Tenet (2020)

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Armed with only one word -- Tenet -- and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time. (imdb)

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Directed By: Christopher Nolan

Written By: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh, Martin Donovan, Dimple Kapadia, Robert Pattinson, Clémence Poésy, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Debicki, John David Washington, Denzil Smith, Himesh Patel, Anthony Molinari

Genres: Sci-fi, Suspense/Thriller, Action

Country: UK, USA

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Tenet belongs to 34 collections

1. Time Travel (public: moderated by mpowell - 42 stars)

2. Intellectual Sci-Fi (public: moderated by BeeDub - 17 stars)

3. Most-ranked film of each year (on Criticker) (public: moderated by nauru - 13 stars)

4. Films available in HD (public: moderated by kubricksucks - 12 stars)

5. #1 at the US Box Office (public: moderated by BeeDub - 10 stars)

6. Car chase (public: moderated by iconogassed - 8 stars)

7. Spy (public: moderated by djross - 8 stars)

8. Plane crash (public: moderated by djross - 3 stars)

9. Oscar: Best Visual Effects (public: moderated by BeeDub - 3 stars)

10. Car Crash (public: moderated by Bojangles - 2 stars)

11. 2021 Academy Awards: Nominated Feature Films (public: moderated by joel-w-m - 2 stars)

12. 4k Ultra HD discs (public: moderated by dumbjaw - 1 star)

13. British director (public: moderated by iconogassed - 1 star)

14. Available on Divicast (public: moderated by Dunstan-xxx)

15. DtC Doubling the Canon 2023 Nominees (public: moderated by lineuphere)

16. Big-time Hollywood science fiction (private: djross - 7 stars)

17. Best by different standards (private: sesito71 - 5 stars)

18. Annual top 5 worldwide box office, 1975 - 2021 (private: djross - 1 star)

19. jeff_h's films to remember (private: jeff_h)

20. My Movie Collection (private: elhenzo)

21. Black Men Can't Jump in Hollywood Podcast (private: TychoCelchuu)

22. Laptop (private: Jason212)

23. SEEN IN CINEMA (private: wicked치킨)

24. seen in 2020 (private: sproost)

25. 2020-2022 (private: cash)

26. Dämon 2020 (private: caffe)

27. 78th Golden Globe Awards: Nominated (2021) ~d~ (private: 5Z5qjRCfM2)

28. 2021 Oscar (private: Ozancan)

29. Jona cdtjes (private: medium123)

30. C-Snacks (private: cantahta)

31. Oscars 2020-2021 Winners (private: truman.rose)

32. Con Belle (private: midwinter)

33. unwatched (private: normalman)

34. Blu-ray Collection (private: TripEuphoric)

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All Ratings | With Reviews

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TCI | Percentile | Date Rated | # Stars (Reviews)

