Tenet: The 70mm IMAX Experience Review

A new Christopher Nolan movie is always a major cultural moment, but the build-up to the release of Tenet was even more intense than normal thanks to the repeated delays brought about by the uncertainty of the virus. The plot had been a closely guarded secret for some time, but, as it turned out, the most effective way to avoid anyone knowing what was going on was to actually show them the movie – it really was that confusing! So much so that I had to admit to myself that after first viewing I realised that I hadn’t genuinely enjoyed it. However, a second viewing reversed this, as it were, and I came away thoroughly thrilled – so much so that a third viewing duly followed.

The first of viewing was special as it was at the BFI IMAX in Waterloo in IMAX 15/70mm format. If you’d like to know more about this, then check out my previous article, but suffice to say that it’s considered by many, and most importantly by Christopher Nolan, to the be the gold standard for cinematic image quality. Seeing it in this format then is “as the director intended” in its purest sense.

Being able to do so is rare, however, as according to this list, as of writing there are only 13 IMAX 15/70mm prints available in the entire world, and five of those theaters are currently closed to Covid-19. And while I haven’t seen it firsthand, I’d be very curious to see how the film looks in standard 70mm, currently being shown in London in the Dolby screen at the Odeon Leicester Square, so as an alternative, try and find one of those showings if you can.

It was with some excitement then that I took my seat near the back of the cinema. Even before the film starts it’s not hard to be impressed by the screen however many times you visit – it’s 26m x 20m high making it the largest screen in Britain – at least when the whole screen is being used. This is when it is being used to project full-frame 1.43 aspect ratio IMAX sequences and there are only three screens with this aspect ratio in the UK. (Think of it as “highscreen” in addition to widescreen).

The opening moments of the raid on the opera house start with a bang in 1.43 full-frame and the scale is breathtaking. It draws you right inside the theater within a theater. You are just there.

There’s no definitive number given for the percentage of footage in Tenet that has been shot in either 65mm film or IMAX 70mm camera film format, but it’s a sizable amount (I’d guess around 50%) and each time it switches into that full-frame format it’s incredibly immersive. I’ve been near the front for previous films and it can be overwhelming. A middle seat might be the sweet spot between taking it all and losing yourself in the experience.

By contrast, the standard 35mm footage on the huge screen, while it looks good, is noticeably softer and grainier. Some people might find the continual switching of aspect ratios distracting but I got little thrill each time as the full-frame footage is just so impressive – it’s bright, razor-sharp, with rich colours and great contrast.

The shot of the John David Washington and Elizabeth Debicki conversing on a promenade high up in the cliffs offers the chance to show a truly spectacular vista and it looks epic in full-frame. Even listening to two people conversing is involving.

Nolan speaks about how his cinematographer was able to use the IMAX camera in places that they would not normally be used and it gives the car chase sequence a visceral quality that it would otherwise not possess. Washington also talks about how the presence of the large camera changes the nature of the performance. “The IMAX camera will make you commit,” he says.

To be truthful there were fleeting imperfections in the image, possibly caused by a flutter of a film frame as it passed through the gate or some other issue. However, for me, this only added to the experience that we were watching something physical through which light was passing. The texture of the image is appreciably different to digital projection – tangibly warmer and somehow easier on the eye.

The audio, however, is far from subtle – it’s incredibly loud and bombastic, and just six-channel in the BFI, which perhaps might explain why I found it hard to pick some of the dialogue. This has been a widely reported problem with the film, but it has been an issue with previous Nolan movies, so I assume that it’s just the way he likes to mix his movies. Nolan does not want to spoon-feed his audience easy to follow stories and you might want to watch Tenet a second time as much to try and make out what they are saying as to work out the science behind the incredible time-reversal sequences.

Ultimately, what truly made me appreciate the sheer scale and clarity of the 15/70mm footage was seeing the film again in my local cinema, which happens to be an IMAX with laser projection. This screen is a mere 10 metres high and is in the 1.90 aspect ratio – so it’s no slouch but it truly surprised me how much smaller the experience felt. In fact, I wish I’d seen it in this format first, and then got a chance to upscale, in every sense, to the full-frame IMAX experience. If you are lucky then to be able to get a chance to see Tenet in this format, I’d highly recommend it. Yes, the ticket price is very high, but if you are able to justify it, you’ll be guaranteed a cinematic experience to remember, if even you come out not having understood a word of it.