Tenet – ★★★★★

Certificate – 12A
Directed By – Christopher Nolan
Starring – John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Kenneth Branagh, Dimple Kapadia, Arron-Tayler Johnson, Clémence Poésy, Himesh Patel, Michael Caine.
Running Time – 150 Minutes (2 Hours 30 Minutes)

The last film I saw in the cinema was The Hunt back in March, but once cinemas reopened there was only one movie I wanted to make my first trip to London and the first film to see in the cinema was going to be.

I’m incredibly happy I waited for Tenet because MY GOD!! WHAT A MOVIE!!

What Is Tenet About?

Right so this isn’t easy, but I’ll give it a go.

Armed with only one word – Tenet – and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist (Washington) journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real-time.

Not time travel. Inversion.

I hope this helped you understand the film a little.

Is It Any Good?

You need to see this film at the cinema!! It is a true experience that needs to be seen on the biggest screen you possibly have at your local.

I’ve seen other reviews confused by what Nolan was creating, but as an idiot, I let the film take me on the journey. It was clear the mastermind filmmaker use James Bond as it’s base before Nolaning it up to create something original.

The Bond comparisons start right from the beginning and continue with Washington’s performance. He brought me in with his incredibly charming persona, yet while trying to be the good guy will do ruthless things to achieve the goal.

Washington is the closest thing we’ll ever get to an American Bond, and I can’t wait to see more from him and his career.

I loved the supporting performances, especially Pattinson’s Neil and Debicki as Kat. Pattinson is even more charming then Washington and has this area of sex appeal that never comes to a character called Neil.

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Meanwhile, as for Debicki, I was worried it did look like she’d be a typical damsel in distress and it would’ve been a waste of this incredibly talented actress. Instead, we got a layered character who becomes the hero of her own story.

Speaking of the story, as I said I’m an idiot but I could get the gest of it by the end of it that using and bending time you can create a new reality and by flipping time you get opposite results.

Instead of shooting a bullet, when you pull the trigger, you’re catching it. It’s just a lot of “wibbly, wobbly, timey, wimey… stuff” to quote Doctor Who.

Throughout the whole film, I was in pure awe of what Nolan had created with the action set pieces and fight scenes that he has again taken the Bondness of it but made it even bigger and bolder. I can think of three that genuinely caught my eye being the opening scene, the Freeport fight scene and the car chase.

Finally, this film is helped massively by Hoyte van Hoytema’s cinematography and Ludwig Göransson’s incredible score.

It’s a classic global trotting spy action movie that I can’t wait to see again and would welcome a Tenet trilogy.

Anything Bad About The Film?

While I loved some of the supporting performances, I could never get into Branagh’s villain, and I think it was the Russian accent. While they flush out his backstory, I think it might’ve worked better if he stuck to his normal voice it would’ve been more menacing.

That’s about it really.

Verdict

Nolan delivers a movie of spectacle, jaw-dropping awe and masterful filmmaking with fantastic performances from Washington, Pattinson and Debicki. If you can see this film in a cinema with the biggest screen possible.