Stars	User	Rating
21	frederic_g54	6 _35%
No way to judge this movie properly before a 17th viewing, which - while undeniably jam-packed with entertainment value - will undoubtedly leave me equally perplexed and frustrated. Maybe instead of wasting $250M on a single movie, Warner should allow 25 singular voices to make a $10M movie that has something interesting to say, but Nolan fanboys out there aren't ready for that conversation.
21	Seethruskin	3 _25%
You know there's some people in this movie offscreen that were taking shits and when time gets inverted it goes back up their ass.
16	Barthalen	65 _45%
[A half-naked, unkempt man falls out of a turnstile wearing a breathing mask] "You.. you guys! I spent 11 months traveling back in time to tell you not to get too hyped up about Tenet; the premise is definitely cool but only the middle third really does fun stuff with it, the rest is either exposition or character stuff you won't care abo- ...what do you mean, it's 2021? What do you mean, gone from Criticker since october last year? Wait, this turnstile wasn't even turned on?!? GODDAMNMOTHERF-"
15	BeeDub	92 _84%
Way better than all the miserable bastards on this site are saying. But then, I watched it with subtitles.
13	guy piranha	65 _53%
One of these rare occasions, when everybody in the room just sits there, shifting uncomfortably, until nolan finally breaks the dead silence by muttering apologetically: "well, it made sense in my head."
12	bof	56 _34%
I don't get it. My head hurts. Not from the time travel stuff, that's all pretty neat (if superficial popcorn) and I think it all shakes out. But how can you pour this much money, this much hype and this much left-brain thought into a movie, and yet have your characters constantly deliver lines that would have sounded stiff and clichéd in a 1989 Dolph Lundgren movie? ...I don't get it.
11	LordBeefJerk	50 _35%
An uttely schizofrenic experience. Too fast and too slowly paced at the same time. Boring and exciting at the same time. Confusing yet shallow. Some things were consequent throughout - it was utterly mechanical and devoid of any emotion. Nolan really needs to hire someone to fix his dialogue - he's kinda turning into the new George Lucas in this area.
11	Bown	78 _49%
The most Nolan of Nolan’s movies to date - there’s basically nothing in the way of genuine emotion, the concepts are more heady than ever, and the one major female character is a waste of her performer’s talent. But the spectacle and ideas behind the action scenes are still fantastic and the cinematography, score, and performances are top-notch. Editing is either amazing (when it’s on some backwards shit) or comically rushed (every dialogue scene). Among his worst, but still a good time.
10	Leonardis	89 _62%
The biggest issue here is some of the sound editing. There are moments in here I couldn't hear anything anyone was saying because the music and sound effects were so loud. I caught everything much more easily the second time and ended up liking the move quite a bit anyway. I'm not sure why so many are confused. I found it to be complex but fairly easy to follow. The effects and action are stellar and the acting, directed, and music are all solid. Not perfect, but very entertaining.
10	KasperL	80 _86%
Sports the boldest action since 'Fury Road' and one the most mind-bending sci-fi concepts since 'Primer', both of which its plot structure shares huge similarities with. The ambitious filmmaking and a cool and very charismatic turn by Pattinson rock, but I found JDW annoying and Branagh's performance too caricatured, even for a Bond villain. My future self might very well extrapolate something brilliant about the seemingly underdeveloped "back"story, but I don't see this cracking my Nolan top 3.
10	juntakinte99	50 _9%
Before starting I closed my eyes & imagined the future Nolan had in store. I guessed we'd see a Bond heist opening, a woman who exists only as a hero's motivation, the super rich in suits, oddly mixed technical exposition, and an ending action set piece crosscut around 3 locations. And while Nolan did his greatest hits, his usual fusion of high concepts with grounded human drama is missing. Branagh makes no sense as he should be more mad at his future handlers than the world. Avoid at all costs.
10	Paxton	69 _56%
I have a lot to say about this movie, and almost all of it is, "What?"
8	NothingsGood	25 _14%
The fact that the main character is named "The Protagonist" says everything you need to know about Christopher Nolan's view of the role of human beings in his stories. Nolan wants to direct Bond movies so freaking bad.
8	jthusky	56 _32%
A slightly-above-average blockbuster that thinks it's God's gift to cinema. There are a few individual shots that give away everything the movie's trying to keep secret, which is kinda damning. John David Washington is good but miscast, and the rest of the cast is doing lukewarm Bond archetypes. Robert Pattinson's the only one who manages to shine. Of Nolan's "time" films, this is one of the weakest.
8	ADragon91	55 _41%
I appreciated some of the action sequences and stunt work that was done in Tenet. However, the story didn't really grab me as much as I had initially hoped and I didn't feel I got an emotional connection with any of the characters. I was scratching my head on how the reverse/inverse gimmick worked. The acting is pretty solid, but no one blew me away. There were many scenes where you couldn't hear what the characters were saying because the music was so loud. One of Nolan's weakest movies.
7	eCitizen	45 _40%
How to make a taught thriller? Write a paradoxical script, then toss it into a food processor. I imagine this is how this movie got so chopped up and convoluted. I really wanted to love it, but the bad decisions were never-ending. The awful overblown music makes you want to burn your speakers. I call bullshit on this Hollywood paint-by-the-numbers production that used only black paint. Expensive slick excrement. Overall, I was moderately entertained but ultimately disappointed.
7	iconogassed	50 _26%
Less big loud Robbe-Grillet than big loud dour DUCK AMUCK: what if I do _this_ to a fight scene? how about _this_ to a car chase? a full-scale firefight? Still exciting in the same ways? New ones? Are you, our "fresh-faced protagonist", able to absorb, or forget, or disregard, the compound exposition, "not to think about it, but feel it"? Problem is, Kenneth Branagh as a Russian mobster are six of the most boring words in existence. A Russian mobster as Kenneth Branagh, though...
7	FrederikA	70 _67%
In essence a fairly ordinary spy action film, with several great set-pieces (one car chase in particular) spread out through a familiar tale. As for the time traveling: the word "Entropy" does a lot of the heavy lifting explaining it (which I'm fine with) and as a novel gimmick it works wonderfully, but the "Schrödinger's cat" logic of it, creates a deterministic undercurrent to the story, which kind of goes against the whole premise of actively trying to change the past... right?
7	sellis	58 _23%
