TL;DR: In the best and worst ways possible, Nolan makes me feel fucking dumb.

Nolan’s Tenet both stands and crumbles under the weight of its grandiose concept. Traversing the notion of entropy through the complexities of nonlinear progressions and revisions of history, consciousness, and reality is in-it-of-itself an overwhelmingly thought-provoking idea.

But while much of Nolan’s work as a director (perhaps solely exempted by Dunkirk) can be distilled into ideations and explorations of societal, philosophical, and scientific concepts through both humanisation and expressions of grandeur, Tenet unfortunately devolves under its challenging and convoluted construction and larger execution. While it’s neither absolutely incomprehensible nor alienating, the mechanics of time within the film can be difficult to digest for both everyday movie-goers and (if I may presume), even the most advanced of film aficionados. Finding the balance between entertainment and artistry is something that I feel Nolan struggled with when he was making this.

I’m still trying to piece this movie together. If there were ever a film to encapsulate “precognitive dissonance”, this may be it.

PS: First Drive-in film, will definitely be doing this again some time!