“All I Have Is One Word For You....TENET”
Tenet (2020) tells the story of the survival of the world, being only armed with one word, Tenet. The Protagonist journeys through international espionage on his mission that will unfold something that’s beyond real time.
Written & Directed By Christopher Nolan, Tenet provides the audience with one of the most interesting, ambiguous and mind bending stories he has ever told and it makes Inception look like child’s play.
The Film
Tenet (2020) is your typical classic spy movie trope, a bad guy wants to destory the world we live in and our hero's have to stop him and save the world, but the twist in this movie however all boils down to the science of inversion. Now this movie has been made to be watched on the biggest screen possible so seeing in it IMAX is your best bet and trust me you want too, especially with a certain scene with a Boeing 747 and the roar of the jet engines in crystal clear audio that makes the seats vibrate is something I’ll certainly never forget, talking of which this film is incredibly loud, like super loud.
The film will more than likely require you to do a quick internet search to fully understand what it means or even a rewatch to fully grasp the concept but once you do you're in for a thrilling ride of espionage and the creative and mind boggling brain of one Christopher Nolan, who again has proved you don’t need to understand a film fully to enjoy it. If you just want a more casual viewing just sit back, enjoy and don’t think too hard about what is going on. I really don’t know how Nolan manages to pull of these crazy and brain exploding plots in his movies but he does and I honestly couldn’t see any other director being able to pull off Tenet as well as he does.
I could happily dive into the science of Tenet and what things mean but this film is best experience from the very start in the shoes of our main protagonist, aptly named The Protagonist, and learning what the word Tenet means and what you and him are getting involved into. Just remember this film isn’t about time travel, more time inversion, example being thinking of yourself in the future as well as the past and how everything you are doing now takes place in one loop. If you can get your head around that then the film should make more sense.
The Cast
Where do we even begin with Tenet’s impressive talent, I can’t think of a movie coming out this year that has a more impressive cast. Playing our main protagonist, The Protagonist is John David Washington (BlackKklansman, The Old Man And The Gun). Playing his right hand man Neil is Robert Patterson (The Lighthouse, Good Time).
Our villain, Andrei Sator, is played by Kenneth Branagh (Dunkirk, Murder On The Orient Express). And playing his wife, Kat is Elizabeth Debicki (Widows, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2). Other characters include Mahir, played by Himesh Patel (Yesterday), Ives is played by Aaron Taylor Johnson (Kickass, Godzilla) and finally playing Michael Crosby is acting legend Sir Michael Cane (The Italian Job, The Dark Knight).
It’s really amazing to finally see John David Washington being cast as a protagonist and finally being able to showcase his skills for a wider audience and prove that he doesn’t need to be compared to his father, Denzel Washington. Both are amazing actors for different reasons and I can’t recommend John’s performance more in this film. He brings a Bond like presence to this movie and for me has propelled himself forward to be in place for that money can’t buy spot as the next James Bond.
I’d also like to take a second to appreciate the performance Kenneth Branagh puts in as Sator, he genuinely transforms himself into someone completely different and inflicts absolute fear into you and makes it clear he shouldn’t be messed with.
To Conclude
Tenet (2020) is Nolan’s most ambitious and ambiguous movie to date and will take you on the most mind bending, trippy and exhilarating story you’ll see all year and is a must for any cinema lover.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Tenet (2020) is now showing in cinemas nationwide in the UK and from the 3rd September in America nationwide.