Christopher Nolan's Tenet is now out in theaters, and it has been met with a mixed response; here's what the critics have said. Over the last 20 years, Christopher Nolan has become one of Hollywood's biggest directors. Whether he's tackling major franchises like The Dark Knight, telling imaginative stories like Inception, or a pulsating war film like Dunkirk, his movies are always among the most anticipated films of each year. Traditionally, the hype also comes with stellar reviews.
His new movie Tenet was sure to be one of 2020's most talked about movies when the year began, and the discussion surrounding the movie has only grown due to the landscape of its release. As the first major blockbuster released after coronavirus, all eyes have been on Tenet and its box office performance. In many ways, the focus on its performance and whether or not it should've been released now has overtaken discussion about Tenet itself, especially since the film has reached a smaller audience than anticipated.
Tenet stars John David Washington as The Protagonist, who suddenly finds himself wrapped up in a time-bending plot to save the world, but the critical reception to the film has been tepid. With over 250 reviews accounted for on Rotten Tomatoes, Tenet just has a 72% fresh rating - putting it in a tie with Interstellar for Nolan's lowest-rated critical movie. The negative reviews for the movie often point to Tenet's overly complicated story, its emotionless center, and undefined characters. Here are some examples:
It’s clever, too — yes, the palindromic title has some narrative correlation — albeit in an exhausting, rather joyless way. As second comings go, “Tenet” is like witnessing a Sermon on the Mount preached by a savior who speaks exclusively in dour, drawn-out riddles. Any awe is flattened by follow-up questions.
THR:
Altogether, it makes for a chilly, cerebral film — easy to admire, especially since it's so rich in audacity and originality, but almost impossible to love, lacking as it is in a certain humanity.
The frame is simple enough. But contained within its James Bondian plot is an endless series of unanswered questions. After the movie debuted in Europe, some commenters said it makes more sense after rewatching it. But that’s a cop-out. Just about everything in life is better the second time. We shouldn’t have to drop another $15 to appreciate the nuances.
The critical response to Tenet certainly came with detractors, but there is another side of critics who adore what Nolan created here. Nolan's latest is among his most ambitious, not only in terms of the story he attempts to tell, but also because of the scale of the action and spectacle. The time-bending aspect of the film gave Nolan the opportunity to do action scenes that are completely unique, and those who have seen it on the big screen (or even bigger with IMAX) can't help but be impressed. Washington has also been a bright spot, even in the negative reviews, as the BlacKkKlansman star demonstrates his ability to lead a James Bond-esque action flick. Here are some samples of the positive reviews:
Mostly, though, it’s a Christopher Nolan film built on the foundations of previous (and in some cases much better) Christopher Nolan films. “Tenet” reaches for cinematic greatness and, though it doesn’t quite reach that lofty goal, it’s the kind of film that reminds us of the magic of the moviegoing experience.
It plays best when it stops showing us its work and morphs into the fanciest James Bond romp you ever did see, complete with dizzy global location-hopping, car chases that slip and loop like spaghetti, and bespoke tailoring you actually want to reach into the screen and stroke.
Tenet is masterful. Few directors even try to work on Nolan’s level, and to witness him taking huge swings like this, time after time, and actually connecting is downright impossible. His intricate blockbusters, calculated down to the nanosecond, are high-wire dances that you watch with your heart in your throat, convinced he won’t be able to complete the elaborate trick he has labored so hard at establishing.
As a movie built around its ideas and awe rather than a tight story, viewers' enjoyment from Tenet has and will continue to vary. Tenet is a movie that repeatedly has been described as one that leans further into all of Christopher Nolan's tendencies as a storyteller and director. For those who are big fans of Nolan's filmography, Tenet is the type of complex experience that they've come to expect and appreciate. But, those hoping for something more controlled and emotional may find Nolan's latest movie to be a bit lacking.