Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, Tenet was one of the most anticipated movies of 2020. As is always the case with Nolan, the plot is driven by mind-bending concepts, most notably the manipulation of time.
Tenet is one of Nolan's boldest, loudest, and most entertaining movies so far and it left many fans craving for more. Luckily, there are several movies worth watching to satisfy that itch. Some are focused on time traveling, while others masterfully create the same suspenseful atmosphere that made Nolan's latest hit movie so compelling.
Updated on March 14th, 2021 by Mark Birrell: Tenet mixes together so perfectly blends together all of the most distinct qualities from the spy and science-fiction genres that there's no shortage of movies out there that can be recommended to fans. But there are some that stand out more strongly than others. We've added an extra 5 to this to better help fans of Christopher Nolan's high-concept thriller find more of the same action and intrigue in some compelling narratives. From underrated blockbusters to the smallest of indies that pack the biggest of punches, all of these movies should satisfy a fan of Tenet.
Déjà Vu (2006)
The performance of Tenet's lead actor, John David Washington, lived up to a long line of dramatically strong performances in high-concept thrillers from his father, Denzel Washington.
One of Washington Sr.'s most notable working relationships within action and thriller movies was with the late Tony Scott. Their third collaboration together was a time-based sci-fi mystery with a number of parallels to Tenet, albeit on a much smaller scale. The plot follows Washington's ATF agent as they attempt to deconstruct a terrorist bombing through a technology that allows a unique insight into the past and while it may not be as philosophically-minded as a movie like Tenet, Déjà Vu still has plenty of interesting concepts at play.
Run Lola Run (1998)
A thriller even more removed from the grand scale of Tenet, yet still as equally engaging and thought-provoking, Tom Tykwer's time-bending crime movie revolves around a young German woman who must race to obtain 100,000 Deutschmarks within 20 minutes in order to save her boyfriend's life.
Of course, even within padding, this setup wouldn't allow for the length of a normal feature-length movie but Run Lola Run's defining party piece is its exploration of the concept of Chaos theory, specifically the so-called 'Butterfly Effect', in which minute actions ripple throughout the observable world and can cause unique results. The audience sees the titular Lola's ordeal replayed several times with different decisions causing vastly different results for her and those around her. It makes for a hugely varied and entertaining experience built out of a relatively very simple and technically repetitive scenario and most Christopher Nolan fans should appreciate the precise execution of simple, but effective, storytelling techniques.
Primer (2004)
Whatever Shane Carruth's micro-budgeted sci-fi drama thriller lacks in terms of scale and production value it more than makes up for in terms of sheer intelligence. Perhaps one of the greatest examples ever of a movie that doesn't dumb itself down to more easily explain its complex plot to the audience, Primer follows two intelligent but struggling engineers who accidentally invent time travel.
Though made for only the tiniest fraction of the cost of Tenet, as the writer, director, producer, composer, editor, and lead actor on the movie, Carruth commands as much authorial control over the story and its philosophical implications as Nolan does, if not more so.
The Thirteenth Floor (1999)
A neo-noir sci-fi thriller from 1999, The Thirteenth Floor is one of those movies that makes the audience question the nature of reality itself. Nolan's fans will love the fact that the explanations are not spoon-fed to the viewer too.
The cast of the movie is outstanding, especially Vincent D'Onofrio and Gretchen Mol. It's a modern classic that set the bar for other mind-bending movies, such as Nolan's Inception.
Dark City (1998)
In Dark City, Rufus Sewell plays John Murdoch, a man who wakes up in a hotel room with no memory and soon realizes he is wanted for several murders. John also has supernatural powers and his city is ruled by 'the Strangers,' a mysterious group of people who walk around in trenchcoats and have the ability to manipulate people's memories and bend their wills as they please.
Though not fully appreciated in its original time, the movie has gone on to become a firm cult favorite and is now considered to be as influential as The Matrix in the development of cerebral and high-concept sci-fi thrillers.
Coherence (2013)
Coherence is a psychological sci-fi thriller in which a group of disparately connected friends reconnect over a dinner party and stumble upon alternate versions of themselves roaming the neighborhood. They are worried and defensive, with some of them even entertaining the idea of harming their doppelgangers.
