Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Tenet Blu-ray Movie Review

Does your head hurt yet?

Reviewed by Randy Miller III December 11, 2020

Director Christopher Nolan continues his crusade against time with Tenet, a long-gestating sci-fi thriller that you'll likely need a spreadsheet to understand. The story follows a CIA agent known as "The Protagonist" (John David Washington) who, during an undercover operation at a Ukrainian opera house, is nearly killed during a firefight. His life is saved by a soldier who fires a backwards-travelling bullet and, after being tortured by his captors, The Protagonist -- let's call him "P" for short -- attempts to commit suicide with his government-issued cyanide tablet. It doesn't work, and when P awakens, the truth comes out: he's been unwittingly inducted into "Tenet", a top-secret group whose scientists have discovered bullets and other items that travel backwards through time via reverse entropy. This future tech (which technically hasn't been invented yet, I guess), will destroy the past if it falls into the wrong hands.

P, along with his handler Neil (Robert Pattinson), are soon waist deep in this new world, pursuing wealthy Russian businessman Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh) by way of his art-dealing wife Kat (Elizabeth Debicki) and arms dealer Priya Singh (Dimple Kapadia). It soon turns out that Sator's roots run deep in this dangerous tech: he's not just distributing it, he's making it from scratch... and backwards travel isn't limited to inanimate objects.

Tenet follows a template that wouldn't feel out of place in a James Bond movie: we get cool gadgets, international sights, great action, ambitious set pieces, sleek music, and mysterious villains. The main difference here is all that pesky reverse entropy business, as Tenet eventually dives head-first into advanced physics and partially uncharted sci-fi territory that will instantly remind Nolan fans of Interstellar and, of course, Inception. Backwards bullets soon give way to full-on duplicate encounters, warfare, and P's eventual entry into this mirror universe, an admittedly thrilling sequence that makes for a focused and tense sprint to the finish line. It's all admirably framed around the real-life Sator Square, a connected series of palindromes that tie into plot elements and characters within Tenet.

But, much like those earlier Nolan films (which might as well include Dunkirk, while we're at it), Tenet can't help but get tangled up in its own complications. Exposition and plot mechanics are constantly being explained by supporting characters, as much for our own benefit as The Protagonist's. The effect isn't unlike a game made up by a six-year-old: you're playing by their spontaneous rules, like it or not, so they'll end up having most of the fun. That's not to say that Tenet isn't remarkably enjoyable at times, of course, and it clearly has high technical merits that will absolutely keep your eyes glued to the screen even as your brain begs for mercy. But, Inception aside, it's probably the director's most self-indulgent production to date... so your feelings about that film will be the most accurate gauge of interest here. I have always been lukewarm to it so Tenet isn't a home run by any stretch, but I'll admit the film's large-format visuals and slightly more approachable execution make it more effective overall. However... if Christopher Nolan would find his way back to less complicated fare like Following, pretty please, it'd be a step in the right direction.

Tenet was planned for release in July; that went off without a hitch, and everybody saw it all at once because there were no global pandemics preventing poorly-ventilated theaters from operating at full capacity. Ahead of Warner Bros.' dual releases of Tenet on Blu-ray and 4K UHD, Nolan also made no disparaging comments about the studio's upcoming plans to stream all 2021 theatrical releases simultaneously on HBO Max. Nothing to see here, move along.

But seriously, both the Blu-ray and, of course, 4K editions of Tenet offer outstanding A/V specs and even a bonus disc of featurettes, which makes it quite a respectable home video release considering the quick turnaround time.

Tenet Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

I would have been even more impressed with this Blu-ray's 1080p presentation had I not watched it immediately after the reference-quality 4K UHD, but this is still a five-star presentation that meets or exceeds boundaries of the format. Any time your source is recently-shot film, let alone mostly comprised of 65/70mm footage, you're bound to get at least very good results but this transfer, as the accompanying screenshots prove, is extremely impressive at every turn. Image detail and textures practically leap off the screen and the film's HDR-friendly color palette still looks very refined and nicely saturated even without the enhancement. Black levels also run nice and deep, contrast and shadow detail look great, and solid compression ensures that the movie-only disc gets plenty of room to breathe.

