TENET: Neil's Timeline Explained + What Happens To The Character In The End

[@heavyspoilers]

Check out our breakdown of the theory that Neil is Kat's son here - kzbin.info/www/bejne/o32zoKamm5lojsU

[@will88TFs4Life]

Hi! These videos are great! I do have one question that I can't see answered anywhere. It's about Kat being killed by an inverted bullet and that being the reason Sator is sure she is dead. While Sator was inverted during the scene where Kat is shot (in the blue room), so is Kat. We see the exact same scene of the shooting play out right after in Sator's perspective and he simply shoots her. So the bullet is not inverted in his perspective (nor Kat's), it's shot like a normal bullet. So why wouldn't Kat simply heal normally as she would from a normal bullet wound?

[@killajok3337]

@heavyspoliers hey man I love ur vids I watch almost every one. Hey I just got a question for you sir. I was re-watching endgame and there’s something that doesn’t make sense . If future nebula kills past self in future wouldn’t she cease to exist? Love your thoughts on that . Also doesn’t make sense how she was able to fight in the battle

[@rufarojunior]

Heavy Spoilers seen tenet I know that the timeline might have connections with Neil and I enjoy his arc very much plus the plot is awesome throughout

[@DJShadowDubai]

What about Neil being Max as well as Micheal (since Micheal Caine also talks about wearing suits and fashion sense and knows much about Kat).

[@will88TFs4Life]

@@killajok3337 Nebula doesn't cease to exist because the one they killed isn't from their past but instead from an alternate dimension of their past.

[@빙봉방봉방]

All I want is another TENET but everything in Neil's POV

[@dyinginsidelol]

!!

[@mrddorsey19]

I think this is the end of a trilogy

[@mrddorsey19]

All of the bit characters play bigger roles in the other movies. Which would be sooo epic

[@lettheloveflow]

Even a TV series would do.

[@LovethisNation]

Nolan says you got it

[@0vermars520]

I swear that ending...Pattinson delivered it perfectly.

[@retroraider5313]

That's our present Mr Wayne

[@0vermars520]

@@retroraider5313 Mr Wayne down with COVID :(

[@ductung95]

@@0vermars520 thats what happen when u literally live in a batcave

[@0vermars520]

@@ductung95 touche

[@Adrian-mw7us]

John too. His expression and delivery were heartbreaking. Perfectly done in my opinion

[@irishcreamlatte]

Me, 30 minutes into Tenet: well this film isn’t as complicated as I expected. 30 minutes later: I hope Heavy Spoilers already has an Ending Explained for this film.

[@heavyspoilers]

Looooooool, I dunno how Nolan wrote this tbh

[@conlann]

@@heavyspoilers Pretty sure he wrote some inverted and some in the future simultaneously.

[@maarten1012TTT]

For me it was unclear at the beginning, but got it in the end

[@playthatagainbruh394]

The beginning was confusing

[@ngmui430]

@@heavyspoilers only 6 years of writing and 20 years of concepts

[@DarscioStudios]

I feel sorry for the people who thought Inception was too complex

[@niara6]

Yeah now inception is like easily understood movie😂😂😂

[@neilacero6761]

Yeah, Inception was pretty straight-forward with the exception of a potential twist in the end.

[@8mmkyle865]

Inception is still pretty complex. Especially when trying to fully understand consciousness, projections, limbo, and the actual concept of inception and extraction. But I agree, after watching Tenet, Inception becomes like child's play. Pretty strsight forward haha.

[@thefloret1359]

Inception is pretty straight compared to this

[@ritwikghosh7743]

Honestly, I didn't have that much problem understanding Inception. Just watched it twice and the film was clear to me. But Tenet despite watching twice and watching endless ending explanation videos, I still didn't get the timeline of the film😅 This video helped a bit, but I will have to watch again😌

[@EnigmaShadow03]

Neil is literally the OG in this movie. I would love a friend like that.

[@kayaeki]

nothing good than a awesome homie!

[@sarthaknagar6349]

Who wouldn't?

[@rujotheone]

Same

[@stephytv1953]

His last scene was really emotional, knowing he's "going" to his death

[@atwunz]

Damn yeah.

[@PumperPanda95]

Didn't even catch that lol

[@frankieholmes1565]

wait what

[@AllenAngmj]

what happened, happened

[@nguyen-vuluu3150]

@@frankieholmes1565 in the last fight where the protangonist was about to extract the algorithm, there was a locked door, besides the locked door lies a body. The protagnist then struggle to get the door open, while the algorithm is being lowered. The body is actually an inverse, who then gets up, took a bullet to the head to protect the protagonist, then picked the lock, then ran outside. It was Neil who was inversed

[@PhoenixRiseinFlame]

Robert Pattinson has proven that he’s actually a fricken good actor. I’m happy for him.

[@Waterbug1591]

Why do you still need a proof for that? Because of twilight? are you that stupid?

[@PhoenixRiseinFlame]

Word of advice, use correct grammar when attempting to insult someone’s intelligence.

[@Waterbug1591]

@@PhoenixRiseinFlame when the message gets across and the stupid can't understand. good intelligence.

[@doflamingodonquixote5776]

I’m so excited for his Batman!!! #Battinson

[@sleepingpanda1738]

Definitely the best line: “I prefer soda water” “No you don’t”

[@PrateekK]

This movie is so mind-bending that we need a Tenet Explained Explained video.

[@gfl1489]

Ya, for Indians everything is complicated.

[@esthera.2041]

I'm glad to know I'm not alone... I didn't understand anything. And to think I was looking for answers after watching the movie...🤯

[@yvesnyfelerph.d.8297]

It is just arbitrary nonsense. The only feature being that it's complicated but once solved, the puzzle reveals nothing at all. That's the problem with this movie. Who cares about Nolan's time fetish.

