Imagine, if you will, sitting down for a cinematic adventure, popcorn in hand, only to find yourself two and a half hours later, none the wiser, no emotional strings tugged, and utterly bamboozled. Welcome to "Tenet," a film that sinks under the weight of its own complexity and a masterclass in how not to craft a thrilling spy story.
For the hopeful movie-goer seeking a rush of adrenaline and a gripping narrative, "Tenet" promises much but delivers little. The premise tantalizes with a twilight zone of espionage and a time-twisting technique known as "time inversion," but the promise of novelty quickly unravels into an overwrought mess. The heart of the issue? An over-complicated plot that feels like a maze with no exit. Forget about an exhilarating journey; "Tenet" feels more like homework, requiring a notepad, multiple viewings, and perhaps a degree in theoretical physics to fully grasp its ambitions. While complexity in a narrative can be a draw, when it leaves viewers in the dust, it's a clear miss.
But let's dissect the beast, shall we? Director Christopher Nolan, no stranger to bending minds and time, appears to have outsmarted himself. The story weaves an intricate web around its protagonist, cryptically named The Protagonist, who is thrust into a cryptic quest to save the world from an equally cryptic threat. The idea of time inversion, theoretically a rich soil for cultivating high-octane action set pieces and jaw-dropping moments, ends up as a convoluted gimmick that hinders more than it helps. It's as if the concept of being too clever for one's own good was personified and paraded for all to see.
As for the cast, they gallantly wade through the morass of Nolan's narrative. But alas, no matter the effort, they are but shadows flitting across the screen, never quite materializing into fully-formed individuals. It's hard to care about characters when they feel like pawns on a chessboard, moved hither and thither by the cold hand of the plot rather than by any discernible human motivation. The audience is left to wander a barren wasteland of character development, wondering who these people are and why they should matter at all.
The film saunters to its lengthy runtime, each minute feeling like an eternity, particularly as excitement is as scarce as a heartfelt conversation in its script. The set pieces and locations, which should have been the movie's saving grace, end up feeling as cold and lifeless as the narrative itself. The experience is akin to watching a lecture on the theoretical possibilities of time travel rather than being absorbed in a story with stakes, heart, and relatable characters.
In attempting to be a smart, mind-bending thriller, "Tenet" tries so hard that it stumbles over its own convolutions and lands face first into the realm of tedium. The ambition to create something genius winds up lost in a labyrinth of its own creation, leaving us with a film that is more of a ponderous puzzle than a compelling cinema experience. The bottom line? No story, no characters, no real movie - just an array of elaborate scenes stitched together in the hope of dazzling the intellect but failing to engage the heart or capture the imagination.
So, to the time-rich cinema enthusiasts eager to test their patience against a movie that seems to actively fight against its audience, "Tenet" might be a curious challenge. But for those wanting their time inverted to a moment before they started watching, "Tenet" will likely be a regrettable notch on the timeline—thus, a regrettable 2 out of 10.