The plot is driven by its characters and the cast, with improvisation playing a big part in its overall structure. So, while fans of Tenet's meticulously engineered plotting may be left wanting, the movie is packed with all the twists of Nolan's most mindblowing movies.
Inside Man (2006)
In Spike Lee's Inside Man, Denzel Washington plays a dashing detective who is trying to outwit a cunning bank robber who seems to be driven primarily by perfectionism rather than a lust for money.
It's a story that keeps the audience guessing right up until the very end, which fans of Tenet will appreciate along with the talent of the cast acting alongside Washington.
Timecrimes (2007)
While the scale of Timecrimes comes nowhere close to Nolan's recent epics, fans of his work will probably like this movie for its dark and clever plot that involves a fair share of time manipulation.
It's hard to pull off sci-fi movies with low budgets, but writer and director Nacho Vigalondo, who also stars, made an outstanding genre thriller where the limited locations play perfectly into the very plot of the movie.
The Game (1997)
David Fincher's mystery thriller is both thought-provoking and filled with action. Michael Douglas plays a banker who is offered to take part in a seemingly innocent game, but soon realizes he can't tell what's real and what's pretend any more. In the process of trying to figure out what's going on, the number of people that he can trust quickly dwindles.
The Game explores Nolan-esque themes, such as existentialism and the construction of reality. The atmosphere is dark and twisted, achieved by outstanding lighting, camera angles, and editing.
In The Shadow Of The Moon (2019)
Just like Tenet, In the Shadow of the Moon creates a sense of impending doom and looks for answers through time manipulation.
The movie follows police officers hunting down a mysterious serial killer and jumps between time periods that are nine years apart, stretching from the 1980s to the near future, making for another interesting take on toying with the chronology of a mystery movie narrative.
Spectre (2015)
Daniel Craig's fourth outing as James Bond reteamed him with Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes for a noticeably darker take on the superspy and some of his most famous antagonists.
With a suave and skilled military operative relentlessly on the trail of a mysterious organization that's hellbent on global domination, the plot alone makes Spectre and Tenet very similar. But the cinematography of frequent Nolan collaborator Hoyte van Hoytema on both projects really highlights just how entangled the images of the director and the 007 franchise have become, even if he's yet to take one on himself.
Extraction (2020)
Those who loved Tenet for its gripping action sequences and cinematography will definitely enjoy watching this movie, with its one-shot takes being especially exciting. The hero's name is Tyler Rake and just like Tenet's Protagonist, he is an excellent soldier because he dives headfirst into situations like he has nothing to lose.
Unlike Tenet, Extraction went straight for the streaming route and was released on Netflix to positive reviews and turned out to be the most successful original that the streaming had ever put out at that point.
Predestination (2014)
Fans of unexpected movie plot twists should definitely check out Predestination. The plot is based on Robert A. Heinlein's short story called All You Zombiesust and, just like Tenet, it revolves around time travel.
Those who couldn't follow Tenet should consider themselves warned though, with intricate themes of identity and self-determination, this one can be even trickier to wrap the mind around.
Inception (2010)
Those who want something with an atmosphere almost identical to Tenet should watch Nolan's masterpiece Inception. It's paced slower than Tenet, but that's to accommodate a more complex plot.
Just like Tenet, Inception revolves around a mind-bending concept. In addition to that, the audience is much more emotionally invested in the story. The protagonist is Dom Cobb, a man who can enter other people's dreams and, just like in Tenet, there is also a subplot with a child and the theme of time relativity.
Memento (2000)
Christopher Nolan's second movie catapulted his name into the consciousness of film fans all over the world and remains possibly the purest example so far of the director's key themes.
Reality and free will are picked apart as concepts in this neo-noir story of a man with a chronic form of short-term memory loss attempting to solve his wife's murder. If not already intriguing enough of a premise, Memento's crowning achievement is that the entire narrative plays out effectively in reverse. Starting at the end, with each scene being followed by the one that should have preceded it. The cogency with which Nolan is able to tell the strange tale is, in itself, impressive but the characters also find time to deconstruct some genre archetypes and dish out some of the director's harshest truths.