I would need to watch this 10 times to grasp all the plotlines going fwd/bkwrd in time.
I thoroughly enjoyed the production value/fight scenes/acting/vignettes but the plot was just WAY too much for the average non-pretentious mind to care about.
the word "pretentious" is very different from the word "complicated". why do people keep using that word?
Technically, EVERY movie thinks of it self as important or it wouldn't even exist. Complex and pretentious are not the same.
Tenet is complex, not pretentious.
People use the word "pretentious" because they think it makes them sound smarter than they actually are. Using the word incorrectly just shows their pretentiousness.
Well!! How very pretentious of you to say that! hahahaha naw just kidding. You are totally correct.
share"pre·ten·tious"
/prəˈten(t)SHəs/
adjective
1. attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed.
Example: "a pretentious literary device"
Sounds a lot like most Nolan films to me.
litereally sounds like EVERY MOVIE ever that has been made
shareThe problem is that it’s hard to follow but still doesn’t really add up no matter how much work you put into analyzing it. Nolan even lampshades this early on by having a character advise not thinking about it too hard.
The most glaring issue is the algorithm. Why break it up and hide it in multiple places instead of just destroying it? These aren’t the indestructible motherboxes from Justice League!
I just got back from seeing it 2 hrs ago and I really don't think it was that confusing. The first act is intentionally obtuse and I found it rewarding once events started going backwards. It's very plot heavy and there's definitely no hand holding but that's what makes Chis Nolan great. I'll be seeing it again for sure though
shareFully agreed. I followed it also. Did you find it "pretentious" on any level?
shareNo I did not. It was exactly what I expected it to be. A showy action movie that perfectly exemplifies Nolans style. I dont think people with this criticism understand what it means.
If this is you, go watch Tree of Life. Its also a visually stunning movie from a well respected auteur.
I didn't find it confusing, however, I would have appreciated an extra few minutes from the film to answer "why" to several unexplained 'reasons/motives' about people, places, and unrevealed 'origins/events' of the plot prior to the original loop paradox.
The film was fast-paced but the 150 minutes was self evident throughout all the occurrences and it unfolded well, although without explanations as to the "why's" behind several occurrences. The film definitely could use "subtitles", at least for me as I watch "everything" with subtitles since I read, watch, and listen to everything when it comes to tv-series and films. Also, I think there is an 'issue/distortion' with the film's sound effects in certain areas which makes the subtitles an absolute must.
I will not watch it a second time until there are subtitles available for it. Perhaps I have become too reliant on subtitles since I have not been able do without them for the past eight years.
No, the audio was BAD here. Again. He always mixes voices down to mumbling with bad EQ. I don't know why. I am a recording engineer. Saw it in IMAX and it was like center channel talking was too low. I missed about 1/4 of ALL dialog.
I'm going again to a non IMAX and sitting closer and center to see if that helps.
Anyway, I considered the stuff about adding MORE info, but thought it was long enough all ready. Do we really want to stretch it out longer for deeper info? It's a toss up: make it even longer for more info or even shorter and tighten it up? Honestly, I lean towards tighter, less info. We dont NEED to know all details really - movies should only be so long
I also thought the dialogue was very low and could not be properly heard in spots. I am also a +1 for watching movies with subtitles. Even English ones. Tenet is a prime candidate.
shareThis was my biggest problem. Maybe if I could have followed the dialogue early on it may have been great. As it was I may as well have walked in late so I didn’t really care once it picked up. Why, oh why didn’t they do better sound editing?
Longer, same info, slower pace
shareThe audio mix was muffled intentionally by Nolan to enhance the feel of anxiety and disorientation. That's how a Nolan groupie would explain it away. Is that pretentious enough?
share"I would have appreciated an extra few minutes from the film to answer "why" to several unexplained 'reasons/motives' about people, places, and unrevealed 'origins/events' of the plot prior to the original loop paradox."
This is also something I would have liked. The first act seemed to move from set piece to set piece way too quickly. I would not want any more runtime but I feel like there was opportunity for better exposition dumps in the first and third acts.
I went and saw a screening of Inception last weekend and was amazed again at the amount of exposition that's pretty seamlessly integrated into that movie.
Also, I actually didn't notice the audio problems so many are complaining about. I'll consider myself fortunate.
The audio was bad for me too and I saw it in a drive in where I had my stereo system loud enough to hear it to my standards and yet still a lot of words where lost
shareI love Nolan but I agree 100%. The levels of pretentious complex plotting is way beyond passing it off as clever and subversive like Inception/Interstellar was. Tenet is a self-indulgent movie in the similar vain that Tarintinos Once upon a time in Hollywood is. Both are movies that are Nolan/Tarintino amped up to max level in a bad way.
shareIs there some OTHER way to tell a forward backwards time bender story? Love to hear your idea.
And stop saying "pretentious" without knowing the definition. Technically, EVERY movie is pretentious.
Completely agree, good analogy! He was just trying to do too much intellectual before stopping to think about if he should for a film?
shareI think you’d need to see it with closed captions as well as it was near impossible to follow the dialogue the first 15-20 minutes was of the movie due to those stupid masks.
I'm watching it right now for the first time. I like artsy crap that's hard to follow with no back story. I've watched all kinds of weird foreign stuff that doesn't even have subtitles or dubbing and still understood more about the story than this puddle of sewer water.
Here's my guess, in the future people mumble all the time and they want to send the mumbling back into the past to keep the mumbling going using a cube from "Portal" or something. Also, the glittery vampire guy is there.
That's literally all I understand. There's like a room where you go backwards and Kenneth Branagh yells at people sometimes. There's a magic box I guess and backwards bullets.
Seriously Nolan, get your shit together with audio mastering. It's like someone with a cold shoved a stocking in their own mouth, then put a blanket over their head and whispered nonsense words while banging two metal pans right in your ear.
I agree. I couldn't keep up with it!
shareHaven't seen it yet but from what i've heard about it I did get the impression that the a good tagline could have been something along the lines of "If you thought Inception was confusing...."
share