when the protagonist (literally) has less character and development than the 3 supporting roles.

my mom couldn’t stop talking shit about the main character it was so funny she hated him. she could not have given less of a fuck

rewatching this i realized how much care and time nolan put into clearly explaining what inception is and how the rules work to the audience before the real mission even starts in that film. the concept in inception is very fantastical and unrealistic, yet the rules are provided clearly enough for an audience to recognize and understand what is happening later on in the film. they feel ready when the action begins.

tenet however has a concept too complex/convoluted to be explained the way it is in the film. i wish nolan found a way to explain the idea clearly enough to where it didn’t force me, an audience member, to start thinking about it too much. inception is an unrealistic concept but it knows this & is up front about how it all works, ensuring we know exactly what’s going on and stopping us from questioning it.

‘you have to turn your brain off to enjoy it’ lol no bc then i won’t understand wtf is going on in the complicated plot. nolan clearly didn’t intend for me to turn my brain off to this film.

i think he bit off way too much than he could chew with this one, tbh.