"TENET" Review: The Rubik's Cube Of Movies
Have you ever wondered if a Rubik’s cube could be described as a movie? If you said yes, then I give you the equally perplexing and entertaining movie, TENET! Directed by Christopher Nolan, in his one of a kind, high quality, action-packed and gritty style! If you’ve experienced one of his prior films, (Dunkirk, Inception, The Dark Knight Trilogy, any one from his catalogue really) you can understand how watching a Nolan movie pulls you in immediately and keeps you feeling an ebb and flow of emotions. Honestly, the previews do this movie no justice.
The film starts with The Protagonist (John D. Washington) being selected for a mission that’s described as a job to prevent a Third World War. During this assignment he learns about inversion (a temporal anomaly which an event happens in reverse). For example, when he drops his gun in an inverse its actually him catching the gun. If that example left you perplexed, don’t worry, you’re in the right place. Throughout this assignment he meets Kat (Elizabeth Debicki), the wife of Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh) whom he must protect as she’s a key for saving the past from the future.
John D. Washington and Robert Pattinson’s characters have great chemistry, and their performances are ideal. Washington is a natural lead with Washington performing all his stunts. One of the flaws of the movie is that it was hard to hear some of the dialogue because of the fast-paced scenes and the music being overbearing at times.
This movie continuously keeps you on a rollercoaster ride to figure out what’s going on. As soon as you think you know where the film is headed, it dips in another direction. The cinematography of Nolan’s constant collaborator, Hoyte Van Hoytema, and production in this movie were top tier as expected. I predict a few Oscar nods. This is a well-crafted story that may take a couple of views to fully understand what you’ve seen. The IMAX experience is necessary for this film so I’d recommend seeing in theaters if you can or are willing to go in person (practice social distancing). When you walk out of the theater, you’ll feel as accomplished as if you finished a Rubik’s cube…or at least one side.
Rating: B+