[@neveyle]

@@yvesnyfelerph.d.8297 yea it felt pretty hollow and nonsensical

[@incarser101]

Movie is nonsensical more like. This type of time travel is perhaps the worst take I’ve seen on it. Like 🙄🙄🙄 inversion is legit just dumb. Cuz now time is on a film reel which can be rewound. Nolan spent too much time around film and editors and deluded himself to believe that this would make sense as a time travel theory.

[@farhanbaig404]

Robert Pattinson is such a good actor. I hope he doesn't end up being cast in a vampire movie..

[@splashydiamond]

Well....that part is a litlle dramatic

[@tristanfuente5194]

What's happened's happened.

[@farhanbaig404]

@@tristanfuente5194 Has it though?

[@fromthebeginning4801]

It's probably fair to say that those films much like Harry Potter for Radcliffe helped them both to grow into excellent adult rolls

[@warriorinstinctyt9548]

What's happened happened

[@wiseversa5369]

Christopher Nolan definitely smoke Plutonium while writing & directing this.

[@esma1044]

Lmao underrated comment

[@tegesnripendra9473]

thank god he did that

[@allresende5661]

Yeah, this time he went almost too far

[@nileshrane280]

😂 yeaaah

[@niara6]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@hypnoharlequin3546]

Imagine all the people who didn't understand Inception trying to sit through this movie. RIP lmao.

[@Unknown-ch000]

I understood inception but this movie was a whole different level and im still here watching videos of tenet and i still don’t get it 😂😂

[@Ndstars1]

@@Unknown-ch000 Level. Heh.

[@YellowGoblin1111]

Ndstars1 hehehe

[@AlexFarleyMusic]

I just couldn't hear any of the dialogue.

[@toodlesthebard]

@@AlexFarleyMusic I had the same problem in IMAX. Plan on watching it again in regular to see if I can hear better. HOWEVER I was on edge of my seat the whole damn time. Im in the group that got and loved inception and interstellar the first time.

[@SplitSniper7]

We out here playing checkers while Nolan is playing temporal pincer chess.

[@kuniohung8914]

No worries characters from Attack on Titan is playing 5D chess as well

[@mrevilducky]

@@kuniohung8914 god AoT is so fucking good

[@derekcheung3069]

MrEvilDucky P A T H S

[@glandhound]

Using a rugby term to describe chess is ironic.

[@mohammedkarim6615]

@@kuniohung8914 yo AOT is literal god

[@thehentertainment9375]

Interviewer after I came out from the movie: How was Tenet? Me: It hasn't started yet.

[@finnfinity9711]

*walks home backwards*

[@huseyinsen3205]

😂

[@mohammadkarimi3782]

👍

[@akshitamehta-rashid6401]

Hahaha

[@hasnainali6189]

Damnnn🤣🤣🤣🤣lmfaooo

[@clairehsuclaire]

Well, so Neil basically is a cinnamon roll that you thought you're protecting but actually he's the one who protects you all along.

[@o-REDBEARD-o]

yea baby you got it!

[@shubhankarvashists]

and this was the fucking plot twist you wrote it so straight thanks 👍👍

[@o-REDBEARD-o]

@American Patriot so because you didnt understand it then its stupid? Its all very clear by the end.

[@greaterthanaccra]

He's the silent protector, he's the Dark Knight.

[@michaelcarrasquillo4781]

@@greaterthanaccra he is Vengeance.

[@greaterthanaccra]

I really like how Nolan is able to create subtle emotional attachment between two characters without actually making you think anything. For example him letting Ariadne kiss Arthur in Inception and Kat saying she feels bad she didn't get to say goodbye to Neil. These subtle scenes actually carries a lot.

[@TommyMVSERVTI]

Neil was always the Protagonist’s silent guardian...a watchful protector...a Dark Knight *THE BATMAN*

[@rickypermana6234]

And he is a Batman Now lol

[@noneofurbusiness906]

Noice

[@Diego-qb4st]

Exactly

[@scaredevil666]

And that fact that the line is originally from another Nolan film makes it even better

[@AnkitSingh-vy3vm]

😂😂😂😂

[@bagakplays6670]

Inception has the spinning top. TENET has Neil.

[@oskarrimanetz]

that's for sure)))

[@cfosburg]

That is exactly what I was thinking

[@OrlandoShroom]

Interstellar has Cooper’s ghost

[@swayamjoshi7667]

it was saito in inception coopers ghost cooper himself in interstellar neil in Tenet

[@jaisuriyar5259]

Stop playing with my mind!!

[@radjack9]

This is gonna go down as one of the most underrated Nolan films

[@Endeva09]

Nolan has underrated films?

[@brontelee6726]

If we could hear more than 30% of the dialogue this movie might have gotten better feedback

[@dukes1993724]

Bronte Lee Or if it wasn’t released during a PANDEMIC

[@brontelee6726]

Bleed Green ur missing my point. And as it is, I think more people would have risked seeing the movie if the reviews were more positive

[@Endeva09]

I have now watched the film 5 times and to be honest, I believe it’s actually his worst film. Every Nolan film has a gimmick of sorts that is required to make it work, and every Nolan film has characters that we care about. In TeneT, we don’t care about any of the characters and the gimmick is the plot itself. I’m gonna get hate for this comment but view it with an open mind, on first viewing this film is a spectacle, as all Nolan films are, and the concept is awesome, however the more you think about the concept the more it doesn’t make any sense. This does not apply to any other Nolan film.

[@miket2913]

* Neil jumps in front of bullet * Neil: “Harry....take my body back to my father” Protagonist: what?? Neil: nvm

[@epic9203]

Im dead LOL

[@kspjh]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@preposteroussvideos]

Lmao

[@Faisaldegrt]

Hah

[@samuelyordan1088]

@@Faisaldegrt pattinson plays as cedric in Harry Potter movie, and this is a scene in the fourth movie (goblet of fire)

[@crazystuff6760]

Before watching this video: I did not understand the movie. After watching: I did not understand this video either.

[@956MoE]

just watch the movie backwards from the end... very easy to understand

[@Michaeldesilva1]

​@@956MoE how to do that

[@mahirgangwal1665]

Robert is such an amazing co-star. Think of the wonders he will achieve in The Batman!!!