Nolan hasn’t written a definable character/performance since Heath Ledger’s Joker. What awful dialogue here. I bought the ticket for the images, and those did not disappoint. For a movie whose every line of dialogue is a bland effort to explain to us what’s going on, I had no idea what was going on by the end. Inception made sense and was over-explained; I honestly prefer not understanding
6	EbelC	50 _28%
One of the things that made Inception and Interstellar engage despite the aspects that could confuse the audience was that you cared about the characters and their goals. In this case you really don't care too much about anyone (flat and dull characters), you don't really get their intentions and nothing really makes much sense. Quite boring also. Will still rewatch once for the good old times with Nolan, but my expectations are really low about a second viewing changing anything.
6	Mentaculus	76 _64%
I'll like this film in the long run, the same way I enjoy reading obscure PhD theses. This film is just as imaginative and preoccupied with proving itself, with what I call Thesis Masturbation. Here, an idea as simple as, "Your mission, if you choose to accept it," becomes, "The physical projection understood as yourself as it anticipates to comprehend the multifarious commission presented forthwith, insomuch understood by the illusion of the personal selection of all probabilities..."
6	RuruSmasher	80 _35%
The most authentic Nolan movie is The Prestige, about magician showmen distracting the audience and that completely describes his filmmaking. Such is Tenet too, a demonstration of distracting (yet dazzling) spectacle and intriguing concepts that don't really hold up, because they are not grounded in any interesting character stakes - other than an abstract saving of the world. Loved Rob Pattinson's performance, he is that charming. The best moment of this was a woman jumping out of a boat.
6	Luna6ix	74 _47%
A decent action movie, but a puzzlingly and ineptly convoluted sci-fi movie. At this point it seems like Nolan is trying to to copy his own successes with "Inception" and "Interstellar", but has run out of good ideas. Yet still, with the sizable budgets he commands, it was bound to look good anyway.
5	wicked치킨	77 _74%
Beard Envy: The Movie
5	bowfinger	65 _59%
The greatest trick Nolan ever pulled was convincing everyone they could understand his movies in one viewing. Nolan: hacking the box office system since 2001.
5	bolivar	65 _35%
at the core a simple bond-esque story with a cheesy villain and a completely uncharismastic main character that Nolan tries to hide under incredibly over-wrought time travel nonesense.
5	DavidBlast	60 _54%
.weiver siht sa ykcimmig sa ebannaw dnoB semaJ A
5	JSchlansky	34 _13%
Christopher Nolan is slowly turning into a pseudo-intellectual Michael Bay. Tenet isn't half as smart as it thinks it is; being obtuse is not the same thing as being clever. Some of the worst audio mixing I've heard in a while. You'll be riding that volume control like an unruly mule. And the constantly changing aspect ratio really chaps my ass. This is like if Annihilation was dropped on its head as a child. If you want Christopher Nolan filming things in reverse, stick to Memento.
5	JackRyan2014	70 _75%
Doctor Strange's time reversal end sequence but over an entire film. The main cast have screen presence but lack characterisation and seemly act due to needs of the often hard to fully understand plot. The sound mixing is frequently poor with story critical dialogue missed due to muffled voices or overly loud ambient noise. However the concepts shown are thought provoking and the multiple set piece action scenes are very well executed. Often entertaining but flawed Tenet is a lesser Nolan movie.
5	natebarrios	60 _30%
you can tell Christopher Nolan had a week of non-stop Bond movies and Modern Warfare on the Xbox with his boys and he was just like 'yooo!!!!!! I fuckin' got something!'
5	HiResDes	76 _63%
It's very much like a spiritual successor to Inception. You'll love it if you can deal with even more convoluted plot devices. Nolan definitely has a found a niche relying on confusion to create mystery. He acknowledges his plot holes and tries to subvert them by posing them as philosophical conundrums. None of the central characters in Tenet are given much background or context. Their motivations come to fruition at the denouement and thus seem rather tacked on and emotionally disingenuous.
5	djross	45 _34%
Remake of DÉMOLITION D'UN MUR, which shows that reversing the arrow of time has been a cinematic potential from the outset. That Nolan has little interest in psychology and conceives his films as puzzles doesn't bother this viewer: he clearly loves trying to dazzle the audience with new ideas and new kinds of images. The problem is his Bond fetish: running and shooting are hardly new and the endless parade of it here eventually wears down the viewer's willingness to pay the necessary attention.
4	mattorama12	85 _94%
I have to say I'm a little surprised at the hate this is getting. Like many (most?) of Nolan's movies, the big sci fi ideas and action set pieces are the stars, and it doesn't do anything especially interesting in examining the human condition. But I thought the actual sci-fi elements were just as good as any of his other movies, and hardly the huge flaming mess that most people seem to believe it is. Sure there are paradoxes and plot holes, but that is baked into any time manipulation story.
4	d_r_e_s_	3 _65%
More ambitious than Interstellar and Inception. Not necessarily a bad thing, however it's also less ingestible than the other two. Either Nolan expects more of his viewers nowadays or the script simply lacks a final touch. I think it's the latter, although a second viewing might clear A LOT of question marks. Not impressed by Washington. Pattinson however, was a clear highlight! This hasn't changed the fact that Nolan is still the director I am looking most forward to releasing new movies. *Good
4	thegreyfox	40 _12%
"OK, lets introduce the protagonist by getting him to blow up a theatre full of people, that should get people interested, then we can introduce the idea of a palindromic word and hand gesture ... and never refer to either again!" "Oh, that will make people think we are really smart, Chris, wont it?".."Oh sure, then we will use the same set pieces we had for Inception, but just reverse them; no one will know, then lets get everyone to mumble so no-one will be completely sure the story is bonkers
4	MontyCircus	20 _11%
My main "Tenet" thought is that I understood about 20% of the film's dialogue, as much of it is Kenneth Branaugh talking in an indecipherable Russian accent and multiple people mumbling through oxygen/gas masks while a droning thumping score drowns out even quiet dinner and hotel room scenes. I strongly suggest waiting to see it with subtitles at home.
4	TheEscapist	68 _40%
Decent, but the script needs more work. The premise is interesting, but it's mostly wasted on silly clichés. The one dimensional caricature villain with Russian accent, the only major female protagonist only caring about her son 'because she is a mother', the main protagonist going to immense trouble and neglecting the fate of the world and many others by choosing to try and save a woman he hardly knows. I just didn't buy it and I think sci-fi should be a lot better thought out than this.
4	Ajayw	66 _39%
