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TENET - Christopher Nolan Film

I saw this yesterday and have so many questions. Has anyone else seen it?
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  • Going next week. Cannot wait.
  • Incontinence pants?
  • nodded of after 20 minutes of relentless convoluted plot exposition, then had my repose disrupted by things blowing up and incoherent shouting
    I thought Nolan had been getting props for actual film direction
    Good direction is evidenced by "Show don't tell"
    Tenet's essentially an audio book with explosions
    A badly written dreadfully contrived audiobook that would have been hard work even without the haphazard interruptions for big budget effects heavy bang bang flash flash

    Poor cinemas were hanging on this being the big draw back - oops
  • My eldest who's 20 went to see it last night and reckoned it's brilliant, doesn't sound like my cup of tea though, to be honest.
     It took him about 15 minutes to run through to plot to me.
  • edited August 2020
    I went to see it with my daughter yesterday, having seen the 10th Anniversary release of Inception over the weekend.

    We both agreed it was a brilliant film and goes at a relentless pace.

    Was also agreed that it was probably better not to try and analyse it to the n'th degree.

    Suffice to say, I think Christopher Nolan took a lot of acid back in the day.
  • I want to go and see this, looks good
  • My eldest who's 20 went to see it last night and reckoned it's brilliant, doesn't sound like my cup of tea though, to be honest.
     It took him about 15 minutes to run through to plot to me.
    He did better than the BBC website then. I read a "review" at the weekend & it started off saying that they weren't going to say too much in case they gave the film away. Thing was, the reviewer (its wastn't Mark Kermode) didnt say anything about the film so I couldn't say if it was a historical drama, a rom com or a horror. I dod then see a 2 min clip that locked like a cross between Momento & Inception so I just assumed Nolan simply merged 2 of his old films into 1.
  • edited August 2020
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  • nodded of after 20 minutes of relentless convoluted plot exposition, then had my repose disrupted by things blowing up and incoherent shouting
    I thought Nolan had been getting props for actual film direction
    Good direction is evidenced by "Show don't tell"
    Tenet's essentially an audio book with explosions
    A badly written dreadfully contrived audiobook that would have been hard work even without the haphazard interruptions for big budget effects heavy bang bang flash flash

    Poor cinemas were hanging on this being the big draw back - oops
    I agree pretty much word for word with you, @StigThundercock.  Having said that, AAjr, his gf, and Ms AA all liked it.
  • nodded of after 20 minutes of relentless convoluted plot exposition, then had my repose disrupted by things blowing up and incoherent shouting
    I thought Nolan had been getting props for actual film direction
    Good direction is evidenced by "Show don't tell"
    Tenet's essentially an audio book with explosions
    A badly written dreadfully contrived audiobook that would have been hard work even without the haphazard interruptions for big budget effects heavy bang bang flash flash

    Poor cinemas were hanging on this being the big draw back - oops
    99% of reviews disagree entirely. Do you like anything???
    Definitely nowhere near 99% 
  • PopIcon said:
    I saw this yesterday and have so many questions. Has anyone else seen it?
    Saw it Yesterday . Thought it was tosh .  Here's my review anyway .

    https://boxd.it/1jXPtP 



    Excellent review, @Bedsaddick.  Between you and Stigthundercock I'd say you've got it dead right.
  • So, I ask again, what is the film actually about ?  don't mean plot but a very brief, basic synopsis. Ie, Memento - bloke is looking for his wife's killer but can only retain information for very short time spans. 
  • So, I ask again, what is the film actually about ?  don't mean plot but a very brief, basic synopsis. Ie, Memento - bloke is looking for his wife's killer but can only retain information for very short time spans. 
    Reversed entropy and the effects of same. 
  • I went to see it with my daughter yesterday, having seen the 10th Anniversary release of Inception over the weekend.

    We both agreed it was a brilliant film and goes at a relentless pace.

    Was also agreed that it was probably better not to try and analyse it to the n'th degree.

