Tenet
Tenet
Armed with only the word "Tenet," and fighting for the survival of the entire world, CIA operative, The Protagonist, journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a global mission that unfolds beyond real time.
Mike reviewedOctober 11, 2024
Tenet is a bombastic, action-packed and visually stunning experience with typical Nolan time manipulation implemented
"For me, I think this is the end of a beautiful friendship."
I know Tenet is one of the most controversial films Nolan has made, but I personally really liked the experience it provided. When I watch an action film I do not find it a necessity to have a deep philosophical story, the experience that the action provides is what is most important for me with this genre. The reversed entropy added a new and unique aspect to this genre, which I appreciated.
With Hoyte van Hoytema as cinematographer you can expect some great looking shots, and Tenet did not disappoint. The cinematography felt natural, but never boring. Also kudos to Hoyte van Hoytema and the rest of the crew for shooting scenes reversed. They did not digitally reverse the shot material, but they modified the cameras.
The story itself felt a bit cold and I did not care that much for the characters. Nevertheless Tenet provided me with a great experience, mainly because it required to pay attention to the plot. Although I did understand almost everything on a first watch, the multiple rewatches made me look at the film in a different way which kept it interesting for me. This was especially important because the film lacks the emotional aspect I usually like in other films.
As with every Nolan film, the score was impactful and beautiful. After hearing Hans Zimmer was working on Dune and Nolan went for Ludwig Göransson, I was a bit skeptical. But Ludwig Göransson did an great job in providing an impactful score that is up to Nolan’s alley. Not everyone is too keen on the audio mixing Nolan did with Tenet, but I personally had no problems hearing any dialog in an IMAX theater or at my Home Theater. Ofcourse it is not acceptable that a good audio system is required in order to hear the dialog in a film. Certain scenes, the airport scene for example, were ment to be focussed on the score instead of the dialog. This was done to let the viewer experience the fact that Neil was not focussing on what the man said either and I don’t think this is something everyone realizes.
Overall I really enjoyed Tenet. Is it Nolan’s best film? No, but I still really enjoyed the action combined with the time manipulation, great cinematography and impactful score that provided this experience.
Letterboxd: Mike_v_E