Dialogue and acting was subpar throughout. Subject matter is too dense for just one viewing, but lack of character depth will keep you from seeking a second watch. Great, over the top gimmicks are what you'd expect from Nolan at this point in his career. Feels more like The Matrix and Batman as imagined by Michael Bay than the cerebral Bond film it wants to be.
4	moviepatrick	20 _0%
An attempt at thought provoking sci-fi through exposition dumps and a poorly structured story. It has underdeveloped characters and motivations and an embarrassing example of "men writing women." For a movie that relies on exposition, you would think they would properly mix the audio for the dialogue to be audible. By the time all is revealed after the story has been told twice, you don't really care.
4	Sadman	85 _81%
As a person who constantly over-analyzes the movies I watch, this was such a great experience. My brain started to melt trying to wrap my head around the plot and I was left to just enjoy the awe-inspiring spectacle that was presented to me. I was giddy at every second of action. The "human" part of the story fell a little flat, especially Debicki and Branagh. Fortunately, Pattinson brings his A-game and has the absolute best character to play with.
4	DolphinSpurs	75 _36%
I wanted to write this review both forward and backward and forward both review this write to wanted I. Another of those Nolan movies where I'm sure a second viewing will elucidate it, but I'm getting tired of having to have a PhD in 5 different disciplines to "get" a movie. Also the audio mix seems to be purposefully bad which takes away from a lot of the exposition and leaves the audience even more confused. it was gorgeously shot though.
4	Greener	57 _25%
The first half is boring and the second half is too complex. Being complex might not be a huge problem in itself, but its too fast pace makes it unable for viewers to swallow what they've just seen. This frustration keeps piling up, and by the time the movie reaches the last battle, we all just give up.
4	Anomaly	66 _41%
Nolan does a good job keeping the reversed fights comprehensible, and with a little mental effort the plot, too. But that effort also lays bare the film's deep problem, which is that there's nothing really there. No human element, no grand reveal, no feelings of awe or inspiration. The final action sequence is a big blur of gunfire not worth ending on. The sound mix is also a big negative. Nolan claims that he's being impressionistic, but he is no impressionist. Play to your strengths, dude.
4	christof	86 _82%
You can only understand this film properly if you watch it both forwards and backwards simultaneously.
4	joel-w-m	7 _64%
Couldn't hear half the dialogue and only understood half of the rest, but it's a testament to Nolan's ambitious and undeniably exciting brand of filmmaking that I was on the edge of my seat throughout regardless: the espionage plot and sci-fi concept are both confusing but compelling, the action is brilliant, the technical aspects top notch. It's a shame the only emotion is found in yet another Russian villain and a simply modernized damsel-in-distress (Debicki's turn remains excellent though).
4	siphus007	74 _45%
Certainly ambitious and admirable, but on a first watch comes across jarring, convoluted, and filled with exposition.
4	EastonD	50 _34%
The film equivalent of running a marathon to get to the gym to use the treadmill. At least I got my cardio in.
4	Neonman	76 _52%
A bold concept for a high-budget non-franchise blockbuster is nothing new for Nolan, and the arithmetic of his plotting is as impressive as ever, but oddly enough makes the story more exciting than the action (the final action scene looks like a multiplayer shooting game). He fills out the film with intricate plot details, fitting no room for psychological musings or an uncliched villain, but this is a ride of a film that pushes at the boundaries of the medium's possibilities.
3	sebby	40 _15%
At this point I'm inclined to believe the increasingly poor sound mixing in Nolan's films is some kind of elaborate troll attempt.
3	Kavu	85 _85%
Even with all its flaws it's just so darn entertaining and just smart enough to pull it off.
3	nuotio	65 _83%
A bit conflicted on this: it takes courage to do a big budget film with a concept that will go way over head head for many. Technically this is quality work and there are multiple great action scenes. Script is more like a carefully planned technical plan with little room for emotions. Characters are merely instruments; we don't really know why Debicki's character was so important for the protagonist. For a Finn, it was also a bit weird to see big action scenes set in Estonia.
3	vgnpwrz	45 _31%
This is just a so-so movie. I liked the ingenuity and cleverness in places but even connecting the dots, it has shit dialogue and lightweight characters… C-
3	cagedwisdom	100 _90%
Nolan's strength is definitely not exposition. But he is the king of the modern high-concept blockbuster. There are some struggles but it comes together and in the end it just works, every time. The action set pieces and to be honest entire final act are a completely engaging joy. Leave your disbelief suspended at the door and you're in for a ride.
3	vahidtr	69 _52%
A few years ago, if tenet had been made as a video game, it would have been a masterpiece. that's all I can say.
3	twincinema	70 _53%
If you watch this film and try not to keep up with the mechanics of what is actually happening, then this is enjoyable. It's a beautiful looking action film that I had to watch with subtitles because the dialogue was so muffled. I also like that Nolan had to add emotional stakes to this film, so he just had a woman continually adding, "but my son!!", every 15 minutes.
3	BadFurDay	6 _59%
Many bruh moments throughout this movie. It's like a crossover between Inception and Primer, but sadly lacks the best of both. Still, a decently enjoyable watch, you can tell a lot of effort went into writing the script and assembling all the little chekov's guns littered everywhere. Of note: the most surprising in all these twists and turns is that Pattinson is a legit actor now. The curse is broken. Good surprise.
3	capodelnulla	50 _22%
is this supposed to be a parody? because it's funny, but not that funny. also, i'm beginning to think the only reason for nolan's advocacy for theatre experience is the deafening bass. without it, "the magic" doesn't work. a script that works like a video game lore (not a jab at games), critical plot holes, boring direction, and a second half spelling out everything to fix the messiness of the first one...
3	zwyk	65 _45%
The action sequences on the second half of the movie where past and present are more identifiable are very interesting; the idea about the reason to end the world in certain moments sound convincing, in other moments artificial. A very rigid storytelling style (specially on dialogue scenes), the scenes that try explain and make the narrative go on with a constant didactic tone, plain characters with equally uniteresting acting - a huge production with great ambition but with little soul.
3	Tavington	1 _11%
