If there was one film that was going to put a halt to a pandemic then it was always going to be Tenet. A film so Earth-shattering in size and spectacle that people would pop on their masks, sanitise their little hands and sit one seat apart from everyone to experience the first blockbuster since corona came and ruined our lives.
Christopher Nolan tends to divide opinion with people thinking he's the next messiah of the film world or a pseudo-intellectual bore who places big set-pieces above multi-layered characters and a meaningful plot. I'm very much on the former side of the scale. I rarely give a film 10/10 but I have given every Nolan film this rating post The Prestige and therefore regard him as one of the greatest filmmakers of the 21st century.
Reviews for Tenet were decidedly mixed when previews were given to critics last Friday and so I did have some creeping doubts when I sat in front of the gigantic IMAX screen in Nottingham today. However, these doubts were put to rest within literally the first fifteen seconds of the film starting where I quickly realised that there was simply no experience quite like watching a thunderous Christopher Nolan film.
The plot is almost impossible for me to spoil because my teeny tiny brain could barely comprehend any of what was going on. It also didn't help that half of the dialogue was lost due to the booming score. Not sure if this was due to the cinema I saw it in or poor sound mixing which Nolan has been criticised for before, naughty man. Frankly, I didn't care. A clue is given early on by an exposition-friendly scientist character who tries to help us understand the whole time inversion basis of the film where she quips, 'Don't try to understand it. Just feel it.'
The concept does become slightly clearer as the film goes on, blowing our helpless minds in the process but it doesn't matter particularly. Part of the fun of watching a Christopher Nolan for the first time is getting as lost in the labyrinth of plot as the protagonist is. Inception and Interstellar felt almost as impenetrable upon first watch and have now been cracked thanks to multiple views and countless explanation videos on Youtube.
Even if you can't be bothered to think, you're bound to be in awe of the spectacle of it all. Nolan never does anything by halves and by Christ he's pulled out every stop for this film. There's a string of insane action sequences which had me scooping my jaw off the floor countless times. The behind the scenes extras are going to be fascinating because I still can't wrap my head around how half of these stunts were done.
Things only get more spectacular as the film goes on with sequences playing backward and forward sometimes at the same time. The intensity is also ramped up to 11 thanks to Ludwig Goransson's thumping, headache-inducing score. I was a little worried that things might feel a little odd with the absence of Hans Zimmer, but fear not, this is still the relentlessly thrilling Nolan blockbuster we all want be immersed in. It's a real cinematic experience which cannot be put into words.
Detractors are always going to find things to criticise. One review called it 'humourless' which I find a little bizarre. Do they really want Kenneth Branagh to perform a tap-dancing routine as he's plotting to destroy the world? In actual fact, I was surprised to find quite a few witty lines which allowed us to stop holding our breath and breathe for just a second or two. If I were to find any criticism with the film then it would be that Kenneth Branagh's character (although brilliantly played) is a bit of a two-dimensional villain. However, he's so memorably vile that I found myself actually being quite terrified of him.
During the explosive third act, my head was completely scrambled and I found myself wondering whether this whole film was the work of a genius or a madman. Who the heck could conjure up something this intricate and convoluted, yet remain so blissfully entertaining? What ever your opinion of Nolan you surely have to admire the sheer ambition and innovation he brings to the world of film. I can only imagine that the layers of Tenet's genius will be revealed upon multiple viewings and they're viewings that most of us are going to want to take. My head was completely spinning when I stepped outside into the real world. To sum Tenet up in a one-word palindrome, WOW!
Christopher Nolan tends to divide opinion with people thinking he's the next messiah of the film world or a pseudo-intellectual bore who places big set-pieces above multi-layered characters and a meaningful plot. I'm very much on the former side of the scale. I rarely give a film 10/10 but I have given every Nolan film this rating post The Prestige and therefore regard him as one of the greatest filmmakers of the 21st century.
Reviews for Tenet were decidedly mixed when previews were given to critics last Friday and so I did have some creeping doubts when I sat in front of the gigantic IMAX screen in Nottingham today. However, these doubts were put to rest within literally the first fifteen seconds of the film starting where I quickly realised that there was simply no experience quite like watching a thunderous Christopher Nolan film.
The plot is almost impossible for me to spoil because my teeny tiny brain could barely comprehend any of what was going on. It also didn't help that half of the dialogue was lost due to the booming score. Not sure if this was due to the cinema I saw it in or poor sound mixing which Nolan has been criticised for before, naughty man. Frankly, I didn't care. A clue is given early on by an exposition-friendly scientist character who tries to help us understand the whole time inversion basis of the film where she quips, 'Don't try to understand it. Just feel it.'
The concept does become slightly clearer as the film goes on, blowing our helpless minds in the process but it doesn't matter particularly. Part of the fun of watching a Christopher Nolan for the first time is getting as lost in the labyrinth of plot as the protagonist is. Inception and Interstellar felt almost as impenetrable upon first watch and have now been cracked thanks to multiple views and countless explanation videos on Youtube.
Even if you can't be bothered to think, you're bound to be in awe of the spectacle of it all. Nolan never does anything by halves and by Christ he's pulled out every stop for this film. There's a string of insane action sequences which had me scooping my jaw off the floor countless times. The behind the scenes extras are going to be fascinating because I still can't wrap my head around how half of these stunts were done.
Things only get more spectacular as the film goes on with sequences playing backward and forward sometimes at the same time. The intensity is also ramped up to 11 thanks to Ludwig Goransson's thumping, headache-inducing score. I was a little worried that things might feel a little odd with the absence of Hans Zimmer, but fear not, this is still the relentlessly thrilling Nolan blockbuster we all want be immersed in. It's a real cinematic experience which cannot be put into words.
Detractors are always going to find things to criticise. One review called it 'humourless' which I find a little bizarre. Do they really want Kenneth Branagh to perform a tap-dancing routine as he's plotting to destroy the world? In actual fact, I was surprised to find quite a few witty lines which allowed us to stop holding our breath and breathe for just a second or two. If I were to find any criticism with the film then it would be that Kenneth Branagh's character (although brilliantly played) is a bit of a two-dimensional villain. However, he's so memorably vile that I found myself actually being quite terrified of him.
During the explosive third act, my head was completely scrambled and I found myself wondering whether this whole film was the work of a genius or a madman. Who the heck could conjure up something this intricate and convoluted, yet remain so blissfully entertaining? What ever your opinion of Nolan you surely have to admire the sheer ambition and innovation he brings to the world of film. I can only imagine that the layers of Tenet's genius will be revealed upon multiple viewings and they're viewings that most of us are going to want to take. My head was completely spinning when I stepped outside into the real world. To sum Tenet up in a one-word palindrome, WOW!