    Suffice to say, I think Christopher Nolan took a lot of acid back in the day.
    Relentless pace? Nothing happened for the first 90 mins, exactly the same as Charltons performance against Leeds on the last day of the season.

    So, I ask again, what is the film actually about ?  don't mean plot but a very brief, basic synopsis. Ie, Memento - bloke is looking for his wife's killer but can only retain information for very short time spans. 

    Bloke discovers a machine that inverts time and has to use it to stop a mad Russian ending the world.

    It's James Bond lost in the Shuanghedong cave network.
  • edited August 2020
    I am really struggling to tell if it's a work of absolute genius or a colossal mess. Maybe the answer is a bit of both. 

    Nolan films are always packed with exposition. This one struggles because it has to A) keep the audience up to date with how the forward/ reverse time stuff is working and B ) explain to us how the convoluted mystery plot is unfolding. 

    I have to say, I struggled to understand both at different times. When it's a movie like, say, Tinker Tailor, I know that's my fault. That the film is based on a complex script that I can't quite follow because I am either not smart enough or not able to maintain my attention long enough. But with Tenet I was REALLY trying hard to understand what was going on, and I couldn't. Yet I don't think it was that complicated. By the end I can almost explain what happened and why, but during the film I was lost. And I am still a bit lost about some points. 

    Is that a failing on my part, or on the part of the storyteller? I think it's the latter. I will watch it again to try and get my head around it (Inception really isn't as complicated at it first appeared so maybe that applies here too) but I do think it has issues, not least the sound mix which, by many accounts, is abysmal in many cinemas you can see it in. And that's not the first time Nolan has had criticism for not making the dialogue audible. 

    What I am confident about criticising is the Nolan schtick. I said it about Interstellar, and I don't think much has changed - he has his way of weaving concurrent plot threads together until they hit a climax. And to me, it's becoming as cliche as an M. Night Shyamalan movie. Like Shyamalan, Nolan seems incapable of doing anything different. I suppose Dunkirk was about as different as he gets, and that's a film that is entirely based on weaving concurrent plot threads to a crescendo! 

    There are also some really inconsistent elements, particularly a lead character who is willing to die for the greater good... but willing to risk literally everything in the known universe to save a rich woman he sort of likes. And the Michael Caine scene can fuck off. Calling his character Sir Michael was just silly. 

    Ultimately I was entertained, and the action scenes were thrilling and brilliantly executed. At the very least you have a sense of urgency; you know the stakes are high because we have been told they are high, even if we don't entirely understand what the stakes actually are. Is that good enough? I don't think so, but at least I had fun. 


  • edited March 16
    PopIcon said:
    nodded of after 20 minutes of relentless convoluted plot exposition, then had my repose disrupted by things blowing up and incoherent shouting
    I thought Nolan had been getting props for actual film direction
    Good direction is evidenced by "Show don't tell"
    Tenet's essentially an audio book with explosions
    A badly written dreadfully contrived audiobook that would have been hard work even without the haphazard interruptions for big budget effects heavy bang bang flash flash

    Poor cinemas were hanging on this being the big draw back - oops
    99% of reviews disagree entirely. Do you like anything???
    Mr Blobby got to Number 1 in 1993 with the 'Mr Blobby' song, a lot of c***s clearly liked it and spent actual real money on it.
    ‘C***s?’

    Not sure what Mr Blobby has got to do with that poster being negative about everything. If Beds or Jimmy had posted a negative review then I wouldn’t of said anything, it was just in response to grumpy bollocks. I understand it’s not everyones cup of tea, but with 8.1 on IMDB and 80% rotten tomatoes it’s clearly a lot more liked that disliked (yes 99% was OTT).  There seems to be a thing about disliking Nolan films just for the fact he has ‘fan boys’ regardless of the actual film. Personally I didn’t enjoy Dunkirk but I loved Inception and Interstellar.