Overall, this is a very rich and filmic presentation with excellent density, faint but noticeable grain, and seamless transitions between the 2.20:1 and 1.78:1 IMAX footage. It gets completely outclassed by the 4K disc in every category, of course... but if you're not set up for that format yet, there's no call for disappointment here.

Tenet Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Although I was not one who saw Tenet in theaters, many complained about poorly-mixed audio that rendered a good deal of its dialogue tough to understand. (The same was said about Interstellar, among other Nolan films released during the last decade.) Whether or not this DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track uses that same source mix, I had very little trouble deciphering much of anything that wasn't spoken in a heavy regional dialect. Perhaps the only handicap here is Tenet's slightly overcooked volume level, as some of its most forceful action sequences pack an incredible wallop that reach a good 5 to 10dB higher than what I'd consider my normal listening threshold.

Fundamentally, though, it's pretty much a perfect mix within the boundaries of 5.1... which is the director's preferred format, hence the lack of Dolby Atmos. Channel separation and panning are put to great use during action sequences and in crowded locations, creating a wide and immersive soundstage that matches the plot's lofty ambitions. Many of the film's most powerful hits employ a clear "front-to-back" movement rather than balanced immersion, although the percussive electronic score by Ludwig Göransson offers occasional reinforcement in that area. But the LFE is probably this mix's strongest suit, with many moments dipping extremely deep into "Interstellar black hole" territory, creating a thunderous and booming atmosphere that probably won't earn you any points if you live in an apartment or duplex. Collectively, it's every bit as attention-grabbing as the visuals, earning high marks that even place Tenet among the year's best-sounding discs. Optional subtitles (including English SDH) are offered during the main feature and select extras, while rare moments of forced subtitles are also present during lines of foreign dialogue.

Tenet Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This three-disc release is housed in a dual-hubbed keepcase (one being a "stacker") with slick cover art and a matching slipcover. Bonus features are included on a second Blu-ray and offer a relatively in-depth look at the production.

• Looking At The World In A New Way (76:13) - Divided into thirteen parts, this connected group of short behind-the-scenes featurettes covers a respectable amount of ground such as the script and early development, casting, locations, special effects, large-scale set pieces, shooting 1.5M feet of 65mm film, the editing process, music and sound design, James Bond, and other pieces of the production. A wide variety of participants are on hand including director Christopher Nolan, production designer Nathan Crowley, cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, producer Emma Thomas, actors Kenneth Branagh, John David Washington, and Robert Pattinson, stunt coordinator George Cottle, special effects supervisor Scott Fisher, VFX supervisor Andrew Jackson, and many more. It's well-produced and runs as a cohesive unit with the feel of a longer documentary.

• 1. The Principle of Belief (04:06)
• 2. Mobilizing the Troupe (06:35)
• 3. The Approach (04:40)
• 4. The Proving Window (04:46)
• 5. The Roadmap (05:06)
• 6. Entropy in Action (10:48)
• 7. Traversing the Globe (12:28)
• 8. How Big a Plane? (04:48)
• 9. The Dress Code (03:52)
• 10. Constructing the Twilight World (05:27)
• 11. The Final Battle (04:11)
• 12. Cohesion (05:37)
• 13. Doesn't Us Being Here Now Mean It Never Happened? (03:49)

• Theatrical Teaser (1:08)

• Theatrical Trailers (3 versions, 8:29 total)

Tenet Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's fittingly ironic that Tenet's central gimmick -- the push and pull of "inverted" time against a normal flow -- is both its most compelling and frustrating element. Everything I loved and hated about Inception is here in spades, as well as some of Dunkirk's slightly bitter aftertaste. But Tenet is so engaging from a base-level sensory standpoint that it's hard to completely dismiss... so even if you don't enjoy it the first time around, you'll probably come back for more anyway. Warner Bros.' Blu-ray package is well-rounded considering the quick turnaround time, delivering strong A/V merits and a collection of featurettes that get their own disc. Newcomers may want to rent it first, but established Nolan fans ready for repeat viewing should either get this or the 4K release... depending on their setup, of course.