Mess of a 1000 cuts and poor character development. There are so many movies that use time travel way, way better. Action scenes are nice to see but this is only redeeming thing. And Nolan can make movies more than just a set of action clips.
3	Hofschneider	70 _30%
I care so little about this, I'm not even angry. Also, was the opera opening the worst setpiece in Nolan's body of work?
3	Obdurate	70 _40%
Opening is great. Cool mystery, unraveling it is fun. Time travel is used well sometimes to create some great action set pieces. Hard to understand what's going on, difficult to care too; poorly written dialogue ("I'm the protagonist") that is hurt by the sound mixing; no real characters; story sometimes too convoluted and dry/cold, attempting to be smart. Not boring, maybe a little too long, but ultimately good enough. Music/ambience sounds great, even though it muffles dialogue.
3	Bunyas	72 _66%
Original and interesting idea, as expected from Nolan, but not a smart movie this time! It's not plausible, not even in it's own sci-fi standarts.. Tenet fails to sell it's main plot to convince the audience! It can't explain well enough what at stake and how! But it makes also a great watch at the parts when and where it can deliver, at the parts we get it and somehow attached to it.. :) p.s.: Some cuts from one scene to scene/scences trasition were odd. So rapidly changes distracted me!
3	amazedemon	72 _86%
Like many Nolan films, Tenet is a concept-heavy film often at the expense of meaningful character development; nevertheless it remains an engaging film throughout. Between exposition and action set pieces, Nolan raises several questions through the visuals only to answer them 5 minutes later. The plot is fairly easy to understand, though the mechanics do make you think; and after a single watch I'm unsure if it's logistically brilliant or masking several plot-holes.
3	lofisofi	51 _48%
i think the less nolan tries to make sense, the better he actually is
3	Stewball	60 _28%
I've been a big fan of Christopher Nolan, especially with his superb efforts like The Dark Knight, Inception and Interstellar. And I've been looking forward to this for almost a year. But my first theater experience since Covid was something of a disappointment due to both conceptual and technical problems that interfered with presenting a coherent story. From the opening sequence in the concert hall (which they never really explain), to problems with understanding the dialogue due t [Full Review]
3	Corbad	75 _67%
There is spectacle and there is reward, but the frenetic pace (forced by a completely unnecessary first act) is not helped by incomprehensible writing; there is never time for a satisfying "Aha!" moment before the next enigma crashes onto screen. Throw in a trademark lack of character and a woman without agency (Debicki almost makes it work) and the spectacle is really all that's left to enjoy during the experience itself, and I don't think it was enough. Messy.
3	michaels	40 _16%
Congratulations to Christopher Nolan for making me feel like a complete fucking idiot because I had no idea what was going at least half of the time. Visually it's quite impressive but confusing overall.
2	A.borjali	15 _0%
Nolan's latest movie is one of his worst. An exaggerated film whose only purpose is to complicate the viewer, but I wish he could do it with cinema. These ambiguities are created only by the chaotic and crowded montage and a series of theoretical dialogues, and no cinema is seen in it. Also, we do not see any coherent story during the film and the events of the film do not form a script at all. There is no characterization in the film, the protagonist character is not made at all and is not beli
2	ajmurad	30 _4%
Christopher Nolan... I am begging you... stop writing scripts...
2	whatisitisee	80 _80%
amazing as a parody
2	julescoco	78 _23%
very mind-fuck kind of movie, i had to concentrate to really understand what was going which is what made this movie so good. It kept my attention at all times. Sometimes the pacing was a little too quick (felt rushed) for me to understand but definitely a good watch. The characters are underdeveloped but not really important in the long run. overall not as bad as people made it seem like as long as you pay attention and stick with it, it will make sense in the end.
2	peyrin	65 _42%
I liked the first half where it was clear Nolan just burned money on whatever setpieces he thought looked cool. Exploding 747! Floating sailboats! Four trucks boxing in a car! Second half is a little too "rulebook cinema" to me. Feels like it's not made to be enjoyed in the moment but for drawing diagrams and spotting tiny details later.
2	nobamba	50 _45%
Great effects and sound. I just lost track of the plot about 1/3 of the way through and never really bothered to catch up. Good acting by all. Fav scenes: hallway fight with the inverted the first time; battlefield with mines going off and buildings exploding backwards.
2	radumsmn	61 _25%
Imagine having so much power over a studio that you have final say in budget, script, casting and cut. You fine tune your movies so they look and sound best in IMAX. You have some of the best actors in your amazing (at least to you) scripts. You brought several (!) billions profit to your studio for a solid 20 years. You prepare an exquisite plot for the undeserving peasants, and what do you get? They stream your movie like it's some Cuaron B&W drama on Netflix! Who are you? You're Nolan, bitch!
2	NickTheo	85 _78%
If Nolan does two things very well is one create an epic spectacle and two confuse the hell out of you.It's so hard to follow this movie not just because of the confusing premise but also because there is a lot of information thrown at you and not enough time to process it.That being said it contains some of the most expertly crafted and memorable set-pieces that are accompanied by an incredible score and cinematography.Pattinson after his amazing performance in The Lighthouse shines once again.
2	Letterdief	78 _46%
I like the reversal idea but it falls apart quickly when you start paying attention to it. The reversal even doesn't obey the rules the movie tells the viewer about (like newton law), because midway you can see two groups of helicopters both flying straight while one should be in reversal. I think this is laziness from the director or maybe he does not care or take it all too serious and just wants to prove amusement to the masses. It is amusing, but not immersive.
2	Omid Ranjbar	32 _20%
???? ????? ????? ??????? ???? ????. ???? ???? ???? ????? ????????? ????? ??? ???? ??. ????? ????? ?? ????????? ??? ???? ?? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ???.
2	jarno	30 _68%
Elevated by Göransson's excellent score.
2	tblighe	10 _4%
Standard car chase/shoot-em-up but some of the bullets go backwards and the plot doesn't even attempt to make sense.
2	orcunyondem	98 _97%
Think linear and say "this movie doesn't make any sense", boo-hoo.
2	JLFM	86 _91%
If I'm being completely honest, I can't begin to understand what's going on in most of this film, but that almost couldn't matter less. Nolan delivers dazzling set-pieces (easily among the best of his career) and thrilling big ideas (both conceptually and thematically) that left me feeling completely giddy from start-to-finish. I thought Ludwig Göransson's score worked fabulously as well, supplying much of the action with furious rhythmic energy and bringing a sleek sense of cool.
