TENET

Christopher Nolan is back and Hollywood, as well as movie theaters, are hoping this blockbuster will be enough to bring back the crowds. As I sat in the audience before the lights went out and the film started up, socially distancing within a movie theater and wearing a mask, I was optimistic and believed this could do just that. However, after seeing it, I'm more pessimistic now. While this is visually stunning in IMAX, Nolan tries too had here. I appreciate the originality but even at the beginning of this film, when they first introduce the inversion concept of the story, a character says to John David Washington's character to, "try not to understand it." Essentially, asking the audience to at the same time, enjoy the ride. And for the better part of the movie, that's exactly what I did. A film about an agent (Washington), attempting to prevent an arms dealer from committing world annihilation. Washington is fantastic in this with the swagger and power performance he brings to the screen. Meanwhile, Robert Pattinson is his trusty sidekick, Neil, who he quickly attaches himself to and they're off on their mission. Elizabeth Debicki plays Kat, a woman who is trapped in a loveless and violent marriage by the films villain Andrei Sator (played by Kenneth Branagh). Branagh is passable as the villain, but not menacing enough for my taste (too subdued most of the time save for the occasional outburst). Between the second and third acts is where the film begins to go off the rails as they return to the inversion aspect of the story introduced earlier, which takes us through the finale (which is a mess). A film that will be more forgettable like INTERSTELLAR, than his usual can't miss pedigree. 6/10