Tenet Review: 4 Ups & 6 Downs

Ups

4. Genuinely Jaw-Dropping Physical Set-Pieces

Ever since we saw the rotating hotel corridor in Inception, Nolan and his stunt team have gotten increasingly more daring.

A lover of practical effects and physical stuntwork over rubbery digital doubles, there's one prominent plane-crash here that practically dominates the whole movie in terms of sheer spectacle. Its actual purpose comes off as completely indulgent plot and tone-wise - a rough edge smoothed over by Robert Pattinson calling the move, "A little dramatic" - but once things lumber into motion, there's genuine adrenaline to what unfolds.

A certain highway scene too, needs to be up there with Dark Knight's underpass Joker duel, or The Matrix: Revolutions' eye-widening motorway chase.

Strangely, that in itself is an increasingly unique positive: A big budget blockbuster relying almost entirely on actual stunts and vehicle-mangling carnage. Realising the scale of production Nolan is working with gives Tenet an overwhelming sensibility, and if you want bang for your buck, it's right here.