Tenet – 4K Blu-ray Review
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Warner Bros. 2020
PG13 | 2hrs 30 min | Sci-Fi | Thriller | Action | Adventure
HD | 1080P | DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Native 4K | 2160P | HDR10 | DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 & 2.20:1
Staring: John David Washington | Robert Pattinson | Elizabeth Debicki | Dimple Kapadia | Michael Caine | Kenneth Branagh
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Ratings & Reviews
Please see here for my comments on reviewing movies.
My ratings are simple being marked out of a maximum of 5+. My reviews are biased towards the technical production aspects of the film with brief comments about the story line. Extras, sorry, that’s just not my ‘bag’.
So what did the 5.1 soundtrack sound like? Very good in most respects, and the native 4K HDR10 video? Excellent!
Entertainment: 5
Video: 5
Audio: 5
Technical Review – Native 4K UHD HDR10
Tenet was originally shot on large-format photochemical film in both 65 mm and IMAX, using Arriflex and Panavision Sphero cameras with Panavision and Hasselblad lenses. For this native 4K Ultra HD release, the presentation shifts between 2.20:1 to 1.78:1 aspect ratios for the IMAX sequences. The 4K Digital Intermediate was graded for high dynamic range in HDR10. In a nutshell, the image quality, detail and clarity are excellent, from the opening scenes inside the opera house, the sea and yacht shots to the final bombastic battle. With many scenes providing such palpable depth as to turn my screen into a virtual window on the action. Film grain was barley observable and when present was very fine with no signs of clumping or swarming.
Facial close-ups provide excellent detail, clarity and definition with very natural skin tones and accurate rendition of pores, eyelashes, hair and features without any undue exaggerations.
There isn’t one or a couple of stunning shots, the movie is a barrage of visually impressive moments all starting with the opera house interior, the visually impressive cityscapes, stunning panoramic exteriors, Sator’s yacht that glints in the sunlight as it rests in the vivid blues of the open waters to the dull and almost monochromatic landscapes of the final battle sequence. Colors are generally not explosive, their palette tending towards more cooler natural shades, but they are well saturated, from some of the costumes more intricate patterns and textures, the blood reds, to the jet engines and many explosions red, orange and yellow flames.
This triple-layer disc has been well authored and shows no excessive use of noise reduction, edge sharpening or distracting film grain. Deep blacks abounded throughout, were noise free, and showed excellent low level detail. Peak whites provided clean detail with no clipping, providing a terrific dynamic contrast range.
Even though the image is not full of sizzling eye popping candy moments, the cinematography is excellent throughout and it is certainly worthy of being called a reference quality image.
Audio – DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Tenet features an excellent lossless 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Format mix. I have read several reviewers complaints regarding the intelligibility of the dialogue, paricularly some of the heavier accents, as its level occasionally dips under that of the score and environmental noise, (deliberately so by Nolan). I only found two brief scenes, a total of about 15 seconds, were this was an issue for my system and my ears. The rest of the dialogue was clear, with a fixed, solid, up front, and mostly center imaging.
A much bigger issue, to me, is that the average mix level is “hot” by about +3dB and its 0.1 LFE sub action that is very deep, extended and prolonged on occasions, can be excessive to put it mildly. There are also some very impactful action levels. This means that for those of you who turn your level up to clearly hear the dialogue, action scenes will blow you and maybe your subs out of the room! I left my system at its “normal” level setting for all my viewing. The action peaks were loud and highly impactful, but as I said, dialogue was basically just fine. If your system offers dialogue enhancement you may want to engage it and turn your system level down a little. – You pays your money and takes your choice! I would easily estimate that my system hit peaks of 115dB SPL at my MLP, about 5dB more than my normal peaks.
This is a VERY impactful dynamic mix, with powerful weapons shots, crashes, explosions and smooth panned effects. However, not to be outdone they are accompanied by plenty of much lower level environmental atmospheric moments from the side and (processed) rear surrounds. Like those of the crowded locations, but also aiding in positioning zipping bullets, whirring engines and plenty of general and ‘front-to-back’ movement; all dragging you into the movies immersive soundstage. This high energy action being supported by an equally excellent, powerful and percussive electronic mix by Ludwig Göransson.
Yes, if you like loud and dynamic, with a good helping of bottom end slam, and can ignore the contentious dialogue issue, this mix makes the reference level class.
Story Overview
One word: complicated….for me!
The story is wrapped around a CIA agent know as “The Protagonist” (John David Washington). During an undercover operation at the Ukrainian opera house his life is saved by a soldier who fires a backwards-traveling bullet. Unfortunately, The Protagonist is captured and tortured, and attempts to commit suicide with a CIA issued cyanide pill. Waking up he realizes all is not right, and finds that he has been inducted into “Tenet” a top secret group of scientists who have discovered objects that can travel backwards in time using reverse entropy. Should this tech fall into the wrong hands it has the ability to destroy the past and the entire world. Working together with, Neil (Robert Pattinson), The Protagonist’s handler, they discover that a wealthy renegade Russian oligarch Andrei Sator (Kenneth Branagh), his art-dealing wife Kat (Elizabeth Debicki) and arms dealer Priya Singh (Dimple Kapadia) are all connected with this new future dangerous tech. Sator has the ability to make this tech from scratch and use it to time shift much more than just inanimate objects, but how did he come by it, and what is his terrible secret that could destroy everything since time began?
My 2 cents
OK, so it looks and sounds great. However, I found the story line difficult to understand at times, (nothing to do with dialogue), and it will probably take me at least another two viewings to fully understand the time shift paradox that was portrayed in a most unusual way. The plot seems to leave you to work out for yourself what has, is and will be happening, plus, because of the temporal shifts, I found it easy to loose my place in the action sequence if I so much as blinked.
Never the less, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and its unusual time shifting paradox. Highly recommended to those with a great attention span for the 2hrs and 30 minutes and ability to focus with abstract thought for much of that time. A must to see in 4K.
P.S. you may need a clip board and pencil to take notes. 😉
