Tenet

by Hans A. Carpenter

Release Date: September 3
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starting: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, and Elizabeth Debicki
Mister Marquee Says:
LEGENDARY
Number: 5/5
An unnamed CIA Agent (John David Washington) stumbled onto a secret called Tenet that holds the key to time itself and must solve a complex mystery with the fate of the world on the line.
A passion project for legendary director Christopher Nolan, this movie has everything you expect from Nolan movies. There’s an ultra complicated sci-fi plot that you need a notebook, chalkboard, and string to decode. There’s breathtaking practical effects and action scenes that push the medium of film forward. There’s Michael Caine.
If you thought Inception was overly layered and, if you found the paradox festival that was Interstellar a bit pretentious, Tenet may get on your nerves. It’s also a densely-packed time puzzle that somehow moves at breakneck pace for two-and-a-half hours. Do all of the mechanics click for a viewer? No, but this is an experience like no other. Tenet is basically Looper on steroids.
Christopher Nolan is the most ambitious mainstream Hollywood filmmaker. He has become a brand in his own right in a landscape where only franchise blockbusters and legacy sequels and prequels get a budget. Tenet is another in a long list of challenging big budget epics. They may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you have to appreciate taking a big swig.