[@aguyfromnothere]

My kids thought he would suck and were worried about Batman until they saw Tenet. He is going to crush it.

[@dukes1993724]

This movie most a been a big relief to Warner Bros. They know now they made a solid choice with their new Batman 😅

[@Perririri]

Michael Keaton is the best Batman!

[@chiefjudge8456]

He was alright, but John David Washington was much better.

[@isaacstephens]

I felt like I was smarter than the film when I predicted the Protagonist fighting himself, but then I realized I was probably meant to predict that and the whole film was smarter than me all along...

[@Rey_B]

🔥🔥

[@BernardJMorgan]

“Time isn’t the problem, it’s getting out alive.”

[@ricardo1522]

This! Sure you can travel backwards or forwards but your survival is not guaranteed.

[@Shitposting69ways]

@@ricardo1522 Neil died in end

[@ricardo1522]

@@Shitposting69ways yea it's his loop tho, Neil is the ultimate hero IMO

[@Shitposting69ways]

@@ricardo1522 It's sad that Protagonist lose his future close friend, Just how sad it would be just holding back truth to save the timeline

[@ricardo1522]

@@Shitposting69ways well he will meet him in the future and recruit him, the problem is he knows Neil has to die, I'm pretty sure he explains this to Neil because the Neil that meets the protagonist from the past knows everything, he still takes the mission knowing how his loop ends, saving the world and ensuring the protagonist survives to create Tenet.

[@Hooperick36]

This movie definitely needs to be rewatched countless times

[@mssantosh8055]

Einstein: Time is Relative Nolan: Time is Myyyyy Relative Nolan: Genius for Generations.

[@rednad23]

Stolen

[@jjfecik]

😂😂😂

[@blank98]

I think this will be the first movie where I’ve just accepted to not understand. I just can’t wrap my head around some of these concepts.

[@norefa3251]

Same here :"

[@Hemosima]

You don’t have to understand it. Just feel it

[@ricardo1522]

Try to watch it again or find some answers here: www.reddit.com/r/tenet/comments/immbs8/official_faq_megathread_spoilers/

[@jobangharekhan2601]

Same here

[@DarkstarMusicVT]

The amount of potential for a sequel from this movie is unreal... especially exploring Neil and protagonists relationship in the future,

[@HighStakesBBall]

The 1st prequel that's a sequel. Or sequel that's a prequel 🤧😄

[@amarreezlan7131]

the sequel will be Tenet 3, while the end trilogy will be Tenet 2

[@jsward96]

@@HighStakesBBall Steins;Gate 0, it's complicated.

[@빙봉방봉방]

ikr that's exactly what i want !!!

[@seanandrews5099]

@@amarreezlan7131 TwentytnewT

[@nguyen-vuluu3150]

Robert Pattison is an amazing actor that was over-shadowed by his portrayal in Twilight

[@YoshaGamingDK]

'We live in a twilight world'

[@DaveKatague]

Without twilight, we wouldn't have had this movie though

[@captlanc]

He was also younger and less experienced in Twilight. He might not be this good 10 years earlier.

[@borael3123]

Dave Katague Christopher Nolan is the star of Christopher Nolan films. Neil could’ve been played by anybody. Having said that, he did a great job

[@wavyremix]

Yeah he was awesome in Lighthouse, Good Time, and The Lost City of Z.

[@TheCunningMailbox]

2 watches in and Neil's timeline is mind-bending and IMO the most emotionally compelling. Moreso than the mother-son dynamic (easy enough with no Max screentime).

[@maxmusic5380]

I want to learn so much more about Neils and The Protagonists relationship

[@CARBONHAWK1]

The last scene really hit fast and hard now, and people were saying it doesn’t have emotions

[@spinorules11]

Because they didn’t know what it meant

[@rubenskorstad]

Could not agree more! Loved the movie

[@r.j.macready5739]

There are plenty of emotions. Protagonist sheds tear at beginning after hearing his team didn’t make it and he clearly cared for Kat and Neil. Kat too was an emotional centerpiece. Frickin awesome movie.

[@kerimalpaltuncu97]

@@r.j.macready5739 yes there emotions i think so but a film does not have emotiona because its characters feels something films need to create the feeling as a whole entity

[@jiga6832]

Are you kidding me.....I was almost crying The Protagonist even asks him can we change things and then hears " what happened happnes" or something like that It crushed my heart

[@Gologo7]

Robert Pattinson is working in the future with Nolan to erase himself in the past from doing the Twilight movies... which has gotten him here and met with younger Nolan to star in TENET....being “the end of a beautiful relationship” with Nolan...

[@matthewspencer-small4084]

Grandfather paradox - if you erased twilight, would anyone know who pattinson is?

[@Saibalakrishnaallamsetty]

@@matthewspencer-small4084 Well the future Pattinson might have believed he could erase the past without affecting the future 🤞

[@EditedAF987]

If Pattinson didn’t have the income from the Twilight films, would he still have done all of those Indie films?

[@danarasworld]

@@matthewspencer-small4084 I would because CEDRIC IS MY FAVORITE CHARACTER

[@teagancalkins]

@@danarasworld He was so young, he didn't deserve to go :(

[@12ninjacrazy]

I wanna know what drugs Christopher Nolan is doing

[@sebmyers2836]

my guess is Ketamine.

[@pantographproductions1888]

Posterity

[@gosutoman9701]

The movie was inspired by Sator Square which is full of palindromes. Sator, Opera, Tenant, Rotas. Christoper Nolan named the antagonist last name Sator, the security who worked for Sator was Rotas Security, the movie first took place in an opera, and the protagonist organization is called Tenet.

[@jonasp3648]

@John Wayne Who hurt you

[@ozziebrah]

@@jonasp3648 boo hoo junky!

[@colinmc2787]

Nobody talks about this, but since you can only go back in time by inverting time and living through time in reverse, then Neil has lived for years inverted going back in time from the future to even start his movie time line.