2	doyler29	80 _63%
I like this film, but it must be the most densely plotted film I have ever seen, almost comically so ... it barrels through so much plot in the first half at an astonishing pace giving the audience minimal time to catch up. The plot is structured in a way that mirrors the structure of events in the film. If it had provided more in the first half of the film, it would have been too much.
2	DyanneThorne	70 _64%
Maybe I'll like this better when I see it again with the added experience of having seen it before. Maybe I'll like it less. I was entertained and all the timey-wimey-wibbly-wobbly stuff was confusing in the fun way. But damn, did the rest of the movie feel tropey and underdeveloped. Especially Kat, who seemed like a placeholder character who the writers just totally forgot to develop until it was too late.
2	plvenice	7 _48%
I wanted to love this movie so bad, but it was so self-indulgent and didn't take care to guide the audience through the ground rules for this universe.
2	Dakota99	6 _62%
This is a weird one. Tenet is a movie you're gonna have to watch multiple times to fully understand it's concept. It's constant moving pace also makes it hard to keep up, especially for a film so driven on exposition. Washington is great in this, however this movie is shallow in character development, and people feel like pawns to move the plot for It's highlights, which are the mind blowing cinematography and score which make this a fun and intense time. Solid, but incredibly flawed.
2	baseballs	65 _35%
Fun action spectacle thing. Writing is deliberately convoluted but it's all just surface level plot stuff so whatever just go with it. It's puzzle box filmmaking with basically nothing in terms of character or theme which are what I normally care about but it was entertaining enough to hold my attention anyway.
2	schnofel	74 _82%
With how many bespoke suits do Washington and Patterson travel? I want to see them packing and ironing this stuff, so they can look immaculate when confronted with seething "Russian" Branagh who has the fate of time in his hands. What I'm saying is that it is quite preposterous, so what if buildings are exploding and de-exploding in the background? It looks dizzying, it moves, I'm thrilled by the technology. It's an agent film with all the proper beats, and sometimes it turns into art collage.
2	Kebapche	70 _34%
Nolan should do a Bond film
2	letskillrobots	27 _80%
I think where Interstellar and Inception used their time-bent-ness as a side point in favor of an emotional pull, Tenet switched the two. A lot of crazy visuals but it kind of feels like seeing a magic trick: you're amazed at first but once you figure it out it's kind of like... "oh, duh, okay" without being left with a strong connection to the film. I don't fault Nolan for wanting to try something extreme but certainly the accessibility here is at an all-time low for his movies.
2	coffee	35 _8%
Nope... not this time. No!
2	Calexico	90 _91%
An excellent movie. Remarkable, balletic stunt and action scenes reminiscent of Claire Denis's Beau Travail. An interesting, puppet-like performance by Washington. Best of all is the cryptic, rhythmic dialogue paired with the industrial soundtrack, creating a unique musical-poetic-cinematic atmosphere. The plot is hard to follow and probably bloated but it's a forgivable indulgence.
2	aethewulf	67 _32%
First theater experience since Covid and it was kind of disappointment for Nolan, yet it is not a bad movie.
2	Cowman	80 _88%
Amazing action and soundtrack. Beautifully choreographed, mind-boggling fight scenes accompanied by an intense soundtrack. Too much exposition and explanation is annoying and often unintentionally funny. Keep supernatural events mysterious next time. The whole subplot with the arm's dealer's wife was lost on me. Why would we care about this kind of person?
2	isitfallacy	60 _46%
Enjoyable as a spectacle, and the time "travel" mechanics interesting to try to wrap your head around. Messy as a movie though, and the characters are pretty dull. They're not dull enough to make it a deal-breaker for me, but it's still impossible to care about them.
2	tenhas	50 _17%
TONOT
2	dunetails	85 _84%
I enjoy it quite a lot, it's not as intelligible as Inception though. Grasping what they're trying to do on a technical level is hard plot wise. I'm sure it all tracks, but god damn can Nolan get a decent sound mix for once, especially on a movie with as much exposition as this that's hard to hear because of music and ambient noise. It's basically a sci-fi James Bond.Technically brilliant, but the usual Nolan criticism of lack of character development and too much exposition(FWIW I like that)
2	Gideon	2 _59%
So the trick Nolan likes to pulll more and more is to make a mediocre film but drowned in 'NNNGGHUUUUUHHHH!!!!!' sound all of the goddamn time. That shit doesn't make your film more impressive, just more annoying. Nolan's worst.
2	TheRealJ-Ro	70 _42%
Take away the time gimmick and I'm afraid that this is a standard-issue Mission:Impossible movie. Tenet lacks the fantastic hook of Inception or the narrative qualities of the Nolanverse Batman movies, while still certainly delivering on the visuals. The sound design also leaves something to be desired, but the charismatic cast does their best with this dense (thick) material, anchored by perhaps the best Robert Pattinson performance I've ever seen. A second watch will certainly help me out.
2	Ytadel	6 _69%
I’ve always pretty firmly rejected the Christopher Nolan backlash bandwagon but even I do have to admit that some accusations against him ring true here - a fascination with gimmicks over character; trickery over storytelling, with a heap of rough audio mixing on top. But all that said, man... some of those gimmicks are pretty neat. Final military assault act I think shows Nolan as a good left field pick if they ever do a Call of Duty Modern Warfare film adaptation.
2	mindvr	40 _17%
Was it Nolan's bet for most nonsensical scenario? Absurd game rules, useless damsel in distress.
2	Duder	60 _40%
* Yeah, Nolan does not break his trend of style over matter. Sadly, not much is happening in his cinema after Inception, lots of mechanic perfection but not much else. Rises, Dunkirk, Interstellar are all technically amazing, but extremely mediocre films.. One misses The Prestige a lot. This one felt like it was made for the middle and ending action scenes alone, which were technically amazing. But just that.
2	Ofterdingen	66 _67%
Christopher Nolan is really good at making heavy vehicles, driving next to each other, look great.
2	Vandelay1	64 _65%
good movie
2	Darren	50 _22%
Was one of the few people I knew who actually liked Dunkirk same can not be said about this one. Nolan still has not figured out how to shoot an action sequence it's insane. I do quite enjoy Pattinson tho and definitely not a movie that's all that confusing as they tell you exactly what happened 50 times over during the course of the flick
2	DMCrimson	77 _38%
A few clever action scenes but it's no Inception. Did anyone care about the arm dealer's wife?
2	jalanb	63 _21%
