What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.

Hi - Can you explain the movie 'Tenet' to me like i'm 4 years old? (1 Viewer)

Chemical X

Footballguy
So, i stumbled across this movie and gave up after about 1.30.  I kept hoping to figure this movie out, but i finally had to give up, as i had no idea what i was watching.  I usually don't have this issue with movies, but i was completely dumbfounded.  Also, i had a hard time even understanding the dialogue.  Rather than google this, i'd like to give FBG knowledge first crack.  Were they going backwards in the future or forward in the past or did i simply eat a bad cookie or two?  Thx, will answer yours.

 
So, i stumbled across this movie and gave up after about 1.30.  I kept hoping to figure this movie out, but i finally had to give up, as i had no idea what i was watching.  I usually don't have this issue with movies, but i was completely dumbfounded.  Also, i had a hard time even understanding the dialogue.  Rather than google this, i'd like to give FBG knowledge first crack.  Were they going backwards in the future or forward in the past or did i simply eat a bad cookie or two?  Thx, will answer yours.
Everything is different, but the same... things are more moderner than before... bigger, and yet smaller... it's computers... San Dimas High School football rules.

 
I fell asleep for a while watching it.  Then watched the rest.  I don't think it made any more or less sense than if I had watched the whole thing.  

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Fun story--either Nolan is going deaf, but, since he's practically memorized the script, doesn't notice when things can't be understood, or, he's mixing the film sound to intentionally leave some parts unintelligible. He has said that he only mixes the sound in such a way as to be crystal clear and perfect in the top theaters in the country, like the best 5% are the only ones able to accurately reproduce the sound he intends... of course, he's more than happy to charge full price to the people seeing the film in the other 95% of the theaters that he knows will not be able to re-create the sound he wants.

Additionally, they are unable to re-mix the sound for home release/stereo L-R outputs and do not care that the home audience cannot understand the dialogue. Happily will charge full price for this as well.

In other words, Nolan can eat a bag of ducks.

 
Imo Tenet will age beautifully. Will be looked at as a top 5 Nolan film in the years to come 
He’s one of my favorite all time directors.  Makes great movies.  

It's Memento, but in reverse. Or inside out. Or middle out.
Just watched Memento again last night. Pure masterpiece. And you’re not far off IMO, Nolan is definitely obsessed with time and our perception of it. It’s basically a theme in every one of his movies. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
So, i stumbled across this movie and gave up after about 1.30.  I kept hoping to figure this movie out, but i finally had to give up, as i had no idea what i was watching.  I usually don't have this issue with movies, but i was completely dumbfounded.  Also, i had a hard time even understanding the dialogue.  Rather than google this, i'd like to give FBG knowledge first crack.  Were they going backwards in the future or forward in the past or did i simply eat a bad cookie or two?  Thx, will answer yours.
The protagonist is the audience 

hth

 
A rare miss for Nolan. If you’re uninterested in the underlying plot manipulating the timeline won’t save it.  

 
Wow I’m on an island.  I thought it was awesome.  The idea of time moving forward and revers and humans being able to harness that was IMO mind blowing.  As with a lot of Nolan’s movies you have to accept the science he presents and not get too caught up in specifics (see interstellar, inception, etc).  
 

the basic gist is that there are “beings” from the future that are trying to reverse engineer their fate by teaching some ne’er do Wells how to move through time in reverse.  Their goal is to annihilate humanity as we are the catalyst for their demise.  We eventually discover that they are humans from the distant future that have figured out a way to stop us from destroying the planet and their only hope in the future is to stop us before it’s too late.  We have some knowledge of this and a secret government org has been put together to combat the threat.  The protagonist is tapped by them to help in the cause.  It eventually revealed that the protagonist himself created the org years in the future and sent people back to recruit his younger self.  The plot intermingles with these concepts and does so pretty convincingly- again IMO.  
come to think of it, Y’all are nuts.  I’m watching it again tonight.  I like to have my mind blown

eta: full disclosure I had to watch it twice to get everything arranged in my head.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Wow I’m on an island.  I thought it was awesome.  The idea of time moving forward and revers and humans being able to harness that was IMO mind blowing.  As with a lot of Nolan’s movies you have to accept the science he presents and not get too caught up in specifics (see interstellar, inception, etc).  
 

the basic gist is that there are “beings” from the future that are trying to reverse engineer their fate by teaching some ne’er do Wells how to move through time in reverse.  Their goal is to annihilate humanity as we are the catalyst for their demise.  We eventually discover that they are humans from the distant future that have figured out a way to stop us from destroying the planet and their only hope in the future is to stop us before it’s too late.  We have some knowledge of this and a secret government org has been put together to combat the threat.  The protagonist is tapped by them to help in the cause.  It eventually revealed that the protagonist himself created the org years in the future and sent people back to recruit his younger self.  The plot intermingles with these concepts and does so pretty convincingly- again IMO.  
come to think of it, Y’all are nuts.  I’m watching it again tonight.  I like to have my mind blown

eta: full disclosure I had to watch it twice to get everything arranged in my head.
But if he created the org in the future, why the need to recruit himself by sending agents to the past?  
 

Underlying plot, absent the time manipulation, is pointless and silly. 

 
But if he created the org in the future, why the need to recruit himself by sending agents to the past?  
 

Underlying plot, absent the time manipulation, is pointless and silly. 
Because time is fungible.  And time moving backwards can impact things moving forward.  Without the recruitment he’d never form Tenet.

 
and what was the whole deal with the freeport?  they made it seem important, but i have no idea what the point was.  well, i guess i wish i could move backwards thru time and recruit my younger self to not watch this.

 
and what was the whole deal with the freeport?  they made it seem important, but i have no idea what the point was.  well, i guess i wish i could move backwards thru time and recruit my younger self to not watch this.
———-What is a Free Port?

A Free Port is essentially a place where goods can remain outside the normal customs and tax jurisdictions of the country they’re in. Goods arriving at a free port are either taxed lightly or not at all and all goods there are generally regarded as being still outside the country. Needless to say, this makes them an appealing destination for illegal or controlled goods – or, you know, hiding experimental time-reversing technology like an Inversion Turnstile.———————-

 
———-What is a Free Port?

A Free Port is essentially a place where goods can remain outside the normal customs and tax jurisdictions of the country they’re in. Goods arriving at a free port are either taxed lightly or not at all and all goods there are generally regarded as being still outside the country. Needless to say, this makes them an appealing destination for illegal or controlled goods – or, you know, hiding experimental time-reversing technology like an Inversion Turnstile.———————-
so the inversion turnstile was at the freeport?  is there a freeport in freeport?

 
Cool original concept, good execution with as complex as it could be, good cast, good action. 

Sorry it took up the theater spot of another sequel or Marvel movie.

 
It broke my brain.  I admit I was fairly lost with the reverse time stuff.  At a very high level the concept made sense but how it played out just messed with my head.  I was entertained enough - it was probably a little too long but I didn't hate it nearly as much as most in here.  Thing is - it's a difficult watch.  Typically these types of movies are shut your mind off and enjoy.  You had to really think about what was going on to only be partially lost.  For that reason I'm not sure it's a movie with a lot of re-watchability.  I'm not sure I would get things any better on re-watchs.

 
The most confusing thing about the whole movie is an abused wife couldnt leave her husband because of a piece of forged art?

 

Users who are viewing this thread

Top