By Morgan Martin

Award-winning director Christopher Nolan’s new film, “Tenet was highly anticipated as a complimentary title to his smash hit, “Inception” (2010). Fans wanted another mind-bending puzzle to unwrap and they got one; a spy movie with a time-reversal twist. This action flick stars talents like John David Washington, Robert Pattinson and Elizabeth Debicki as they rush to prevent World War 3.

The crux of this movie is the time inversion bit so I’ll give you the briefest explanation: bad guys in the future discover time-reversal and they put dangerous things into their time box so it can go through the world backward, like an Uno reverse play, which gives a certain evil Russian enough power to kick off WWIII. When fighting a person going in reverse, future-to-past, it’s bizarre because a past-to-future person would see a bullet jump into their gun then their finger would un-squeeze the trigger. It’s a bit confusing to put into words but the story follows the protagonist loyally through the film, so while he may Uno-reverse through time, the audience never leaves his side. And don’t worry, with exposition and visuals, the viewer will understand everything. 

“Tenet”’s stunt choreographer, George Cottle, should be proud. The cast and stunt team should be proud. These fight scenes and car chases are brilliant. Visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson and special effects supervisor Scott Fisher create seamless magic as characters twist the laws of physics and the fact that most people could not experience it on a 35 ft screen is heartbreaking. The action in this movie is the centerpiece because sure, the puzzle is fun and rooting for the clever protagonist is great, but the choreography is what sets this movie above the Mission Impossible and Bond spy flicks. It doesn’t even bother me that it plays many fight scenes twice, once future-to-past and once past-to-future, because both versions drop clues and jaws; it’s a stunning feat.

The biggest downside to the complicated fast-paced film is it rarely gave the audience a moment to breathe. If it wasn’t action, it was an explanation, or a tense dinner, or a walk and talk or a scheming scene. To say the film is dense is an understatement. With Nolan’s grandiose reputation and the film’s dizzying premise, I certainly felt focus fatigue through the two and a half-hour film. Actors Washington and Pattinson perform on sets all over the world but the gorgeous scenery is left in the background -- there is no time to waste.

Heavy with intense electronics and grand orchestral, the screenplay sounded like a typical Nolan film. Composer Ludwig Göransson took on the challenge of filling in famed composer Hans Zimmer’s usual spot. He seems to have stuck the landing, keeping in line with Nolan’s high energy style and complementing the film’s ebb and flow. 

“Tenet” is a film for the voracious cinema fans eager to sink their teeth into an elaborate espionage movie. It is released on DVD and online at FandangoNOW and Amazon.

Morgan is a culture writer for La Tonique.