[@beekey91]

This. He would have to live in a room with enough oxygen for years..

[@hanaaulia.x]

now that you word it all like that.. it makes me wonder what happened to the protagonist from neil's time, wouldnt he be old.. or even died.. so neil is helping the younger self of the protagonist to discover tenet in order to maintain full circle.. wow now i need the sequel.. just imagine the thrilling mission they'd have together...

[@MachineCode0]

@@hanaaulia.x If Max is Neil. One possible solution: After the movie, the protag, in beginning his efforts to create Tenet uses time travel to make loads of money and occasionally spends time with Kat and Max. As Max ages Kat realizes that he is actually Neil. The protag figures out the same thing and takes Max/Neil under his wing to train him, probably against Kat's wishes. This explains the pretty diverse skill set Neil has but mostly it explains how he got that skillset so quickly. Using Tenet's resources the protag sets up the situation necessary for Neil to invert for potentially 15+ years. This would mean that if max is about 10 at the end of the movie, he then spends maybe 10 years going through school and training until the age of 20 then (he could continue training somewhat as he) spends 15 years inverted. This would place him five years before the beginning of the movie at age 35 which is the actors current age. Obviously this could all be +/- some number of years here and there. It's easy to imagine though that once he has enough resources the protag could do something wild like maybe invert an entire ship that has years supplies of oxygen (and food? do inverted people also have to eat inverted food?), or machinery to create oxygen. convoluted

[@soulistheanswer]

Wouldn’t he also be aging backwards?

[@luisbramato9978]

@@soulistheanswer I thought the same thing at first. However, they explain several times in the film that time does not only go in one direction. From his point of view, an inverted person also moves linearly in time, but in the other direction than before. If a pregnant woman were to enter the turnstile, she would not become less pregnant there (up to the point of fertilisation or then de-fertilisation). No, she would have her child normally, only in her own timeline. For non-inverted people, of course, that would look terrible, since they would see it the other way round. Okay, I've digressed a bit here, but the point should be clear :D

[@jamsheeddevotee7588]

Robert Pattinson is the beating heart of this film. The other actors were fantastic as well, part of it was the writing for Neil but most of it was the acting. Neil being Max makes a ton of sense. Correct me if I'm wrong but one of the core tenets to writing in the mystery genre is that all the players have to be introduced at some point and it's your job to figure out who's who. This movie follows that rule from T to T. Puns aside, every scene has a person who is involved at the end.

[@TheAJ2501]

Neil: Where the hell is explained video? Protagonist: It hasn't been uploaded yet.

[@oOoScarecrow31oOo]

It went out 2 years ago. Now they should be in post production and then they will start to shoot… in 2 years they will pick a cast… 🤔

[@MAC_ABC]

I absolutely LOVED the experience of watching Tenet. The score, John David’s incredibly charismatic performance, action. Such epic action. Even though i didn’t get everything on the way... I pretty much got it by the end. That last scene between Protagonist & Neil was BEAUTIFUL. Hope there’s a sequel so we can see that “beautiful friendship”.

[@Luckyluckyluc]

Neil pretty much inverted much more than we were able to see; his knowledge about all of the situation show this brilliantly though.

[@MPlusStudios1]

Watching Neils role in things is reason enough for a rewatch of the movie.

[@Hykje]

That means that Niel is the movie's real main character.

[@savintcrew76]

"I AM the PROTAGONIST" - The protagonist.

[@tegesnripendra9473]

the protagonist is actually just a protagonist. priya was right, there were 2 protagonists

[@timb4248]

Dude had to spend like 12 years inverted to get back to start of movie from the future. Just so he could jump in front of a bullet.

[@iampokhrel]

@@timb4248 No, actually it was the protagonist who had to do that.

[@timb4248]

@@iampokhrel Then how did Neil end up in the "present" time as a 30 something year old, if he is a kid also?

[@modnarer]

Watched last night 2 times. Amazing flick, glad i got too!! Robert is an amazing supporting actor! Can't wait to see batman!!!!

[@heavyspoilers]

Yeah this was the perfect film to get hype around the batman, same thing with Tom hardy and Inception when he was cast as Bane

[@RogueBoyScout]

First of all, not everyone is saying this film sucks. But a lot are, for mainly 2 reasons I have found. 1. Bad sound mixing. Well, I suggest that maybe Nolan doesn't want you to hear everything ËaSiLy". Remember Dunkirk, all the soundtrack was built around a stopwatch. Nolan isn't making films to pander to the masses. 2. Extremely Complicated. Yeah, I guess for a generation that just goes to the movies to see comic book heroes, or other pop-culture "Films"", actually having to use your brain can be quite a task. However, I predict that after people see it more than once, things will make sense more. It's easier to "decode" the story, when you know the parts of the film you need to analyze to get comprehension. I also wonder how many of these commentors are just sheep following the trends. Probably the same people who decry Star Wars 7-8-9, because no one wants to admit that they enjoyed it and be seen as a [insert current trendy term here]. Not saying they are good films, but as a 43 year old, I find it pathetic that grown men obsess over films kinda made for children. Irony. Now, I am not a nolanite. didn't think the Batman movies were as good as everyone made it out. Haven't seen Interstellar, and probably won't. Not interested in the story. And Heath Ledger's "Joker" is not really that impressive. Sorry, but it's not. However, American Actors are so generic in their acting ability, anything out of the "norm" as far as portrayals go blows their mind. [ Hannibal Lectar portrayed by Sir Anthony Hopkins, for example. I suggest for others to see Manhunter, the original Red Dragon film portrayal. THAT's how you play a psychopath. My point being, psychopaths really DON'T ham up their behaviour as if they are doing Shakespeare]. U.S. actors and directors, for the most part, think that if someone just behaves like a normal human being, they must be a bad actor. More so this current generation. Even Scorsese is pushing the dramatics in his latest work.

[@modnarer]

@@RogueBoyScout kool

[@kalmanta1824]

On opening weekend, first viewing, I experienced the movie through JDW‘s characters eyes, 2nd time around I focused heavily on Neil.

