Movie Review - Tenet

It's nice to have new movies in theaters again, even if they aren't the films I was excited to see.

Tenet is a 2020 science fiction espionage film. It is rated PG-13 for language and violence and is appropriate for teens and up.

The Good

Entertaining. Despite its flaws, this movie is very entertaining and I enjoyed myself up to the end.

Robert Pattinson. I'm not a big fan of this actor, but he did a great job in this film adding much needed levity and rationality to an otherwise confusing and somewhat tense film where everyone else acts oh so seriously.

Unique Take on Time Travel. I'm sure this isn't an original take on time travel, but it's the first time I've seen or read it, so it was a nice change. It wasn't necessarily that clever, and I don't see people copying it like they did Star Wars or The Matrix, but it helped make the film more entertaining.

Not A Video Game. Christopher Nolan likes to do as much of the film in camera and with practical effects as possible, and it is really refreshing to watch a movie and not a video game (where most of the movie is created digitally).

The Bad

Protagonist. The protagonist in this film is very boring and not especially likeable. His character is never developed, and he doesn't do anything to make him especially heroic.

Pacing. Christopher Nolan has a bad habit of using a constant pace in all his films--the same pace for exposition as for action scenes. While it's fast enough it never drags, it also never has you at the edge of your seat.

Poor Storytelling. The plot and concept of the film is very simple. It's the poor storytelling that purposely obfuscates information and what is going on that is complicated--a contrived, forced complication.

Twist was Not So Twisty. All the twists and reveals being very meh, because the concept was pretty simple.

No Suspense. There was not a single instance in this film when I felt the protagonists might have a chance of losing, so there was never any real suspense or peril.

What I Would Like to Have Seen

I would have loved to have better action scenes, more suspense, and a more clever use of the unique concept. There are so many places the filmmakers could have gone, and they picked the most obvious ones.

Overall

Tenet is an entertaining science fiction espionage film. It offers a unique take on time travel, Rob Pattinson is an interesting character, and it's so nice to see a film and not a video game (meaning Christopher Nolan likes to do as much of the film in camera and with practical effects as possible, while most other movies rely too heavily on digital effects). Unfortunately, John David Washington is a very boring protagonist who is never developed and never does anything especially heroic, the pacing is very metered, the twists are not very clever, and there is never a moment you don't think the good guys will win. The plot and concept of the film is very simple. It's the poor storytelling that purposely obfuscates information and what is going on that is complicated--a contrived, forced complication. I would have loved to have better action scenes, more suspense, and a more clever use of the unique concept. There are so many places the filmmakers could have gone, and they picked the most obvious ones. I give this film 3 out of 5 boxes of popcorn.