We’re in the Middle of a Pandemic, but Sure, Fly Across Country to See Tenet, a Movie You Know Nothing About
I say all of this as a huge fan of Christopher Nolan.
I love Christopher Nolan films. They’re filled with twists and beautiful action sequences, and I often turn to them when I want to escape the world at large. So yes, I do think we need something like Tenet to distract us right now, but I have lost a lot of respect for Nolan as a filmmaker for forcing the issue on Tenet being released exclusively in theaters, and therefore endangering his own fans in the middle of a pandemic.
It’s to the point now where Nolan fans are flying across the country to see the movie, since movie theaters in their home states are not open because we’re in the middle of a pandemic. One self-appointed cinephile is flying to Austin, Texas from California and seeing the movie twice before flying straight back home. Not only is this dangerous for the fan in question, but he’s flying in from a hot spot state to Texas, going to the movies, then going right back home. So, you know, potentially spreading the coronavirus for a movie we know very little about.
Look, I love Christopher Nolan movies. They’re epics that should be seen on the screen that Nolan intends. The problem currently is that he’s rushing everyone out to theaters when it isn’t safe and all because he thinks his movie will, somehow, save the landscape of theater-going. His ego is putting his own fans in danger.
Would I die for Elizabeth Debicki? Yes. Would I die for Robert Pattinson and John David Washington? Absolutely. Do I want to? F**k no.
On top of the movie itself being forced into cinemas, people also do not know what this movie is about. Christopher Nolan is notoriously secretive, but to the point where none of us even know what this movie really is, so … fans are risking their lives and spending money to see a movie twice in one sitting and they know absolutely nothing about it?
I’m sorry but even if David Fincher decided to release a five-hour cut of Zodiac in theaters right now, I would say “no thank you” and wait until I could either safely watch it in the theaters or rent it. That’s the main problem with this is: Nolan and Warner Bros. are providing no other options. It’s either you risk your life for a movie you know nothing about or you don’t see it.
And that’s truly selfish. That’s all it is. You want money. You want people to give you their money for a story that could potentially be bad, and you don’t care what happens to them after they’ve given you their cash. Should Tenet have waited until cases were not still rising in the United States? Yes. But that’s not what is happening, and it’s frightening that we live in a world where someone is willing to risk their health and the health of others to see a movie.
(image: Warner Bros.)
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