Christopher Nolan's most divisive movie is available to watch on Netflix now
When you hear the name Christopher Nolan, you think big, expensive films with complex plots and Hollywood's finest actors.
The English-American director has once again received critical acclaim for his work, with Oppenheimer leading the pack with the most nominations at the 2024 Oscars.
The Cillian Murphy-fronted biopic has been nominated for Best Picture, while Nolan scored nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay and Murphy, Emily Blunt, and Robert Downey Jr. earned acting nods.
Advert
It follows on from a cluster of wins at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards earlier this month.
The winners will be announced at the 96th Academy Awards ceremony hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on 10 March.
The Dark Knight trilogy put Nolan on the world stage following a number of independent releases, including Memento.
There has also been Oscar-winning Inception, Interstellar and Dunkirk, with all three loved by viewers and critics alike.
But there's one movie that continues to divide viewers after being released four years ago.
Available to watch right now on Netflix, the film in question is Tenet.
Starring John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, and Elizabeth Debicki, Tenet is set in a world of international espionage.
An unnamed CIA operative, known as The Protagonist, is recruited by a mysterious organisation called Tenet to participate in a global assignment that unfolds beyond real time.
The mission is to prevent Andrei Sator, a renegade Russian oligarch with precognitive abilities, from starting World War III. The Protagonist will soon master the art of 'time inversion' as a way of countering the threat that is to come.
Trippy, but classic Nolan in so many ways.
But the film wasn't well received, with a Peloton instructor even badmouthing the flick while Nolan himself took part in the class. Ouch.
Speaking earlier this month, Nolan said: “I was on my Peloton. I’m dying. And the instructor started talking about one of my films and said, ‘Did anyone see this? That’s a couple hours of my life I’ll never get back again!’"
One of the biggest criticisms was following the timeline; some found it difficult to keep track of what on earth was actually going on.
One person wrote on X: "I've never been so confused walking out of a movie in my life. I legit don't know what happened over the past 2.5 hours.
"I really enjoyed Inception and followed the plot easily with no issues. This one? I was kinda lost 40 mins in and never quite knew where it was headed."
Another added: "Just seen Tenet and i'm feeling very confused... can't decide what to feel about it? It looked and sounded good but i'm genuinely not sure what just happened."
Critics were equally a bit confused.
Christy Lemire, from FilmWeek, wrote: "I am a big fan of [Christopher Nolan's] films - I usually enjoy the time puzzle of it - but this seems even more intentionally inaccessible and challenging than everything else... confusing, distancing, and chilly."
The film is by no means a flop, boasting a 69 percent critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 76 percent audience score.
Isaac Feldberg, from Inverse, said: "Nolan prioritises the dense audiovisual spectacle of his most narratively complex films. Beyond the intellectual, they exist primarily, and more accessibly, as experiences. Put another way, Tenet is a vibe."
The problem for many watching is they expect the best with Nolan and on this occasion, its clear some think he fell short of the standards he'd already set.
Put another director's name on the flick and we might look at it very differently.
Tenet can be streamed on Netflix now.
Topics: Celebrity, Christopher Nolan, Oscars, TV and Film, UK News, US News
Tom Earnshaw