Christopher Nolan’s Tenet is back in cinemas – and still a masterpiece

The world wasn’t ready for it principle when it was originally released in 2020. That’s both literally true – it was in the middle of the pandemic – and spiritually true, because people were still so invested in the idea of ​​Christopher Nolan as a filmmaker with mysteries who wanted his films solved. But now that people are I’m starting to go to the cinema againAnd Oppenheimer has alerted audiences to Nolan’s seriousness, perhaps it’s finally time to appreciate it principle For the atmospheric friendship film masterpiece, that’s it. With the film As we return to theaters for a week-long revival on February 23rd, there’s no better time to begin the reassessment.

From the first moments in the Kiev Opera principle feels like a kick in the teeth in the best possible way. It’s big, loud and decidedly kinetic. The intense physicality of John David Washington running and sliding through the back rooms of the opera house immediately gives the film a forward momentum. Meanwhile, Nolan injects energy into this movement, with jarring cuts that make the film feel like it’s bouncing off walls and an agile camera that’s ready to keep up with his actors’ rapid pace and hunt them down when necessary .

All of this comes through when you watch the film at home, but in the theater it becomes a magical, completely overwhelming experience. This is not least due to Past’s excellent rating Black Panther and future Oppenheimer Composer Ludwig Göransson. principleFilm music is a milestone for action blockbusters: it gives the film mood, atmosphere and tension so that the script doesn’t have to. Contrary to the confusion many viewers felt upon the film’s release, principle could actually play best and easiest as a silent film. It’s an action epic that needs no further explanation than the exceptional score. And hearing this score through IMAX speakers is undoubtedly more effective than having it chirped through a television.

From this perspective it is much easier to accept principle is not something you solve, like an overly complicated puzzle. It’s an experience you have when you let the action, the movement and the music work their magic on you.

This doesn’t mean you have to turn off your brain to have fun principleor that it has no worthwhile themes or that its complexities cannot be understood or explained. principle is full of worthwhile themes, but they don’t have much to do with the complicated plot. The film itself shows this in its final moments when Neil (Robert Pattinson) explains to the protagonist (Washington) that they have not had the same journey. “For me, this is the end of a wonderful friendship,” he says. The protagonist, suddenly grasping the entire plot, says: “But for me, this is just the beginning?”

That’s it, that’s it principle!

You can definitely watch the film again and discover the little nuances of its time travel mechanics or see the elegant messages of survival and desperation. But most of what you’ll see on rewatch is a very heartfelt film about friendship. The little moments that stand out the most are the ones where a friend tries desperately and carefully to care for and guide someone without letting the other person know about it. It is really that easy. principle is just a buddy cop movie masquerading as something much more complicated.

Photo: Melinda Sue Gordon/Warner Bros.

This type of misunderstanding occurs in almost all of Christopher Nolan’s films. Films like The prestige And beginning are often discussed as complex acts of deception and misdirection, when in reality they are usually stories about things like obsession. Nolan himself eventually decided to make this explicitly clear Interstellara complex film about science and survival that focuses on the ultimate message Love was the answer all along. That’s Nolan: a deeply serious filmmaker who washes his emotions through science, action and mystery.

But all of that matters principle So great. Nolan’s film is full of style, complex fight scenes, intricate heists and beautiful scenes, but it is also the biggest and most expensive hangout film of all time. It’s a good-humored action blockbuster about saving the world with your best friend traveling through time to get the chance to spend some more time with you. And now this principle comes back to theaters, people can stop trying to solve the problem, search through every single frame of Max looking for the right answers, and finally sit down in front of the biggest, loudest screen they can and just do it enjoy.

principle returns to theaters for one week on February 23rd. Where possible, it will be shown in 70mm IMAX, IMAX Digital or standard 70mm screening presentations. Warner Bros. reports that these screenings will feature “exclusive footage from.” Denis Villeneuves Dune: Part Two.”