James Berardinelli review - ***1/2 out of ****

https://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/tenet

Christopher Nolan loves playing with time and the fabric of reality. A majority of his non-Batman films have featured mind-bending excursions through the fourth and fifth dimensions and Tenet is no exception. In fact, despite downplaying the sci-fi elements during the first half, this may be the most challenging of Nolan’s films to date when it comes to wrapping one’s mind around the concepts forming the narrative’s foundation: backwards-moving entropy, non-linear thinking, temporal paradoxes. The movie borrows bits and pieces from three of Nolan’s previous efforts (Memento, Inception, and Interstellar) while also at times recalling the likes of Doug Liman’s Edge of Tomorrow (a.k.a. Live Die Repeat) and James Cameron’s Terminator. The film contains some of Nolan’s most ambitious action sequences to-date but one wonders whether the plot density – a not inconsiderable obstacle for some who prefer not to devote their undivided attention for 2 ½ hours – might prove to be problematic.

Tenet offers a glimpse of what a James Bond movie might look like with Nolan at the helm (with an able assist from cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, in his third collaboration with the director, and who was behind the camera for Spectre). Although the concept of “backwards entropy” (in which items move contrary to the natural progression of things, like a bullet “unfiring”) is introduced fairly early in the proceedings, it doesn’t begin to influence the narrative’s trajectory until roughly the halfway point. Up until then, Tenet feels like either a 007 excursion or an installment of the Mission: Impossible movie series. However, once Nolan has lulled audiences into the false sense of security that they’re watching a somewhat traditional action/thriller, he pulls the carpet out from under them. For those who aren’t paying close attention, it may be possible to follow things on the highest level: good guys fight to stop the bad guy from destroying the world. The more fully you comprehend things, especially as they relate to the time travel elements, the richer the tapestry appears. The problem is that it will likely require multiple viewings to fully appreciate the details and the sound mixing (which emphasizes ambient noise and Ludwig Goransson’s occasionally overbearing score) can make the exposition-laden dialogue difficult to decipher. The movie is in English but there were times when I wish it was subtitled.

John David Washington (who co-starred with Adam Driver in Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman), in what amounts to a star-making turn, plays an unnamed CIA operative referred to only as “The Protagonist.” After passing a test, he is recruited by a shadowy intelligence organization to save the world from Armageddon. The danger isn’t a nuclear holocaust, however – it’s a temporal attack. Someone from the future is sending back weaponry that can defy currently-held laws of time. These are being used by Russian oligarch Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh) to assemble an algorithm that, once finalized, will give him the power of life and death over everything – past, present, and future. Sator is not sane but, when the degree of his insanity becomes evident, The Protagonist recognizes the necessity of stopping him at all costs. He is aided by a small group of allies, including jack-of-all-trades Neil (Robert Pattinson), and Sator’s abused wife, Kat (Elizabeth Debicki), who is trapped between thoughts of suicide and murder yet lacks the willpower to move forward with either.

Tenet doesn’t feature a lot of star power. Like Dunkirk, it relies on visual prowess and solid performances by under-the-radar/character actors. Washington is very good and shows multi-octave range, but many won’t recognize him. Post-Twilight, Robert Pattinson has kept a relatively low-profile while honing his craft and rebuilding his reputation. Tenet is in some ways his re-emergence party (a prelude to an even bigger role – one that Nolan is intimately familiar with). And, although Elizabeth Debicki’s profile is on the rise, she’s still just starting up the steep portion of her ascent. This marks the first collaboration of each of these three with the director, but Nolan has brought back a couple “old friends.” Kenneth Branagh (whom he has long admired) gets more screen time than in Dunkirk and, although Michael Caine appears in only one scene, this is the seventh time his face has been seen in a Nolan production.