I finally got around to watching Tenet tonight, and his devolution from actual filmmaker into purveyor of incoherent high-budget mumblecore suddenly struck me. It really is a shame. Starting with Following, every single feature that he’s directed has been worse than the one before it. And no, I’m not a troll. This is truly how I feel about his filmography.
shareI think he's been pretty consistent (although there are some I'm not a fan of), but I didn't think Dunkirk was anything special, and I'm not interested in seeing Tenet at all.
shareYour descent into cynicism is all you, and not anything concerning Nolan. Find a church tower, have a cream soda, do anything, will ya?
shareFrom 2000-2014 Christopher Nolan was on a roll. His last two were a tad underwhelming but they weren’t bad films. Heck I loved the concept of Tenet I just wish the characters were written better and I didn’t like the actor who played the protagonist
sharethe concept of Tenet was intriguing but by the end of the movie I was worn out by all the back and forth "time travel"
shareOh yeah, the first time I saw it on Blu Ray and had a rewind button I fried my brain figuring it out, especially the car chase because you have to keep track of the Protagonist, Kat and Sator and what happened to all three of them while some of them are moving forwards and others in reverse.
shareHonestly the best thing he did was the Batman series and the dark Knight is the pinnacle. I have not been a big fan of the rest of his work except for insomnia which was a remake.
shareWhat about Inception and Interstellar?
sharethats undoubtedly his best 2 movies.
shareInception is pretty solid, Interstellar is a joke - a pretentious cringefest, so to speak.
shareInterstellar is a great film, I ranked it second. Inception is also great.
shareI agree about Interstellar, oh boy that one is an overrated piece of cinema. Liked Hans Zimmer's score though.
Took me years that I could rewatch Inception without falling to sleep. Its ok I guess, but hasn't got much rewatch value.
Are you sure weren't already asleep? Maybe you still are?
shareI remember watching Interstellar in the theater, and being bored, and restless, just wanting it to be over already. Then, I watched it a year ago, and it floored me. Nolan is like that I guess. Sorta like when your taste buds change, and even though you never thought you'd like mushrooms all the sudden you do! Sometimes you're just not ready for what Nolan is trying to convey.
shareI used to love mushrooms and now I don't! But I have to agree, movies are way more about the mood your in, place your at, that's why people have such polar opposite experiences watching the exact same thing. Also looking for flaws in a movie just ain't cricket (there are exceptions to every rule though).
PS.
Mushroom taste changed after eating a magic one straight from the paddock. They grow in cow shit in Australia.
Yeah, it's honestly quite sad to see how Nolan seems to have completely forgotten how to incorporate any humanity in his films. Most of the other great directors working right now (Fincher, PTA, the Coens etc) have become more focused on complex human drama and heavy, cerebral themes as they've gotten older, but that isn't quite the case with Nolan. He seems to have devolved instead into this spectacle-driven filmmaker who makes movies that are impressive in terms of narrative form and technique, but of which carry very little weight beyond their craft.
In the slim chance you happen to be reading this, Chris, here's a challenge. Try making a film with no sci-fi or major action spectacle element for a change, why don't you? Make a film that feels small, intimate, and personal, where the stakes come from the characters' inner emotional conflicts rather than world-changing life-or-death scenarios. You've done it before (Memento, Insomnia, The Prestige) so you can probably do it again. I think that'll put you to the next level.
Well said.
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