[@prasadbhaskar91]

Myself Inverted: Watching this Timeline video first *before watching movie*

[@ryantheleaderr]

most underrated comment

[@rudrapratapsingh1820]

Ohh man ...what a comment

[@prasadbhaskar91]

@@ryantheleaderr Thanks Man!

[@prasadbhaskar91]

@@rudrapratapsingh1820 Thanks Bro!

[@brvndonporter]

My Inverted Pov: Watching this timeline video first before watching the movie, then watching this timeline video again.

[@KILLOXY]

personally i think the reason neil cares so much for the protagonist is because the protagonist got with cat (his mom) and raised young neil like his own son. he was repaying the favor and protecting a man that would become his father.

[@TimPatDuDe]

Tenet is my generation’s Matrix

[@TheBiggestAlEver]

FACTS!

[@TossGawd]

That’s disrespectful

[@newtfigton8795]

@TossGawd What how?

[@TossGawd]

TheFanMan It was mostly a joke, but Matrix is legendary. Tenet possibly could be in 10-20 years.

[@finnfinity9711]

I doubt this will ever have the same cultural influence as Matrix. The red pill/ blue pill metaphor and the whole concept of us living in a "Matrix" shaped pop culture so much, I don't see any elements in Tenet that could do the same, even though it was a good movie.

[@BoppertheBarbie]

The phone the protagonist gives Kat also establishes a guardian angel relationship with the protagonist and Kat which could be seen as the building blocks for Max and the protagonist.

[@dalton-at-work]

i guess but if thats so nolan really dropped the ball on making that clear, AT ALL. i think people are attracted to the neat coincedence that it would be, but not willing to think too hard about everything working against that coincedence

[@NPREV9]

i think when robert pattinson went back to unlock the door, he paused to think if he should go further back and delete twilight

[@dharampal9893]

😂😂😂

[@ranggakd]

No what happens happened

[@nathanjhelli7915]

@Dylore Silvers and there are no friends at breaking dawn

[@bilge8656]

Robert Pattinson KILLED his part! So glad he‘s getting the recognition he deserves

[@purplesid3]

The best thing about this video is that I could actually hear everything that was said

[@itsjune2681]

i can't get enough of Tenet. i already watched it 2 times, and i just want to to watch it again and again and again and again. not because i don't understand the movie, but it's kinda addicting

[@Testuser582]

One thing I realised today was Pattinson's character die in more than half of his movies. Starting from Harry potter

[@ajunta2270]

He's the new Sean Bean then!

[@rosisneupane]

Hope he doesn't dies in batman 🤣

[@oOoScarecrow31oOo]

It should be less than the half as he was reversed and starting from the end then… 😉

[@lenfent]

Wait he doesn't starting with Batman?

[@amberlynn4878]

Tenet is such a great film. I loved watching Robert and John together, they killed me with their last scene together. 💔

[@dan7291able]

"ah we get up to some stuff! youll love it!" ..so sad lol, hes clearly max who grows up with this man in his life

[@chiefjudge8456]

You mean John and Robert.

[@n.sambedprakashpati3271]

Theory : Laura (clemense poesy) , one who shows inverted bullets to Washington is the future scientist who makes the inverting bullets and stuff in the first place. Ite because she had been doing continuous research of her own on the version of the theory and been continually supplied with material required to make so and slowly unravels the whole secret of making it but as soon as she does it she realises her fault and tries to hide it by killing herself.

[@ashb7]

Yeah I read this theory, it's MUCH more plausible than Max=Neil.

[@rejectedideas1827]

Priya- dimple Kapadia, says that this will be made generations from now. So it's not possible for her to outlive even 2 generations.

[@sam.e.a6422]

That'd be impossible because it's generations into the future that the scientist discovers the secret.

[@greeshma24]

@@rejectedideas1827 Priya tells more lies than truths in this movie. Possibly lying because Priya wants to protect Laura's identity from the protagonist because the protagonist still hasn't learnt to accept what has happened, and may try killing Laura hoping that that would prevent inversion. The Laura theory fits perfectly with the whatever can happen happens feel in the movie. Laura is a physicist who can understand inversion , and the movie is playing out a reality where she provided information to herself to discover inversion.

[@Girlilla]

Great theory. Priya does mention female involvement when shes walking with TP

[@baronvg]

Robert Pattinson was definitely the best part of the movie. Despite my brain checking out often, I was still aware enough to understand the importance of the end goodbye and it really was amazingly acted and I did feel it. It’s also amazing considering that Pattinson has stated that he filmed the movie without knowing what it was about 🤣

[@dougiehao2076]

such a Nolan movie, the timeline is so amazingly constructed.

[@AlkanthorTheDragon]

I was wondering about the exact events after Neil inverted for the last time: Protagonists point of view: - He and Ives enter the underground - There is a locked gate, Niels corpse and inverted enemy - The enemy sucks the bullet from Niel "reviving" him - Niel unlocks the gate and leaves - Protagonist fights the guy Now what I think is Niels point of view after inverting: - Niel enters the underground - Protagonist stops fighting the enemy and goes back through the gate - Niel goes through the gate and locks it - Niel is shot and dies - Protagonist and Ives leave the underground There is only one issue with this sequence, as when Neil enters the underground, the entrance should be blocked. Dunno if this is a mistake or I missed something. Thanks for reading, here is a -potato-

[@DenseEpiphany]

@@samf.s8786 bro my brain is literally like smashed potatoes since I watched the movie 1 week ago

[@dan7291able]

