David F. Sandberg, the director behind 2019’s Shazam!, has publicly mocked the apparent audio shortcomings of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet. Nolan’s most recent effort was widely anticipated by fans and cinephiles alike but, unfortunately, it didn’t end up being as well-received as many of Nolan’s other films have been.

One of the biggest hopes for Tenet was that it would kickstart a return to cinemas months after the COVID-19 pandemic closed theater doors to the public. The film’s release date was repeatedly pushed back, but Nolan refused to consider the option of Tenet being released via a streaming provider. Instead, he fought to have the film screened in the traditional way. While many people did make the decision to travel to the cinema (given that one was open near them), reactions to Tenet were mixed. Complaints about everything from the film’s plot being convoluted to its garbled audio mix ultimately led to Warner Bros. admitting that the film wasn’t a success. For some, this is just a matter of opinion, but Tenet’s pros and cons have been a persistent topic of conversation ever since.

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It isn’t just the general public who have had issues with Tenet’s audio, either. The muffled dialogue has been pointed out by a wide range of critics, and now it seems that Sandberg has also gotten his own little jab at Nolan’s work. In a new tweet, Sandberg jokingly pointed out how relieved he was to finally be able to watch Tenet with subtitles. In this particular case, the subtitles just offer more of the much-loathed mumbling that so many have already complained about:

For his part, Nolan has consistently seemed more than pleased with Tenet, even to the point of defending the lessons he feels it should’ve taught Hollywood. But the fact that the film is quintessentially Nolan in terms of its complex plot meant that audio issues made Tenet far too hard for audiences to understand. It seemed as though Nolan was simply asking too much of his audiences, many of whom had already ventured out of their comfort zones in order to support the film and cinemas during a very difficult time. It’s highly unlikely that Sandberg meant any genuine disrespect with his tweet, but its relatable humor is yet another step in the wrong direction for a film that is already struggling to justify its shortcomings.

Those who were already on the fence with regard to Nolan might see the acclaimed filmmaker’s refusal to acknowledge issues with Tenet as arrogance. Despite Nolan’s tremendous work in creating a film that utilized large-scale practical effects, Tenet does have its share of problems. Many fans of the filmmaker are unlikely to admit this too, which is probably why seeing someone like Sandberg poke fun at the film is so funny.

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Source: David F. Sandberg via Twitter

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Mike Jones
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Mike Jones is an author, screenwriter, world traveller and cinephile. His work has been featured in print and online in a variety of publications, and he’s also a Berlinale Talents alumnus. Cinema has always moved him in a big way and aside from having seen The Talented Mr Ripley more times than any other living person, he maintains a pretty darn healthy physical media collection. His favourite filmmakers include: Jordan Peele, David Lean, Alfred Hitchcock, Mike Leigh, Steven Spielberg, the Dardenne Brothers, Noah Baumbach, Michael Haneke, Barry Jenkins and Andrea Arnold. Often jet-lagged, Mike once turned down a certain A-list celebrity’s offer to join them for a night of partying after a strange encounter in an airport.

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