Tenet is the latest film from Christopher Nolan and may be destined to become known as the first new cinema release post-lockdown. The advertising kept things vague, but I gathered that John David Washington and Robert Pattinson were featured along with previous Nolan collaborators Michael Caine and Kenneth Branagh.

The plot concerns two secret agents, played by Washington and Pattinson, on a mission to prevent nuclear war while also having the ability to “bend time.” An abusive arms-dealing husband (Branagh) and his wife (Elizabeth Debicki) are also involved.

Washington gives another good performance, being able to play a calm, cool and collected spy and also a more brutal personality when required. Pattinson doesn’t do anything mind-blowing but is a likeable enough presence. Branagh slips into his villainous role quite well; he does some standard shouting and screaming, but not over the top.

Michael Caine shows up early on and gives the usual overdone performance of ‘likeable old man in a Christopher Nolan film’. But like Pattinson his presence is still welcome.

Nolan apparently developed the script over several years. He barely wastes a minute and there are plenty of visceral action scenes. Some scenes do get a bit talky, but in for the most part the film feels fast-paced.

The film has quite a lot of memorable visuals, most notably for me where the camera pans across a desert where there’s nothing but big explosions and chaos along with a vehicle that may be going in an odd direction…

Moving onto the effects, the time-bending stuff is impressive, though the novelty does wear off once you’re desensitised to it. But it does set it apart from your average spy film.

The score sounds like Hans Zimmer was responsible, but this time the duties have been handed over to Ludwig Goransson – who just uses a lot of the same loud horn sounds all the way through the film. Zimmer could easily have obliged with this but Goransson is an acceptable substitute.

Two familiar Nolan tropes lead to less satisfying results. Tenet does drag from time to time and is rather confusing in places, especially in the final act where there’s a lot going on and there seems to be no end in sight for a while. Also, the end of the film is rather ambiguous, but endings like that are something that Nolan’s fans have come to expect from him. I’m just taking longer to adjust.

Tenet is a worthwhile film to return to the cinema to see. There’s a lot to admire in the performances, with a fast pace (most of the time) that keeps the story moving and the viewer interested. But it does succumb to a climax that could be less protracted and a lot more coherent. But it’s well worth going to see it on the big screen – just make sure your attention is always on the film and obey whatever distancing guidelines the cinema has in place.

Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer: Christopher Nolan
Stars: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki
Andrew Moodie
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