Simple really Neil descends back into the hole where the thing detonated, goes through the inverter there, and once he steps out of that inverter, the battle starts flowing in reverse again for him, so the blocked entrance is irrelevant here because he really "emerges" from the machine almost seemingly out of thin air but its because the origin of that time flux happens at the 90% mark of the film during the final battle, kind of like at the 25% mark of the film where , seemingly out of THIN AIR, TWO people emerge from the airport turnstile! how! Because thats just the origin of that time meld moment, of two halves of an inverted self that either meet, or split Thats how during the final battle, the inverted Neil pops up seemingly out of thin air, because he is popping out of the inverted machine that he just went through AFTER saying good bye to the Protagonist Makes his way to the gate to, amazingly close it BUT heres where i think he truly UNLOCKS it, as in when he closed the door the gate locked again, but it had to close because thats how the events happened, the protagonist comes out of a closed gate and so in reverse the gate must get closed, but i gotta tell you im a little iffy on the "he locks it" part, i think he truly unlocks it, And then gets poped in the head being in the way of the russians gun The bullet is already in the gate, when robert is unlocking the door, the bullet jumps from the gate, through his head and into the russians gun, thats how he dies :/

[@Kharnatus]

The Systemic Anomaly I still don‘t get the „closing the gate“ part. There can only be one movement - locking a door in normal entropy would seem like unlocking a door from the inverted POV, and vice versa. Accordingly, since from the Protagonist‘s POV Neil unlocked the gate, from his POV he had to lock it. Why would he do that? The whole premise of Tenet is that of a closed loop, so it’s really not a question of „but the door was locked when the Protagonist arrived, so Neil had to lock it“. Neil did lock it, but he could have done otherwise (which would have resulted in an entirely different scene, where the Protagonist would have arrived at an already open gate). So why did Neil choose to lock it? My head is spinning, and it‘s almost been a week since I saw the movie.

[@dan7291able]

@@Kharnatus Yeah its tough to wrap the head around lol... More and more think about it, the only explanation is that Neil does in fact "lock" the door while in reverse mode to save the day lol...

[@kylepulsipher8103]

Next time my thermodynamics professor says entropy isn’t reversible, I’ll have a thing or two to say about that.

[@ryanhills4095]

It’s a good theory, but... Neil tells the protagonist that they met in the past for him (Neil), and the future for him (protagonist). He also tells the protagonist that he has “a future in the past”. So I reckon that sometime after the movie, an older protagonist founds the Tenet organisation, then inverts and travels back in time a looooong time, where he meets a younger Neil in the past, and they spend years having the adventures he mentions. My two cents.

[@Deathlygunn]

But if Neil is Max, then the future is his personal past, and the past is his personal future. While the Protagonists future is the future, while his past is the past.

[@1989inception]

Deathlygunn 🤯🤯

[@MindonFireMagazine]

That wouldn't explain Neil's motivation through out the whole movie. Why is he so invested

[@MrAceekidd]

@@MindonFireMagazine the whole Tenet organisation's primary mission is to save time corruption on a world wide scale, and Neil was part of the Tenet organisation

[@Sonickrunch]

But the protagonist hasn't "met" Max yet so that's still in line.

[@blindbrad4719]

The greatest bromance story there ever was

[@melbonesarra2821]

You mean, the greatest bromance YET to come?

[@anyak1446]

Damn, Robert Pattinson is on a roll.... he was amazing in “the devil all the time” and now “tenet”.... and he looks great in the batman trailer. Good for him.

[@sarthaknagar6349]

How was 'The Lighthouse' ? Hearing good reviews of it

[@green3ggsnham]

"I'll see you at the beginning friend" line from Patterson would have been much more impactful and emotional if only I hadn't witnessed him caving in a randoms skull in the Batman trailer 😂😂

[@Zapata44]

🤣🤣🤣 stg

[@dan7291able]

"Ah we get up to some stuff! all kinds of stuff, youll love it!" Its so sad, but sooner or later both characters will reach that "middle" part of their timelines where they will both, finally completely and utterly understand whats going on, and move on from there, Neil/Max going backwards, and the protagonist moving forward into old age

[@mikehillier6585]

Robert Pattinson is underrated as an actor

[@mikehillier6585]

Hans ImGlueck I think a lot of people have only seen him in Twilight and the stigma of that carries.

[@kayaeki]

@@mikehillier6585 i think most people now, realize how amazing of an actor is for so many movies now. He nails it every movie now, can't wait to see more people appreciate his talent after batman too!

[@lifeofane-boy635]

Just got out of the IMAX cinema, really enjoyed it.

[@heavyspoilers]

Yeah such a good film

[@HM13895]

@@heavyspoilers Is it really that good though? The concept was good but it lacked any character depth and story development. Too much of the film dialogue was spent trying to explain the plot to the audience but only in a way which made it unclear what the characters were doing and why they needed to do it. I didnt find it mine bending and twisty (which is what I wanted) but more just messy and self confused. Im not normally one to push this point but the main female character was weak and cliche. She was a damsel in distress beaten wife who needed rescuing but otherwise contributed nothing interesting or crucial to the plot. The Mumbai lady character (I forgot her name) just seemed redundant and disconnected from the rest of the entire plot. Robert Pattinson was the biggest positive I would take from this film, otherwise it's a great concept let down by a really weak story. Also the score was bad. Hans Zimmer should have been given this one.

[@HM13895]

@@heavyspoilers There was also very little explaining about how this time "inversion" works. The Scientist near the start even says to the Protagonist to not try to understand it. It seemed a bit strange that the first third of the film was about finding this Russian genius who had discovered this technology, only for it to be easily accessible to it seems anybody. Anyway that's just how I saw it. I did enjoy seeing it in the cinema but I felt like it was just a special effects show more than a great film. I always think how a film would shape up as a book to test its strength as a narrative.

[@jdeniro1844]

@@HM13895 kinda like the first terminator movie.

[@Hoscitt]

Could you hear the dialogue in imax? I saw a 35mm screening and couldn't make out a good 25% of the dialogue

[@tjsundae]

If Neil really is Max, does that mean he only spent about half his life moving forward and growing up with TP and Kat until he had to invert and live backwards in order to become the proper adult age that he is during the movie's events?

[@CloranM]

THIS... you can't "jump" backward or forward in time in this movie. I need this answered!

