Tenet
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6.9 - Real sexy, but not great to talk to and not very inspiring either.
I'm going to disagree with a lot of you on this one I think. This movie has garnered some serious disdain, and I don't exactly see why, or, rather, I do, and don't think I like it.
Christopher Nolan has something of a reputation with his films (Inception, Memento, Interstellar) for making complicated narratives that leave you asking enough at the end to come back for more, but also fulfilled enough to be pleased with the experience. This, for me, is where Tenet goes wrong. Not because Nolan directed it, but just logistically as a film.
For me, Tenet (ironically) was a pretty linear experience. We start at one spot, end in one spot, and the only wonky time travel bit is a single character by the end of the film. It didn't leave me with QUESTIONS. As long as you remember a small piece of visual information in the beginning, you know what's going on in the end. The film doesn't do much hand holding, which I like, but it also doesn't leave me reaching, which I don't like. Overall, it seems to get about a 7/10 in most circles, and I'd give it about that, as seen above. Really fun action sequences without much going on between the ears, but a whole lot worth looking at.
Had this been Nolan's FIRST film of the sort, it would have been met with praise. Had it been by another director, it would have been met likewise. I think where a lot of viewers have gone wrong is (and, arguably, fairly) coming into this experience as a CHRISTOPHER NOLAN movie. Expectation is the bane of experience. (If that isn't a quote, I'm coining it here.)
This is a movie that, like Cloverfield, would have been better off undersold than overhyped. Take Nolan's name off of this, and it smashes the office. Release it instead of Inception? Same thing. I really enjoyed this journey even though I saw right through it. I called a fairly major set of twists pretty much right away with only minor mistakes. And yet, I still really enjoyed it. That, for me, is the mark of something that is at least fun. And this was very fun. Not great, but very fun.
I liked Tenet. Would I compare it in quality to Memento? Inception? Dark Knight? No. Tenet is the MOVIE to Nolan's typical FILM. Tenet was fun where his usual style is full. I wish it could be viewed outside the lens of his other work even though I understand it cannot.
Would I watch it again? Not right away, maybe eventually. Would I recommend a friend watch it? Yes.
This was like getting on the wrong roller coaster that runs parallel to the one you thought you were getting on. Still a good experience, but disappointing because it isn't what you expected.
It will take the visual effects award and only struggles for production design against The Father in quality and Mank in posterity.