    Anyway, it’s all down to personal taste, there’s no right or wrong. 
  • I just couldn't sink in what on earth was supposed to be happening if I'm being honest. Watched it last night and got so many questions about the whole thing which also appeared to be a bit of a James Bond rip off. Luckily I had a free cinema ticket to use so didn't waste money on it.
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  • I saw it yesterday, really liked it, needs to be seen again but I’m wondering if for my second go, watching it backwards might help 🤪👍🏻
  • JiMMy 85 said:
    I am really struggling to tell if it's a work of absolute genius or a colossal mess. Maybe the answer is a bit of both. 

    Nolan films are always packed with exposition. This one struggles because it has to A) keep the audience up to date with how the forward/ reverse time stuff is working and B ) explain to us how the convoluted mystery plot is unfolding. 

    I have to say, I struggled to understand both at different times. When it's a movie like, say, Tinker Tailor, I know that's my fault. That the film is based on a complex script that I can't quite follow because I am either not smart enough or not able to maintain my attention long enough. But with Tenet I was REALLY trying hard to understand what was going on, and I couldn't. Yet I don't think it was that complicated. By the end I can almost explain what happened and why, but during the film I was lost. And I am still a bit lost about some points. 

    Is that a failing on my part, or on the part of the storyteller? I think it's the latter. I will watch it again to try and get my head around it (Inception really isn't as complicated at it first appeared so maybe that applies here too) but I do think it has issues, not least the sound mix which, by many accounts, is abysmal in many cinemas you can see it in. And that's not the first time Nolan has had criticism for not making the dialogue audible. 

    What I am confident about criticising is the Nolan schtick. I said it about Interstellar, and I don't think much has changed - he has his way of weaving concurrent plot threads together until they hit a climax. And to me, it's becoming as cliche as an M. Night Shyamalan movie. Like Shyamalan, Nolan seems incapable of doing anything different. I suppose Dunkirk was about as different as he gets, and that's a film that is entirely based on weaving concurrent plot threads to a crescendo! 

    There are also some really inconsistent elements, particularly a lead character who is willing to die for the greater good... but willing to risk literally everything in the known universe to save a rich woman he sort of likes. And the Michael Caine scene can fuck off. Calling his character Sir Michael was just silly. 

    Ultimately I was entertained, and the action scenes were thrilling and brilliantly executed. At the very least you have a sense of urgency; you know the stakes are high because we have been told they are high, even if we don't entirely understand what the stakes actually are. Is that good enough? I don't think so, but at least I had fun. 


    Excellent post and I’m glad I’m not alone. So often I get to the crucial last half hour of some thriller and I’m thinking, ‘I really wish I’d paid attention to everyone’s names’. 
    I think I will enjoy Tenet because I don’t feel the need to understand everything and be happy that it’s coherent. I absolutely love Interstellar, even though I’m aware lots of people aren’t happy with plot holes. The big story is the main thing. I had a row with my brother because he thought he spotted an inconsistency with the astrophysics, but for me it was just a story of a man who has to abandon his daughter to try to save the human race. 
  • edited March 16
    PopIcon said:
    nodded of after 20 minutes of relentless convoluted plot exposition, then had my repose disrupted by things blowing up and incoherent shouting
    I thought Nolan had been getting props for actual film direction
    Good direction is evidenced by "Show don't tell"
    Tenet's essentially an audio book with explosions
    A badly written dreadfully contrived audiobook that would have been hard work even without the haphazard interruptions for big budget effects heavy bang bang flash flash

    Poor cinemas were hanging on this being the big draw back - oops
    99% of reviews disagree entirely. Do you like anything???
    Mr Blobby got to Number 1 in 1993 with the 'Mr Blobby' song, a lot of c***s clearly liked it and spent actual real money on it.
    ‘C***s?’