[@RickSanchezzzC137]

At the end of the movie. Neil said “you’re half way there”. They’ve only met maybe a few months or the opera scene just a few years. Maybe TP and Kat had a relationship then TP and Kat died. Max had a good relations with TP prior to their death. TP tried to plan a pincer maneuver to save Neil but died. Max discovered the temporal pincer mission that TP has done and planned. Now Max alone, trained a little then inverted and inserted himself in the mission. It’s possible multiple versions of Neil have been watching from a far in the whole movie planning and studying how everything flows and just follows through.

[@forickgrimaldus8301]

@@RickSanchezzzC137 The Protagonist should probably just be nicknamed Agent JD not only because it references his actors name John David Washington but also is the initials of John Doe.

[@TimTeboner]

Yeah, I really don't think Max and Neil are supposed to be the same guy. The ages just don't line up. By the events of the movie, Neil would be totally insane from spending half of his life confined to a shipping container.

[@pyropulseIXXI]

@@RickSanchezzzC137 TP didn't die; he is the leader of TENET, so it gets way more complicated

[@bobbytables464]

The bilingual argument makes no sense. Sator is a Russian from Siberia, Estonian is not even slightly related to Russian (English is more related to Russian than Estonian is).

[@DoctorB33]

Precisely! Estonian belongs to the finno-ugric language group. It is not a Slavic language. Estonian are highly literate and most speak both Russian and English. Sator is Russian. Max is short for Maxim in Russian, not for Maximilian.

[@magnuskallas]

Ma tean, millest räägid :) I get what you are saying, as I'm a Estonian living in UK. I think the weapon trade part might somewhat been inpired by the "Estonia" ferry disaster conspiracy, that Nordics and/or Russians and/or Estonians and/or Brits were using civil ship to do some really dodgy secrect tech trade and there's a huge cover up.

[@surveyorsairinc2166]

Yes but who says he can't be half Estonian? Or went to school in Estonia in his youth? How about the last name Sator? Not Russian either but you can suspend your disbelief.

[@DoctorB33]

@@surveyorsairinc2166 How could he be half-Estonian if his dad is Russian and mom is from the family of English aristocrats? Sator would be an uncommon Russian last name but not all Russians are Ivanovs or Petrovs. My family friend's last name was Kantor and he was born in a small village in Russia. My classmate's last name was Tikun. Sator is a plausible last name.

[@DoctorB33]

@@surveyorsairinc2166 I think Nolan used Felix Sater as a prototype for Sator. Felix Sater is a Russian mobster who was involved with Trump's campaign in 2016. Look him up in wiki

[@ray5952]

Robert Battinson did amazing in this! Really liked his character 😎👌🏼

[@belstubley6405]

Battinson 🤣

[@chiefjudge8456]

John was much better.

[@cprw10]

@@chiefjudge8456 No, *for me,* the best and must natural actors were Robert Pattinson (Neil) and Elizabeth Debicki (Kat). John was very good but sometimes his line delivery was wooden, except in his last scene with Neil (he and Neil were great in that scene) and, yes John was awesome in his actions scenes, but in the acting department (in this movie at least) Pattinson and Debicki were the standouts, bc their performances were the must fluid and natural ones, despite the fact that in Neil's case the script had so many exposition lines, bc he was one of the characters that knew more about tenet, inversion, how it works, the science behind it, etc, despite his dialogs containing a lot of exposition, Pattinson managed to gave a natural, charismatic and fluid performance...

[@shashank2164]

I understood ending better than the beginning. I still don't know what was going on in the beginning?

[@Richie_Nixon]

Me too

[@shashank2164]

@@Richie_Nixon seriously, if opera scene was a test, then why Niel protected protagonist? What was inverted in the opera scene? Niel or bullet? Because Niel turned backward not walked backward after shooting which shouldn't be the case when he was inverted. The person who was shot dead by the Niel, why he said "you don't need to kill these people". When in fact the protagonist was saving them and those are the ones who are planting the bombs. That scene was also confusing when they exit opera after the explosion in the van and the person pointing the gun to the protagonist What was the point of the whole opera scene??

[@highwayexit]

+1 for this

[@amarreezlan7131]

@Daniel Ashar bin Mohd Fraziali * daniel boleh tak explain lebih lagi pasal opening cerita ni? tak faham sangat part awal2 sampai lah part protagonist dijemput ke makmal

[@truthordaryll5765]

the opera scene was a cia operation to extract an agent or asset because their cover was blown. the 'test' as it was, was probably a tenet op to retrieve the piece of the algorithm. later in the movie they said sator killed the cia team but didn't get the plutoniom, refering to the piece of the algorithm that the cia team retrieved from the coat check in the opera house.

[@TheRedspartan99]

Low key the ending of the movie almost had me crying like a baby 😂 I’m a grown ass man but the ending choked me up really badly. What an amazing performance by Robert Pattinson. As soon as he said “I think this is the end of a beautiful friendship for me” I definitely shed a man tear lol they did a great job making the audience realize his character was already dead before it actually happened. Really hope his acting skills transfer to “The Batman” and hopefully the MCU after that

[@PumperPanda95]

Why? I didn't understand that scene at all

[@HM13895]

Anyone else think that was a Casablanca reference?

[@bethanybrewer5010]

He was SOOO good in this, my favourite performance in the movie.