I agree with Adam Kempenaar of Filmspotting: "Tenet is what happens when Nolan forgets Borden's wisdom [from The Prestige]. He's so obsessed with how impressive his 'secret' is that the trick he uses it for is nothing. " I was streaming it, so I rewatched the 2nd half, then the 1st half, and still missed the point. Saw a lot of guns on mantlepieces in the first act, but not enough maguffins to care about. Should not be seen on a phone, but in A Film School.
1	Charlie	80 _81%
What should I say? It was confusing, yes, but yet so vivid and gripping.
1	jimmyp	40 _13%
I would love to see what a Christopher Nolan would look like if he directed it while not up his own ass. I'll bet that he has a room where he stores each fart he makes and then uses that room when he "needs a hit". Maybe he has a mask like Bane wears.
1	Koalafish	69 _58%
Needs a secong (third?) viewing to judge, if this was brillant or dumb. Since I wasn't able to understand much of the dialogue, I'm indecisive for now. From a technical standpoint it's flawless as expected.
1	ephedrin	60 _57%
The whole movie looks like a huge Instagram Boomerang or continuous gif animation. And I don't feel or understand. Cinematography as always a high level. Dark Night style entrance scene nice.
1	law	60 _58%
Christopher Nolan finally pushes past his limits and stumbles. There was clearly far too much story to fit into one movie, and / or the editing needed to be clearer, and it wouldn't have hurt to give the audience a reason to care about the protagonist and understand his motivations. The soundtrack was good, and I liked the Russian armsdealer.
1	Ametrine	3 _10%
I commend Nolan for trying to break the boundaries of storytelling, but this needed far more compelling characters to make the gimmick feel like more than a gimmick. Inception was a brilliant story about a guy dealing with the loss of his wife. I haven't seen Interstellar yet, but from what I know, there's a deeper story going on there that sounds super compelling. Tenet is just a popcorn movie that tries to pretend it's something smarter without offering much evidence.
1	Quintonjamin	60 _50%
60 points for pure entertainment from fantastic set pieces and some amazing action. Maybe I'll like it more on rewatch. It's more confusing than anything Nolan has done before.
1	ribcage	74 _66%
as Tenet finds a way to fold back on itself, it seems Nolan himself has folded back to those early days of Melies, reminding us of where film came from, that the history can’t be destroyed. Tenet doesn’t hold up to the high standard we’ve set for Nolan. But as a movie’s movie, a popcorner full of passion, smarts, action and subtle fan-nods to the past – hell, this is a blast.
1	Difontaine	76 _70%
A lot of LOUD, some good action and an intriguing sci-fi concept. But it doesn't really connect, not after one viewing at least.
1	Ross	80 _84%
A hard but intriguing first watch. Several more viewings are coming.
1	offlineoz	55 _38%
Glad to say I've watched this on my TV because I had to rewind multiple times to understand Kenneth Branagh's mumbled exposition, clunky dialogue, and horrible sound mixing. Everything else was cool as fuck tho.
1	gatoquente	15 _4%
Worst scifi movie in modern times! The plot is as twisted as spaghetti and as cluttered as a dump site. Got a headache before reaching halfway through. Had to end it abruptly. MY SCORING: 99-96=Great; 95-90=Very good; 89-85=Good; 84-80=So-so; 79-70=Boring; 69-1=Forget it
1	Malcym	4 _16%
Globe-hopping, breakneck-paced mind-benders are not meant to be as draggy as this. Cringy performances by Pattinson and a truly awful Branagh, seagulls flying backwards and a plot which I only lost track of a few times, which I'm not sure is what Nolan was shooting for. It holds the attention for the most part but if we are meant to watch it more than once to get' it, count me out.
1	JonnyHalftab	82 _41%
Visually impressive, great score, and not the failure it's made out to be, but give me 205 million dollars and I'll make something better. Any improvements this makes over Inception are just due to newer technology
1	vainglorious	55 _11%
spoilers: with time travel, it's all a bit... meh.
1	matthagen	37 _16%
I genuinely got the sense that this is somebody parodying Nolan, but the cinematic elements on display are too spot on. It is a typical Nolan high concept spectacle of ideas and action sequences, completely without heart, soul, characterization, or self awareness. The robotic execution and largely indecipherable plot left me numb and ultimately disinterested. An epic, shiny failure on the grandest of scales. Worst of all, there isn't a nugget in the entire thing that makes me want to rewatch it.
1	Revan007	89 _87%
An engrossing and insanely wild ride, Tenet is original and unexpected while also being a complex masterpiece from a writing standpoint. While this can make it a bit convoluted and lends itself to a lot of exposition, Tenet also features some of the most unique actions sequences you will probably ever see. If there are any major flaws in Nolan's latest work, it would be his insistence on allowing the dialog to be muddled or hard to understand in a movie where every piece of dialog is important.
1	Cuervo	41 _19%
It's not congruent, it has very good special effects and photography, tries to keep you high in all the running time, overexplanation most of the post action scenes and tries to be soft with details, but makes it so obvious that everyone will notice. So technical and made for the average viewer.
1	grimsooth	57 _52%
Rated 26 on first watch. It's still arbitrary and incoherent. I rewatched it as an art and think piece (rather than an action time-travel move) and as such it becomes somewhat interesting. Nolan just made some stuff up and flung it at. He could've conformed to his own established logic, but sometimes he doesn't. Arbitrary things will act inverted with no reason if acted upon by the inverted or stop acting inverted even if it's established they were. So slightly more dumb than awesome.
1	mg127	89 _69%
I hated the first 45 minutes. The pacing was flat, just scene after scene of various characters explaining the plot. Very little character development. And I couldn't hear the fucking dialogue. Once Protagonist goes through the first turnstile though, I'm in to it. I enjoyed the inversion mechanic - this is what I watch Nolan for. I'm not sure it needed to be that complex, or that difficult to follow, but overall I found it a fun action and time-travel exploration movie.
1	Grouchy	38 _3%
I dislike Nolan more and more with each movie. And I think at this stage I know exactly why: a. he's terrible at directing action. b. he has zero interest in good characters or dramatic arcs.
1	Mona_Laurie	21 _12%
The longer I watched this, the more bored and confused I got. The characters lacked personality, the plot had nothing to make the viewer latch onto it, and the less-talk more-gunshots approach made any interest I had fade quickly. Aside from the fantastic soundtrack, nothing about this movie excited me.
1	muutanet	65 _58%
A paper doll show without a proper story. Some good effects and action though I do not prefer action style of close, shaky camera drive. I despised the last act.
1	igormachete	83 _77%
