LiamCullen6

The year is 2020. Coronavirus has taken over. Lockdowns and quarantines have been imposed worldwide. Masks are essential. Cinemas have been closed for months, and - for many - TENET marks the big blockbuster which signals the opening of cinemas again in many countries, and perhaps a return to some sort of (new) normal.

I believe many moviegoers will, like myself, enter the cinema feeling so excited and yearning a new Nolan movie, and will leave feeling rather deflated and disappointed.

I went to the cinema to see this with a friend today (in IMAX), and both he and I (not to toot our own horns) would like to believe we are (at least mildly) intelligent. We are cinephiles and thoroughly enjoy our cinema visits, and are careful in which movies we select to see on the big screen.

Unfortunately, given the utter perplexion this movie bestows upon its audience, this leads to a displeasing dichotomy: either we are not as intelligent as we thought, or this movie isn't as well-written as Nolan's other movies. Both conclusions are equally terrifying to us (nerds).

About just over an hour after the movie begins is when things start to dissolve. At this point, I began thinking: "Gosh, I wish I could start the movie over again, but with subtitles on this time." And I felt that way for the entire rest of the film. There's many moments where I had to turn to my friend and mouth the words: "What did (s)he just say?", only to be met with repeated shrugs. The movie is 2.5 hours long, yet everything is incredibly fast-paced (to the point it has poor pacing); if you blink, you'll likely miss something very important.

Maybe it's my fault - maybe I briefly, for a few critical moments, let my attention slip, and therefore I'm to blame for my own confusion. Maybe this is another Nolan instant-classic, but unfortunately I'm not sure that's the case (for context, many didn't like Dunkirk for a number of reasons - I loved it, for many other reasons). I'd love to get into detail as to some of the specifics which truly baffled me in the second half of the film, but as I want this to remain a spoiler-free review, I won't delve in.

And, for the avoidance of doubt: the action set-pieces, the soundtrack, and the cinematography were all phenomenal. Just not really too sure the plot was quite up to standard, or necessarily well-executed. It was almost like a bad Bond movie, with a sup-par villain and a random Bond girl we're supposed to care about, but don't because... well, we just don't, and I think the script/dialogue is largely to blame for these characters we feel apathy towards.

I do hope if you're reading this and you do decide to go see it, that you understand it better than I did. I will rewatch it at some point, but I certainly won't be paying to see it a second time in the cinema! I'd rather not pay good money to be put in a bad mood. If I wanted that, I'd go do some mathematical equations.

And finally, for those saying this is a movie you have to go see twice - I don't doubt that that's true. But I don't think it's fair to expect an audience to be disappointed in a movie and only appreciate it on second viewing. Inception, Memento and Interstellar were clever films too, but you were able to follow them and didn't need to see them twice to enjoy them.

From the very first episode, this is a show which grabs your attention and rarely ever eases up. This gritty drama has all the features you could hope for to ensure a great experience: a strong cast, an enticing plot, grizzly violence, excellent cinematography and editing, and stunning action sequences and choreography.

My one gripe about this series - and it's moreso an observation - is that the first half feels stronger than the second half. There's something about the final couple of episodes in particular that feels slightly... lacklustre (?) compared to the previous ones. But given how excellent the previous episodes were, this means any difference in quality seems more noticeable, so this really is a minor complaint.

I'm fully satisfied with this series and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys quality British drama series (rated 18+). Very excited to see where things head in season 2.