Christopher Nolan’s Tenet is a groundbreaking action-thriller that leaves the audience pondering what they thought they knew about the concept of time. The film stars partner spies Neil (played by Robert Pattinson) and an unnamed protagonist (John David Washington), both faced with the challenges of time manipulation and inversion.

Their task (which the protagonist believes to be true) is to keep plutonium out of the hands of Russian arms dealer Andrei (Kenneth Branagh). The future of the planet’s existence is dictated by Andrei, and the spies must prevent him from triggering the algorithm in the present day.

A woman by the name of Kat (Elizabeth Debicki) is the trapped wife of abusive husband Andrei. She is aware that her husband has the ability to trigger the algorithm and that his death would consequently affect the world as we know it. The protagonist seeks the help of Kat, knowing her position in her estranged marriage, to assist him in the manipulation of the past. 

Pattinson’s and Washington’s performances were incredible and absolutely essential to the development of the plot. All of the action scenes, including those demonstrating time inversion, were truly mind-bending and well-executed. Debicki’s performance was also extremely notable, as her screen presence contributed greatly to the character development of Kat as the plot progressed. The intense cinematography, along with the exceptional acting, made the film’s concepts more engaging and intriguing, always keeping viewers at the edge of their seats. 

The perspectives and angles shot during action scenes in Tenet are mind-boggling and add liveliness to even the simplest of scenes. The soundtrack that accompanies the scenes is not very notable, but it is fitting for such an engaging film with so much going on at any given time. Nolan’s production is definitely worth watching, even more than once, to fully grasp the film’s concepts. Every component of the movie was very well put together to create this puzzle of a plot. The creativity and thorough thinking implemented in this piece were amazing. Those who enjoyed Inception or enjoy action thrillers coinciding with the theory of time manipulation would absolutely love Tenet.