Lots of fun, the plot's main direction is pretty straightforward and always comprehesible so the movie is still engaging even if you don't follow some local "time tricks" action sequences are still great
1	Flo2233	72 _16%
Nolan needs to understand that having a complex idea doesn't mean it's fun or interesting. Also, a concept like this should compliment a well written story, otherwise it feels weak and without tension. Dialogues are very dry, too frequent, boring and explanatory.
1	sofad	90 _97%
Öncelikle çok klas, şık, gösterişli bir film. Sanatsal ve teknik açıdan büyüleyici. Hikaye anlamında da klasik edebiyat eserlerinde bu denli büyük bir çatışma,bu denli büyük hikaye gördüm ben, sinemada nadir rastlanan cinsten. Büyük olaylar, büyük karakterler çarpışıyor. Felsefi açıdan çok katmanlı, duygusal boyutu ise etkileyici bir biçimde filmin sonlarında kendini gösteriyor. Hayata, dünyaya, varlıklara karşı çok farklı bir perspektif mevcut.
1	mjoya	60 _28%
Some time in the future, the new concept of the spaghetti time-travel flick was conceived and was sent back here to destroy our taste in cinema before we have the chance to get nostalgic about Memento and Inception.
1	PerryStroika	40 _8%
Don't draw me a flow chart about why this movie is great. Create human characters with believable motivations and allow me to connect with them.
1	PetrosTser	80 _86%
Another masterwork from one of the finest auteurs of the 21st century, "Tenet" is in a league of its own. It has roughly six gazillion action scenes, all of them amazing and different from each other, fueled by the great main idea and executed to perfection thanks to Nolan's directorial bravado as well as the terrific stunt work and effects. You are going to see things you haven't seen before and it's pretty mind-blowing. Nolan wondrously keeps pushing the envelope in a movie of many payoffs.
1	bentien	70 _75%
A visual tour-de-force, but without as much depth as it wishes you to think. Great action scenes, and Washington is a blast.
1	batolo	66 _36%
Well that was trippy. Like first-time M Night Shamalian, cubed. Yes, the sound mixing was exceptionally bad. Had to turn on subtitles.
1	Ritteh	10 _1%
I could write a snarky plot review, but I have absolutely no idea what this movie was about, so I can't even do that.
1	Kuroel	45 _17%
Yeah. I’m not about to watch this four times in a row to get my head around the plot and inverted physics that do so much scientific cherry-picking that the movie is more high fantasy than sci-fi.
1	overrated	43 _37%
Oh my fucking god just make a Bond movie already and get all of this out of your system. p.s. get a hearing check too because this has, without exaggeration, the worst sound mixing I've ever come across.
1	VinegarBob	70 _54%
Bit of a garbled mess but still watchable.
1	hisblob	20 _13%
I was so bored with the beginning of Tenet that I started watching it like a documentary about spaces being temporarily occupied by actors. Then I stopped watching after the protagonist started collecting quests and advice from the woman he had just home-invaded. Yes, that makes perfect sense Nolan, thank you for sharing.
1	Judo Koala	76 _61%
Nolan's technical prowess is on full display in spellbinding sequences of cheeky reverse filming and movement, and an absolutely wicked score by Ludwig Göransson that drives home our apocalyptic scenario with pummelling urgency. The convoluted narrative feels like an homage to those of other espionage-action-thriller series like Mission Impossible, 007, and John Wick. Nolan's approach to sound mixing, while debatable, is effective in its sheer viscerality. Had a lot of fun with this one.
1	psim	82 _82%
The movie can sometimes be hard to wrap your head around, overladen with fast-paced exposition and lacking in warmth or humor. But I very much enjoyed trying to untangle what was going on, and especially in the second half I was impressed by the intricately designed setpieces. Won't be for everybody.
1	Karakand	40 _56%
You can tell a movie is a winner when it expends more time and care walking its viewers through the concept of duty-free transshipment than it does with its time travel conceit.
1	fedro	40 _7%
pretentious, confused and unnecessarily long
1	getmoney	85 _77%
not the best nolan movie, but the most nolan movie
1	Franquelot	55 _5%
Awful attempt to try to be a smart movie finishing being such a stupid movie, a real loss of time
1	WWallce4prez	73 _54%
By now, one knows what they are going to get with a Nolan film. Tenet is the most Nolan while also being one of the COVID catchphrases. The director decided to make a bombastic and confounding film while also demanding that we see it in theaters with a virus raging. Now, being able to watch it from home, I can't help to agree with everything that has been said about this: impressively shot and unnecessarily confusing.
1	eric-jan	70 _54%
Was kind of getting Mulholland Drive vibes in the beginning, it is pretty difficult to follow. The second half is easier. I think the idea is good but these kinds of stories are just near impossible to project in an easily understandible way, so kudo's for trying. You'll need to watch a ' Tenet explained' video afterwards. Then you'll see how all the storylines fit together - Pattinson's storyline is just impossible to understand :D
1	jetboy	60 _18%
Nolans worst move so far. A great idea wasted on choppy editing, bland color palette, and the worst sound mixing I've ever heard.
1	adiljun	37 _12%
Nolan parody
1	moraesfelipe	45 _24%
I suppose I should go back in time and tell myself Inception and Memento are not that boring, destroying the entire world in the process.
1	jacobclark12	64 _52%
Innovative and visually arresting but not interesting, Tenet is what happens when a filmmaker who wants to provide insight on the human experience in the form of spectacle tries and fails to fully do so.
1	rosenritter	7 _69%
Liked it but I feel unqualified to determine if it made any goddamn sense.
1	periboku	55 _16%
as a science fiction geek. I could easily say that time paradox stuff is my thing but still, I didn't understand what was Nolan tried to accomplish with the tenet. I really like Nolan movies. I could easily say that I watched every his movies at least 5 times even we are talking about 'the following' which his student work. Tenet is wrong on so many levels I could easily say that it is not a movie but a theory about the time paradox which really shitty on the screen. DONT WATCH IT.
1	strangestman	83 _65%
Beautifully shot, great acting, stylistically impressive, emotionally as empty as the end of time. Also, a new standard in annoyingly grating soundtracks.
1	NoiseMaker	75 _60%
Too complicated for me. Especially since I watched in three sittings...
1	HeyNiceFilm	87 _69%
Woo buddy, is this Christopher Nolan in his final form? This feels like he's been leading up to this with Memento, Inception, Interstellar. The type you need at least a second rewatch to fully digest, but this pushes that idea to 11. It immediately jumps headfirst into everything, taking like 15 seconds to explain what feels like PHD level quantum physics. Still, even if you don't totally get it, all is not lost thankfully. The action and acting and cinematography are all top notch.

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Average Percentile 47.72% from 2658 Ratings