Review of Tenet (2020) by Simonsrants — 16 Sep 2020

Disclaimer: It gets better with a second viewing.

My initial reaction to Tenet was to give it a 7/10, but on a second viewing I bumped it up to an 8/10. It's not Nolan's best work, but it's not his worst either - I'd rank it as probably his 6th best.

The visuals are amazing and the action is the best Nolan has ever directed. The music fits the scenes well and although not Hans Zimmer is still compelling and powerful. The idea behind the film is - as usual with Nolan - very intriguing and original. But why I refrain from giving this a perfect rating (keep in mind an 8/10 is quite good) is this is not his best written film. The exposition for the first hour or so of the film is rough. It's not entirely clear why what's happening is happening and I wish either it had been cut from the film and streamlined or had been given extra time to fully develop (which was unlikely to happen as convincing a studio to go longer than 2 1/2 hours is nearly impossible, even for Nolan) The characters are also not fleshed out well and the acting is only mediocre, although Kenneth Branagh stands out as the best.

Altogether, a very entertaining film. Imaginative, expansive, and uniquely Nolan. But for a director of such magnitude and reputation, it may disappoint some viewers. 8/10 is hardly a bad film and is in fact a very, very good one. But when perfection is expected, very good can be a letdown sometimes. Is that our fault for having such high expectations? Or Nolan's for having raised the bar so high in the past? Regardless, the second viewing is a superior experience for both understanding the plot and for having reset expectations.