After the long Cinema break due to COVID-19 one of the biggest mainstream releases of this year finally arrives in cinemas after it has been postponed several times. I’m talking about “Tenet” the new film by popular British-American filmmaker Christopher Nolan (Memento, Dark Knight-Trilogy, Inception, Interstellar, Dunkirk). This is a short spoiler free review of the movie. Nolan’s major theme in most of his films is the manipulation of time on a narrative level but also in the cinematic reality he creates. The plot of Tenet also revolves around this idea and follows a secret agent who must manipulate time in order to prevent bad things from happening. This premise is very similar to Nolan’s 2010 film Inception.
Cast
The Cast of this film is a well chosen assembly of big screen actors. With some new choices in the lead roles that bring a fresh wind and a modern feel to it as well as one or two usual Nolan collaborators that make the fan feel at home. John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman) is really great in the lead as the secret agent and owns his part as some sort of a James Bond character in nice suits and gear but more humble and less macho. Robert Pattinson, who recently regained attention in great performances in “Good Time” and “The Lighthouse”, delivers as his partner and Inception’s DiCaprio comes to mind. The antagonist is played by Kenneth Branagh, who also played in 2017’s Dunkirk, who is a believable fearsome and violent but calculating madman. The female lead is played by Elisabeth Debicki (Widows, 2018) who is trapped in a toxic relationship of domestic violence with the antagonist. She is a strong character and gives an elegant performance and does not fall completely in the stereotype Bond Girl category who exists merely to be desired by the protagonist and the male audience. Nonetheless the story is told from a very masculine perspective and the focus on action and stunts dominates.
Camera, Colors, Costumes, Music
Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Her, Interstellar, Dunkirk) is a frequent choice by Nolan and is great as always. He is experienced in shooting on 70 mm film and the use of the gigantic IMAX cameras, which the director loves so much. The images here are crystal clear and rich in detail. Environments have a great depth and there are lots of amazing wide shots. The film mostly uses the two color scheme, where there are two major colors dominant in each scene. The costumes are also great and fit the style of the film with lots of luxury suits and dresses and military uniforms and equipment. There are also a lot of BMWs and Mercedes luxury cars being used. The film was shot in several countries like Denmark, Estonia, India and Italy which leads to a great variety of interesting locales. The soundtrack was composed by Swedish composer and record producer Ludwig Göransson, who also scored “Black Panther” and produced for musicians like HAIM, Chance the Rapper and Childish Gambino. He is a welcome new choice after a long row of Hans Zimmer collaborations and sets the tone right with stomping beats and electronic sounds as well as the great theme song “The Plan” with US-Rapper Travis Scott, which was also used in the trailer.
Impression
In general the film is for everyone who is already a fan of the Nolan films like Inception and Interstellar. Aesthetically and plotwise it feels like it is a baby of James Bond, Call of Duty and a game by Hideo Kojima mixed together in Nolan’s own style. The film is basically a cool modern action film which tries to give you a little bit more with the reversed time element. In the end the plot is not plain and stupid but it’s also not as intelligent as it tries to be and rather relies on working with confusion to overwhelm the viewer. Most of the time you don’t really get what is happening exactly but it doesn’t really matter because some character will explain it afterwards to the protagonist and the audience or it’s just not that important. The plot keeps pushing on with or without you and even if you don’t get everything you never feel really lost but sadly also not really engaged. The time manipulation gets to a point where the audience probably disconnects with what is happening and gives up trying to understand every detail because you arrive at the end anyway. Maybe people will watch it over and over again to decipher everything and find the true meaning but maybe there is none and it was all just to have a little fun in the good old cinema after a long break.
7/10