After months of uncertainty, pushbacks and confusion over which territory might get to see it first, Christopher Nolan’s latest sci-fi mindtwister Tenet is finally getting the cinematic release it deserves. Easily the most anticipated blockbuster of the year, the film has been shrouded in the kind of mystery usually afforded to Marvel or Star Wars events. Nolan (Inception, Interstellar, Dunkirk), who took more than five years to write the screenplay, presents one of his most daring sci-fi narratives yet and the results are truly phenomenal.
John David Washington plays The Protagonist, a member of a secretive global organisation. Together with a group of highly trained operatives, he must find a way to halt the start of World War 3. Faced with the prospect of battling a mysterious enemy, he must team up with Kat (Elizabeth Debicki), the ex-wife of criminal mastermind Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh), in order to complete his mission.
From the outset, it’s important to point out that one must be especially careful regarding spoilers when discussing Tenet, for those who haven’t seen it yet. As with any Nolan narrative, a number of very intricate ideas are beautifully laid out here. Some of these ideas are undeniably smart, and even those aspects that border on the preposterous side of things cannot hinder our overall enjoyment of the film.
Revisiting ideas he had already broached in his brilliantly underrated space saga Interstellar, Nolan is back again to his favourite subject, Time. He presents us with various deeply philosophical questions about the passing of time and its effect on who we are and on our own actions. These themes help to make Tenet so much more than just another sci-fi spy thriller.