confusing. Have the protagonist go backwards first, then loop back, and go forwards. You get both narratives from his pov. Voilá, less confusion.