Tenet is an action/thriller about a nameless spy billed as Protagonist(John David Washington) who becomes involved with a secret organization set to prevent WWIII. The film opens on a blackops mission at a Russian symphony which goes south, afterwards Protagonist begins gathering information about the shadowy figure who is propagating Armageddon with unusual weaponry and tactics.
Washington, so dynamic in BlacKkKlansman, is flattened here, his charm and humor is dampened in favor of a baffling Bond-esk reserve and the script allows him literally zero character development or dimension making the "Protagonist" unknowable and more importantly unengaging. Robert Pattison appears as Neil his handler and fairs substantially better, not because of anything in the script but clearly he did his homework and brings a lot of subtext and nuance to his performance. The supporting cast are mostly negligible save for Elizabeth Debicki as Kat who is a regressive damsel in distress, she does great for what she's given but the role as-written is borderline offensive. Kenneth Branagh as the heavy is startlingly bad, scenery-chewing and unconvincingly evil/intimidating, a confounding casting choice.
Beautifully shot with incredible intricate practical effects the effort is unfortunately for naught as the script and characters are so flat, bleak, unappealing, and lacking in any degree of emotional depth that there are no stakes at any time, even "the end of the world" which the characters keep monologuing about is rendered virtually meaningless. The score is cacophonous, ever-present, and overpowering, almost immediately a glaring distraction.
The story itself is a return to writer/director Christopher Nolan's puzzle-box wheelhouse but unlike Momento or The Prestige but similar to Inception it is so devoid of emotion and 3D characters that regardless of how complicated the turns or interesting the conceit it is a hollow experience.
Currently in theaters. Review safety measures before venturing out to the movie theater. All theaters have restricted occupancy and some have assigned seating, for those you can track how many people have bought tickets to a given showing. Even so-
Don't See It.
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