``Tenet'' Nolan's creative turn symbolized by the palindromic title *Note! Contains spoilers.

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2020.09.18Kazuo Ozaki

The "future" of Nolan's films that repeat themselves (Note: Contains spoilers)

Finally, I would like to conclude by mentioning something I noticed when watching the film on the Big screen.

For example, in the film, Sator (Kenneth Branagh), the mastermind behind the time reversal system, steals plutonium, a relic from the Cold War, and uses it to destroy the world. This apocalyptic development seems to be a direct copy of the neutron bomb terrorist attack by Talia al Ghul in " The Dark Knight Rises " (2012).

Without hastily mentioning the climax, the terrorist attack at the opera house that unfolds in the opening IMAX section is a repeat of the bank attack by the Joker at the beginning of " The Dark Knight " (2008), and the character of Sator, whose principles go beyond logic and who exudes ugly paranoia and a desire to commit suicide, could be said to be a reference to the Joker from " The Dark Knight ."

In short, Nolan is repeating what he has built in the DC Comics mold in a very original form this time. In that sense, the obvious taste of 007 may not be the nature of a continuing series, if Tenet is considered to be a complete break from the established franchise.

And above all, this "Tenet" has the attributes of "The Rising," which replaces superheroes with the real world in a rigid arrangement and fleshes out the freedom of comics, but ultimately praises the existence of Tenet. The hot reunion between characters and the fateful encounter that occurs through time reversal also appeals to the emotions of the cool Nolan.

"Tenet" is a high-concept film that seems to be detached from public reactions, but in reality it highlights his romantic personality and is a film that is in tune with the feelings of the fans who love his work.

Given this, the palindrome title "Tenet" could also be interpreted as indicating this creative turn for Nolan.

Text: Kazuo Ozaki

Film critic and writer. His main writing sites include print media such as ``Figure King'', ``Champion RED'', ``Eiga Hiho'', and ``Hokkaido'', and web media such as ``Eiga.com'' and ``The Cinema''. In addition, he has contributed many explanations and essays to theater pamphlets, movie mook books, and DVD & Blu-ray software booklets. She also formed a cinema comedian unit [Movie Gachinko Brothers] under the name "Dolly Ozaki" and appears on TV and at talk events. Twitter: @dolly_ozaki

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"Tenet"

Nationwide release on Friday, September 18th

Distribution: Warner Bros. Pictures

Official website: https://wwws.warnerbros.co.jp/tenetmovie/index.html

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