Christopher Nolan’s newest spy film, Tenet, took more than five years to write and includes a star-studded cast, but fans are frustrated with quite a few important elements of the movie-going experience. The film hit theatres in the United Kingdom in late August and is now out in the United States and while critics gave the film generally positive reviews, many are not so thrilled with the much-anticipated film. Starring John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Michael Caine, and Kenneth Branagh, along with a host of rising and veteran actors, high hopes were had for Nolan’s latest blockbuster. Currently holding a 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, Tenet seems to be holding strong despite the lack of enthusiasm by some.
Tenet follows an unnamed CIA agent, simply referred to as The Protagonist, who is armed with one word, that being Tenet. With the survival of the entire world in the balance, The Protagonist travels around the world of international espionage to save it. The cast itself is reason enough to see this film, for many fan-favorites have come together in this spy thriller in a story that transcends time. From the director of Inception, Interstellar, and now this film, Nolan has put together an interesting original story full of espionage and intrigue, yet fans still left disappointed.
Poor Sound
To many peoples’ surprise, much of the film was inaudible and the sound quality made for a strained experience. With a deep storyline and experienced cast, the film relied heavily on much-needed dialogue, and dialogue that Nolan is in fact very crafty with. Yet, in the end, ineffective sound mixing left some seriously bothered. With many lacking enjoyment and feeling robbed of a much needed cinematic experience, social media began to sound the alarm on the poor sound quality of Tenet.
This type of complaint is nothing new to Nolan’s films, for The Dark Knight Rises received criticism for incomprehensible lines voiced by Bane, played by Tom Hardy. The magnificent scores heard in Nolan’s films also tend to drown out much of the dialogue fans hope to hear. While some may see this as a silly error made in post-production, Nolan has voiced his enjoyment in the past for using sound in adventurous ways. While clarity is important, he aims to layer picture and sound in more creative ways than other filmmakers.
While fans were quick to jump on board with criticisms of the film, industry professionals were somewhat weary to do so. Tenet’s sound team was led by Richard King, a sound editor who has won Academy Awards for three of Nolan’s films, being The Dark Knight, Inception, and Dunkirk. He also received a nomination for Interstellar. So, while it’s easy to criticize for poor sound quality, there is a miscommunication somewhere.
A brilliant original script, an incredible filmmaker, a star-studded cast, and an award-winning sound editor, yet a finished product with criticism over something as trivial as sound quality makes fans wonder what went wrong. While speculation continues to float around on whether Nolan’s motives were to play with the film’s sound for dramatic effect or not, overall, fans are not happy with the current state of Tenet.
Some Missing Pieces
While the sound quality has some fans upset over the film, there are other missing pieces that contribute to the underwhelming praise. While the story seems interesting and is full of exciting twists, it seems to fall flat with disinterested reactions and a hollow feel, providing for a rather passive experience. The stakes don’t feel as high and the characters feel slightly off. While the actors themselves are great actors, it feels as though it is almost the wrong casting and the vibe doesn’t match the film. For a group attempting to save the world from World War III, the stakes and the characters’ reactions could be much more.
Nolan is known for showing the entire process of certain operations and the repetitive walkthroughs are great if the movie requires it. For this film, it felt like there was a little too much talking and not as much showing. This is not necessarily something to criticize the film over, but some of the magic feels lost, possibly contributing to the low stakes. While many had high hopes for this film, unfortunately, fans just aren’t in the mood to deal with the issues Tenet brought to the screen.