First of all, how good is it to be back in the cinema, watching movies on the big screen? In my humble opinion, so good.
Yes it was my first outing to the pictures since the beginning of the pandemic and just to to sit in one of the Omniplex Salthill's super comfortable, fully electric reclining seats watching a movie off a 4K laser projection with Dolby Atmos sound, gives oneself almost a sense of normality. And the movie of choice for the great return; Christopher Nolan's spy blockbuster Tenet.
The plot centres around John David Washington (Denzel's son for those who do not know ) as The Protagonist (the character's description ), a CIA agent who manipulates the flow of time in order to stop Russian oligarch Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh ) from killing himself, thus wiping out the planet.
Tenet is all about action and there is plenty of shooting, explosions, fight scenes as well as some top quality death defying stunts. Nolan takes no time at all, one minute I believe, before the first bullets are fired at the Ukrainian National Opera House in Kiev - it really was an explosive start to the film. Some of the special effects and CGI, as the Galway Advertiser's chief movie reviewer, Ben O'Gorman can testify, were absolutely amazing to watch.
Even the performances and chemistry between the cast was excellent. Washington shows off his talents as the main lead with other leads Robert Pattinson (Neil, The Protagonist's handler ) and Elizabeth Debicki (Kat, Sator's estranged wife ) also offering up strong performances. Branagh performs well as the evil villain who will not allow his wife, Debicki, out of a loveless marriage, as well as the man who wants to end the planet along with his life.
With plenty of action and a good showing by the case, readers may be thinking this might be a film which would get a 10 out of 10 rating, however, Tenet's major downfall is that its plot line is outrageously difficult to follow, like you would be not at a disadvantage if you worked into the theatre mid-screening. According to Wikipedia, "Nolan took more than five years to write the screenplay after deliberating about Tenet's central ideas for over a decade" and with that piece of information, the movie goer gets the feeling the acclaimed director had too much time to mull over the film's theme.Tenet is a good film but like Inception, I feel it may require further viewings to appreciate its worth.
Movie rating: 6/10
On a side note it is very important to note the efforts of the staff and management at Omniplex Salthill to have the cinema reopen under the current Covid-19 regulations. There are ample hand sanitisers dotted throughout the lobby, protective screens are in place at the checkout with all staff wearing masks, and while I have always been impressed by its cleanliness, the theatres in Omniplex Salthill are immaculately clean, no doubt putting all movie goers at ease.