    Not sure what Mr Blobby has got to do with that poster being negative about everything. If Beds or Jimmy had posted a negative review then I wouldn’t of said anything, it was just in response to grumpy bollocks. I understand it’s not everyones cup of tea, but with 8.1 on IMDB and 80% rotten tomatoes it’s clearly a lot more liked that disliked (yes 99% was OTT).  There seems to be a thing about disliking Nolan films just for the fact he has ‘fan boys’ regardless of the actual film. Personally I didn’t enjoy Dunkirk but I loved Inception and Interstellar.

    Anyway, it’s all down to personal taste, there’s no right or wrong. 
    That rating was 8.5 on day one and has dropped to 8.1 . After a week or two i fully expect it to settle around the 7.8 mark. Still good but still way too much in my opinion !
  • I will go and see it when I get back this week. I guess like many I have a lukewarm relationship with Nolan's films. He's a lot more concerned with plot, gimmicks and set piece than character or storytelling, but that's not to say his gimmicks and set pieces don't hit more often than miss. But they leave me a bit cold.

    His stroke of genius, for me, was Memento, where the gimmick necessitated a character with no inner life. Love that film. 
  • I haven't seen the film yet but do fancy seeing it soon.

    Does relatively get much of a mention?
  • edited March 16
    PopIcon said:
    nodded of after 20 minutes of relentless convoluted plot exposition, then had my repose disrupted by things blowing up and incoherent shouting
    I thought Nolan had been getting props for actual film direction
    Good direction is evidenced by "Show don't tell"
    Tenet's essentially an audio book with explosions
    A badly written dreadfully contrived audiobook that would have been hard work even without the haphazard interruptions for big budget effects heavy bang bang flash flash

    Poor cinemas were hanging on this being the big draw back - oops
    99% of reviews disagree entirely. Do you like anything???
    Mr Blobby got to Number 1 in 1993 with the 'Mr Blobby' song, a lot of c***s clearly liked it and spent actual real money on it.
    ‘C***s?’

    Not sure what Mr Blobby has got to do with that poster being negative about everything. If Beds or Jimmy had posted a negative review then I wouldn’t of said anything, it was just in response to grumpy bollocks. I understand it’s not everyones cup of tea, but with 8.1 on IMDB and 80% rotten tomatoes it’s clearly a lot more liked that disliked (yes 99% was OTT).  There seems to be a thing about disliking Nolan films just for the fact he has ‘fan boys’ regardless of the actual film. Personally I didn’t enjoy Dunkirk but I loved Inception and Interstellar.

    Anyway, it’s all down to personal taste, there’s no right or wrong. 

    I cannot comment on negatives posts about everything, I am just making a relative comment on this post.

    It is factual that the Mr Blobby song is a horrendous pile of steaming pooh, my point is 600k+ people liked it enough to buy it.

    You said yourself that it is personal taste, why bother wasting your time reading iMDB or Rotton Toms?
  • James Bond on Acid 
  • PopIcon said:
    PopIcon said:
    nodded of after 20 minutes of relentless convoluted plot exposition, then had my repose disrupted by things blowing up and incoherent shouting
    I thought Nolan had been getting props for actual film direction
    Good direction is evidenced by "Show don't tell"
    Tenet's essentially an audio book with explosions
    A badly written dreadfully contrived audiobook that would have been hard work even without the haphazard interruptions for big budget effects heavy bang bang flash flash

    Poor cinemas were hanging on this being the big draw back - oops
    99% of reviews disagree entirely. Do you like anything???
    Mr Blobby got to Number 1 in 1993 with the 'Mr Blobby' song, a lot of cunts clearly liked it and spent actual real money on it.
    ‘Cunts?’

    Not sure what Mr Blobby has got to do with that poster being negative about everything. If Beds or Jimmy had posted a negative review then I wouldn’t of said anything, it was just in response to grumpy bollocks. I understand it’s not everyones cup of tea, but with 8.1 on IMDB and 80% rotten tomatoes it’s clearly a lot more liked that disliked (yes 99% was OTT).  There seems to be a thing about disliking Nolan films just for the fact he has ‘fan boys’ regardless of the actual film. Personally I didn’t enjoy Dunkirk but I loved Inception and Interstellar.

