Tenet

Be your own Bond. It’s a certainty that recent rumors about someone Black taking over the role of world’s preeminent movie spy informed the casting of this film’s lead. And it raises a good point: why take over someone else’s franchise when you have the opportunity to develop something wholly fresh and new? Of course, the trick there is to do the developing and actually create something that is fresh, and new—and well done. That goal is somewhat accomplished here. This is a spy film that’s so devoted to its on-screen skulduggery that it even keeps its secrets from the audience. The viewer is never really informed about who the players are here, which side is which, or what, or whomever. Add that to the deep humbug about winding and rewinding time and everything starts out as clear as mud…and pretty much stays there throughout. You can just let those aspects slip and choose to view the scenery; there is enough audacious action sequences that it can be enjoyed simply on that level. You can also appreciate John David Washington’s cool, always in control performance as the (strangely unnamed) man making the moves, in one timeline or another. Is that stuff positive enough to build an enduring franchise a la 007? Well, that remains to be seen, in the future…which may be the past…or something like that.