I know you already decided if you’re going to check out Tenet, a new high-concept science fiction movie coming from Christopher Nolan, but in case you missed it here we go. It is exactly what you think it is. A complicated and original movie that’s a vessel for the creative vision of an experienced film-maker and exactly one concept. Here, at Rabbit Reviews, we have reviewed a couple of time travel movies but not one like this. With a budget of whopping $200 million, we will have the opportunity to see impressive and never-seen-before action sequences. The story is, along with everything else, dominated by this one theme of time travel making it overly convoluted. It’s more like we need to have these grandiose scenes, how can we work them into the story. It reminded me of Mission Impossible or even James Bond franchises in that sense.
With a runtime of two and a half hours, Tenet is one of those movies you need to dedicate your whole evening to. I am sure there will come a time where you will be in such a mood. When you would be hankering for something shiny, impressive, and, strangely enough, not requiring a lot of brainpower. I mean, I watched the movie twice and still don’t get some scenes. So, don’t worry about that, you will get the general story and that’s all you need to enjoy this movie. It’s a visually and conceptually perfect piece of escapism. In today’s world of reboots, sequels, and generally unoriginal ideas, Tenet is a sight for sore eyes. Although it will probably only reaffirm studios’ aspirations for easily digestible content.
Meet the Protagonist, a secretive man of style and many skills working for the CIA. He’s about to storm the Kyiv opera along with his CIA buddies going after terrorists holed up there. This is where he will get introduced to an even more secretive organization with an incredibly important mission: save the universe from destruction. Details to follow.
John David Washington (I thought he was Donald Glover) was solid as the star of Tenet but in my opinion, Robert Pattinson stole the show here. He was terrific both during the action sequences and drama. With this movie, I officially conclude my Twilight ordeal since both of the stars have now become really good and proven actors. I previously mentioned that you don’t need to understand all the timelines in order to have fun with Tenet but if you want you could go all Nolan and try to comprehend this complex movie. It reminds me of a Reality AKA Réalité [2014] in terms of a general vibe, so it might be a good idea to check it out after this one. My advice to you is to let go of the style-over-substance and substance-over-style stuff and just pay attention to certain concepts and scenes.
This is Nolan’s show of force made to leave a lasting impact. Surely, years and decades from now, people will still be talking about this confusing and yet stunning movie. One more thing that pushed me towards recommending Tenet is the abundance of old school practical stunts and effects. That’s a real 747 and the car chase scenes were made without almost any special effects. All this gives the movie a special taste that I’m sure you’re going to like. Just don’t expect too much of it and watch it with subtitles because the dialogues are pretty hard to understand otherwise. And if you’re looking for similar movies check out Los Cronocrímenes, Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel and +1.
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer: Christopher Nolan
Cast: John David Washington, Clémence Poésy, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Kenneth Branagh, Dimple Kapadia, Clémence Poésy, Denzil Smith
Fun Facts: The word ‘Tenet’ presumably originated from the Sator Square – a word square containing a five-word Latin palindrome that dates back to the ruins of Pompeii. The puzzle is a five-by-five square made up of five 5-letter words written in five lines: SATOR, AREPO, TENET, OPERA, and ROTAS. In every direction the square is rotated, these five words appear both horizontally and vertically – a property that fits the time inversion feature of the film. It is also notable that all five words appear in the film: Kenneth Branagh’s character is named Andrei SATOR, the forger responsible for the painting and Kat (Elizabeth Debicki)’s former lover was named Tomas AREPO, the term TENET is the name of the organization that the Protagonist is recruited into, OPERA refers to the location of the opening scene, and then ROTAS is the name of the security company.
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6723592/
