Tenet, Christopher Nolan’s mysterious and long-awaited follow up to the time-centered Dunkirk, has finally arrived. True to Nolan’s fascination with time, Tenet is the story of a CIA agent in a race against time to stop a terrorist from using time manipulation to destroy the world. Sound confusing? Of course, and that’s typical Nolan. The bigger question is does revisiting the time theme work again for Nolan or is it time for him to move on to something else to manipulate and confuse us all?
In what might be a first for a Nolan film, the acting in Tenet is not great. The performances are not horrible, but the level of mediocrity is shocking with the type of talent this cast features. The only exception to this issue is John David Washington.
Washington delivers another career-defining role that shows he could be the next big-budget action superstar if he chooses. Honestly, it could not have come at a better time considering the Black action star/superhero void created when we tragically lost Chadwick Boseman.
Part of the appeal is the athleticism and gracefulness that Washington exhibits in the film’s physical action spots. The coordination Washington shows as he fights forward or moving inverse is the key to making those scenes work to perfection.
The other part of the appeal is the composure Washington brings to the Protagonist character outside the action sequences. He brandishes a coolness that goes a step beyond the usual movie James Bondesque spy demeanor throughout the film. It stumbles a little during his surprisingly jumbled partnership with Robert Pattinson’s Neil and an ill-fated attempt or two at humor. However, neither sinks what might be another niche for Washington.
The rest of the cast underwhelms in ways one could have never imagined. The usually spectacular Kenneth Branagh finds himself reduced to a so-so Russian accent and the least intimidating diabolical villain in recent memory. Pattinson never finds his footing with Washington, which made for several awkward moments between them, and Elizabeth Delicki barely registers in her screentime.
The issues for Tenet continue behind the camera. Given his penchant for the complex and abstract, a Nolan film will never be black and white or easy to get. That works against him this time. The script has far too many moving parts for a story that already requires a lot of abstract thinking and logic from its audience. There is the time travel piece, which should have honestly been the film’s sole focus. Unfortunately, Tenet strangely includes a broken relationship subplot reminiscent of Marriage Story, a romance subplot, and a buddy movie subplot - and none of them enhance the movie. The only saving graces for Tenet behind the camera are the visual effects and the cinematography used as the film's setting travels from country to country.
Tenet is not a bad film, but it is easily Nolan’s worst film. Aesthetically, it checks all the boxes for a Nolan film – star power along with excellent visual effects and cinematography. Storywise, Tenet is too complex for its own good and opts to include meaningless subplots instead of attempting to help the viewer with more avenues to understand what is taking place. However, all is not lost thanks to Washington's standout and timely performance. Ultimately, Tenet is worth watching but it’s best to 1) do it in the safest way possible and 2) as the Protagonist is advised early in the film, “Don’t try to understand it…”.
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