Armed with only one word, Tenet, and fighting for the survival of the entire world, a Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.
In a twilight world of international espionage, an unnamed CIA operative, known as The Protagonist, is recruited by a mysterious organization called Tenet to participate in a global assignment that unfolds beyond real time. The mission: prevent Andrei Sator, a renegade Russian oligarch with precognition abilities, from starting World War III. The Protagonist will soon master the art of "time inversion" as a way of countering the threat that is to come.Written by
jesusblack-91294
Due to the secrecy surrounding the film before its release, some fans speculated that this was actually a Green Lantern Corps film in disguise, with John David Washington starring as John Stewart, Robert Pattinson as Hal Jordan, and Elizabeth Debicki as Carol Ferris. Of course, this later proved not to be the case, though Pattinson did end up joining the DC Cinematic Universe as Bruce Wayne in The Batman (2022). See more »
Goofs
When the Protagonist enters the Saab, hands can be seen in the wing mirror. See more »
Quotes
The Protagonist:
I'll set you up as a go-between. But remember, to you, it's all about the plutonium. Or when we're done, they'll kill you.
Neil:
Won't you have to do that anyway?
The Protagonist:
I rather be my decision.
Neil:
So do I. I think.
See more »
Crazy Credits
The Warner Bros and Syncopy logos are respectively shaded red and blue, the colors used in the film to represent normal/inverted time. See more »
Alternate Versions
The British Warner Bros. subsidiary removed 9 seconds of footage (showing Sator kicking Kat during a fight) from the theatrical version to secure a "12A" rating (an uncut "15" was available). This version was later released on home video in the UK. See more »
I am a big Nolan and Sci-Fi fan, and there's no question serious effort went into this movie. No question, the visuals were great, the acting was great, but the editing, PLOT and over-all effect was simply unsatisfying.
The plot is full of discontinuity and random plot elements, and the main time reversal issue is never adequately explained, resolved or identified, and even the cryptic "Tenet" keyword never seems to appear outside of the trailer cuts. The most annoying aspect was the often incomprehensible audio, due to masks and bad editing, that made many key moments a total mystery.
The plot is also littered with bad science of every possible kind, random statements that simply make no real sense (even using the odd time scenario) , and when viewed as ongoing story make you stop and say, how did we ever get HERE? The gun and bullet demonstration really sticks in my mind as total and complete cinematic plot garbage.
I don't doubt this could have been a masterful movie, but unlike Memento or Inception, the script and story continuity were simply not up to the complex story task. The one word that sticks in my mind about this movie is disappointing. After the long delay, i really expected something a lot better than this. Maybe a later edit will fix this, but it certainly doesn't need to get any longer.
944 of 1,363 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
I am a big Nolan and Sci-Fi fan, and there's no question serious effort went into this movie. No question, the visuals were great, the acting was great, but the editing, PLOT and over-all effect was simply unsatisfying.
The plot is full of discontinuity and random plot elements, and the main time reversal issue is never adequately explained, resolved or identified, and even the cryptic "Tenet" keyword never seems to appear outside of the trailer cuts. The most annoying aspect was the often incomprehensible audio, due to masks and bad editing, that made many key moments a total mystery.
The plot is also littered with bad science of every possible kind, random statements that simply make no real sense (even using the odd time scenario) , and when viewed as ongoing story make you stop and say, how did we ever get HERE? The gun and bullet demonstration really sticks in my mind as total and complete cinematic plot garbage.
I don't doubt this could have been a masterful movie, but unlike Memento or Inception, the script and story continuity were simply not up to the complex story task. The one word that sticks in my mind about this movie is disappointing. After the long delay, i really expected something a lot better than this. Maybe a later edit will fix this, but it certainly doesn't need to get any longer.