Tenet
A globe-spanning intelligence operative battles a future-born catastrophe by weaponizing time itself.
Overview
A mind-bending journey through time and espionage awaits as a secret agent battles to save the world.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Labyrinthine
- Violence
- Brutal
- propulsive
- cerebral
- disorienting
- imax viewing
- action movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly admired the film's ambitious temporal concept, technical spectacle, and large-scale action while finding its exposition and emotional characterization comparatively opaque.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The Tenet organization uses time inversion to send people and objects backward through temporal processes, restructuring the action around competing directions of time.
The Protagonist conducts an international intelligence mission in which inverted technology and future-directed plots determine the espionage strategy.
The film emphasizes major physical action sequences, international locations, vehicles, and large-scale effects associated with Nolan's blockbuster craft.
The mission moves through an international network involving the CIA, Tenet, Mumbai, arms dealing, and a Russian oligarch's operations.
Films like Tenet, and why
Inception
high-concept espionage, time manipulation, large-scale practical action, and intricate causality
Mission: Impossible – Fallout
international spy operations, temporal displacement, elaborate set pieces, and morally urgent stakes
Looper
cerebral science fiction, nonlinear causality, puzzle-box storytelling, and emotionally restrained protagonists
Interstellar
ambitious science-fiction spectacle, apocalyptic stakes, and dense temporal concepts
Movie Details
- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Release Date
- 2020-08-22
- Runtime
- 150 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (11565)
Cast
- John David Washington
- Robert Pattinson
- Elizabeth Debicki
- Kenneth Branagh
- Dimple Kapadia
- Michael Caine
- Martin Donovan
- Fiona Dourif
- Yuri Kolokolnikov
- Himesh Patel
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Tenet about?
- A globe-spanning intelligence operative battles a future-born catastrophe by weaponizing time itself.
- What is Tenet like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Tenet as breakneck, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as labyrinthine.
- Is Tenet violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Tenet as brutal.
- What did critics think of Tenet?
- Critics broadly admired the film's ambitious temporal concept, technical spectacle, and large-scale action while finding its exposition and emotional characterization comparatively opaque.
- Which films are like Tenet?
- Films with a similar feel include Inception, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Looper, and Interstellar.
- How long is Tenet?
- Tenet runs 150 minutes.
- Where can I watch Tenet?
- In United States, Tenet is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex.