    Anyway, it’s all down to personal taste, there’s no right or wrong. 

    I cannot comment on negatives posts about everything, I am just making a relative comment on this post.

    It is factual that the Mr Blobby song is a horrendous pile of steaming pooh, my point is 600k+ people liked it enough to buy it.

    You said yourself that it is personal taste, why bother wasting your time reading iMDB or Rotton Toms?
    It is personal taste, but you get a general consensus of whether a film is good or not by its reviews/ratings. You also get a chance to compare and contrast views and opinions. There are always going to be films I like that others don’t, but I’d never view reading IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes as a waste of time.
  • PopIcon said:
    I went to see it with my daughter yesterday, having seen the 10th Anniversary release of Inception over the weekend.

    We both agreed it was a brilliant film and goes at a relentless pace.

    Was also agreed that it was probably better not to try and analyse it to the n'th degree.

    Suffice to say, I think Christopher Nolan took a lot of acid back in the day.
    Relentless pace? Nothing happened for the first 90 mins, exactly the same as Charltons performance against Leeds on the last day of the season.

    So, I ask again, what is the film actually about ?  don't mean plot but a very brief, basic synopsis. Ie, Memento - bloke is looking for his wife's killer but can only retain information for very short time spans. 

    Bloke discovers a machine that inverts time and has to use it to stop a mad Russian ending the world.

    It's James Bond lost in the Shuanghedong cave network.
    Thanks.
  • JiMMy 85 said:
    I am really struggling to tell if it's a work of absolute genius or a colossal mess. Maybe the answer is a bit of both. 

    Nolan films are always packed with exposition. This one struggles because it has to A) keep the audience up to date with how the forward/ reverse time stuff is working and B ) explain to us how the convoluted mystery plot is unfolding. 

    I have to say, I struggled to understand both at different times. When it's a movie like, say, Tinker Tailor, I know that's my fault. That the film is based on a complex script that I can't quite follow because I am either not smart enough or not able to maintain my attention long enough. But with Tenet I was REALLY trying hard to understand what was going on, and I couldn't. Yet I don't think it was that complicated. By the end I can almost explain what happened and why, but during the film I was lost. And I am still a bit lost about some points. 

    Is that a failing on my part, or on the part of the storyteller? I think it's the latter. I will watch it again to try and get my head around it (Inception really isn't as complicated at it first appeared so maybe that applies here too) but I do think it has issues, not least the sound mix which, by many accounts, is abysmal in many cinemas you can see it in. And that's not the first time Nolan has had criticism for not making the dialogue audible. 

    What I am confident about criticising is the Nolan schtick. I said it about Interstellar, and I don't think much has changed - he has his way of weaving concurrent plot threads together until they hit a climax. And to me, it's becoming as cliche as an M. Night Shyamalan movie. Like Shyamalan, Nolan seems incapable of doing anything different. I suppose Dunkirk was about as different as he gets, and that's a film that is entirely based on weaving concurrent plot threads to a crescendo! 

    There are also some really inconsistent elements, particularly a lead character who is willing to die for the greater good... but willing to risk literally everything in the known universe to save a rich woman he sort of likes. And the Michael Caine scene can fuck off. Calling his character Sir Michael was just silly. 

    Ultimately I was entertained, and the action scenes were thrilling and brilliantly executed. At the very least you have a sense of urgency; you know the stakes are high because we have been told they are high, even if we don't entirely understand what the stakes actually are. Is that good enough? I don't think so, but at least I had fun. 


    With "Tinker Tailor......" Gary Oldman's character bought new glasses after being dismissed and so you could tell what was "then" and what is "now".  Just need something simple like that to differentiate between the past, present and the future. Back to the Future used different clothing, cars etc but then Mcfly was going back 30 years.
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