I heard Tenet sucked, so it was firmly in the maybe column on my list of movies to watch. I finally watched it and was really fascinated by it. I didn't like it nearly as much as Inception and Interstellar, but it was a fun movie with unique ideas. I don't know how it got such a shitty reputation. I think people were just dumb and rather than admitting that they didn't get it they said that the movie was bad. It was certainly flawed in several ways, but it didn't deserve the level of criticism it got when it came out.
I think a big part of the criticism is that it was kinda neat but came off as "Wrapping your head around director's obtuse-gimmick-idea is the whole point of the movie."
Which I guess you could argue was Inception as well, but I feel like it was overall more relatable.
seems like i read something to the effect that DiCaprio made a lot of suggestions to give depth to his character, and that the movie as initially written really was more just-the-gimmick. i hated Tenet; i imagine Inception without likable (edit - or at least interesting) characters would have felt more like that.
That makes a ton of sense and I feel the same way you do.
I fondly remember the characters from Inception and felt drawn into their plight in the bizarre dream world with its own rules.
I only saw Tenet once...but felt like the main character(s) were simply a pair of pants to walk the viewer through the ideas...backwards, half of the time. XD
I think people were just dumb and rather than admitting that they didn't get it they said that the movie was bad.
Definitely me. I hated the aesthetic or lack thereof and couldn't make sense of the events. Since it took itself so seriously I felt I couldn't relate. But then again I watched it on the plane... I really should know better