[@TheRedspartan99]

Lennart K. When the main guy and the military guy get to the bottom there is a dead soldier (it’s Neil but you don’t find out till later) but all he see’s is the backpack strap. They say they can’t get passed the lock but out of nowhere the dead soldier (Neil) pops up, unlocks it and puts his own head in front of the guard to save the protagonist’s life. Then the screen plays out and Neil decides to go back because he realized he is the only one that can pick the lock down there so he decided to go back in time and unlock it for them. Once Neil turns around to head back the protagonist recognizes the backpack strap from the dead soldier at the locked gate and basically begs him to say because he knows he is heading to his death. That’s when Neil refused and says what happens will always happen but says goodbye to the protagonist because in the future he goes back in time and recruits Neil to join tenet and I guess they have a real friendship for a long time before Neil makes it present day and has to sacrifice himself for his friend. It’s a never ending loop of friendship and sacrifice. Its sad for the audience because you have the “Ah ha” moment where we realize Neil is heading for his certain doom but does it anyways to save his friend who he’s known and loved for years. And he tells the protagonist it’s the end of the friendship for him(Neil) bit just the beginning for the protagonist because Neil knows he will go back eventually to have that long friendship that happens of screen to recruit Neil and keep the loop going. Very long expiration but does that make sense? And also Robert Pattinsons performance at the end was spectacular so that also helps the scene with the protagonist also shedding a tear when he realizes what’s about to happen/already happened

[@TheRedspartan99]

Bethany Brewer he was amazing, I liked the movie already but his acting and character throughout made me love the film

[@nokfei]

On Neil’s topic, “ don’t try to understand it , Feel it.”

[@helenrose909]

Neil is the most important and complex character of the movie . He is my favourite one although he breaks my heart every time in the end of the movie! The protagonist is aware of Neil's death -sacrifice but he doesn't stop him from meeting his fate because he has figured out the significance of it ........ Robert Pattinson is my favourite actor too. His perfomance is solid and amazing!

[@incessantbeat3888]

"I'll see you at the beginning" I think when Neil said that he actually went back to the actual beginning of the movie, the Opera house, in reverse, took the bullet for the protagonist, then went to unlock the door and died there. That's why he had the backpack with the red tag at the Opera house.

[@SixtenLR]

He reveals he knows about the opera house in the middle of the movie. So he has to have been there in his timeline before they meet in India.

[@amarreezlan7131]

in the end, Neil says that line and went on to his death, opening the door while took the bullet.

[@dcasey8413]

Neil is to Tenet as River Song is to Doctor Who, in a way.

[@stuartrobin6332]

That movie would be called Tennant.

[@shadowsfm2]

Ha ha ha

[@cfosburg]

Exactly! Doctor Who fans should totally get this storyline.

[@DCMarvelMultiverse]

Neil loves his stepdad that much. It's sweet.

[@nav689]

This video was almost as confusing as the movie.

[@praveenwesley5186]

@Jack Wallar 🤣🤣🤣

[@rudrapratapsingh1820]

No its not ...

[@jzderf]

@Jack Wallar God this is cringe.

[@Pewpewz]

You gotta watch it backwards bro

[@jimdino77]

agreed lol.... like why put the "ending" on the left lol

[@Success4u247]

I couldn’t have said it better my self. Nolan once gave an interview saying, I expect the Audience to use their own imagination and search out the meaning, dont come to my films looking to be entertained. I experienced the film and got it . Not because I am smart or very clever. It’s like this we humans think in PAST PRESENT FUTURE, But never coming towards or inversions at the same TIME, I will definitely go and see it agin , Watch very carefully at the startwhen Neil saves the protagonist, an inverted bullet hit or comes out of a wood panel, Brilliant

[@glakshya2]

ngl he had me in the first 5 seconds

[@heavyspoilers]

Loooool, I even got myself when I was watching it back to make sure the video was ok 🤣🤣

[@stephytv1953]

Loool

[@batsaubattler3200]

He reminded me of tom hardys character in inception

[@dan7291able]

@@batsaubattler3200 absolutely, he's TOTALY the "Eames" of this movie lmao Thats always the best part of a Nolan movie, get the Eames role lol, get the tom hardy role

[@QuangMinh-kd1bn]

Neil knew everything, he's there just to make sure what's happened will happen

[@stephenmackenzie9016]

If it happened why does he need to make sure it happened?

[@amonrei]

Just watched it again like 2 hours ago lol. Things are so much clearer now.

[@cfosburg]

In my opinion, a second viewing of this movie, almost makes the movie seem quaint. 😆 All the sudden things that seemed murky or unclear, seem easy to understand and follow. The main storyline is pretty simple, I think Nolan designed it this way on purpose. It’s not knowing the first time that makes this an amazing experience. It’s audiences being too clever about movies, that makes some think Nolan ‘messed up’ by ‘garbling the audio’. Audiences out think themselves on this masterpiece, and by doing, almost miss the entire point.

[@Tichwick4]

Love Nolan so much! There is always so much depth, I will watch Tenet a few more times and still be astounded I'm sure! Thanks for the explanation, I can't wait to watch the rest of your videos!

[@monodescarado]

There’s a major issue with this theory: Neil’s age. Inversion isn’t time travel. This means that the characters have to travel *backwards* in time, not back to a point in time. For Neil to be Max and Neil’s age in the movie, he would have at some point inverted and travelled *backwards* for about a decade (probably after getting his degree). This means sitting in a box for ten to twenty years. It makes much more sense for Pro to have gone back post movie (again for a couple of years) to set things up and recruit post-graduate Neil in the past.

[@filthyneutral5801]

@Isaac Vargas we're waiting

[@nandozu]

This is actually what I was thinking, did he breath in the oxygen tank for a whole decade in order just to live??

[@able4698]

Loved the movie! Just watched it for a second time. The second time was so cool because i picked up a lot of things that went too quick for me the first time.

[@jeanpaulcsuka]

Saw it twice...loved it! Spoiler: I like the Niel theory a lot, I felt it implied that the Protagonist was not only a friend but his surrogate father. Like a reverse Terminator, the son goes back in time to save his mother and father. Tenet really is like a suicide cult? The idea that your own life becomes the mission, probably also, the less personal life you have the easier it is to keep track of the elements in your own life, so you can disentangle all your inversions/reversions.

[@danielsell6810]

Everyone: Neils timeline needs explaining Me thinking about what it would look like for someone to eat inverted: 👁👄👁

[@Deathlygunn]

Not just eating, going to the toilet, getting a haircut or shaving, giving birth...

[@BlueShift815]

They can't breathe when inverted, so surely they couldn't eat or drink

[@benjaminwoodrowmusic6070]

@@BlueShift815 they can breathe..just have to be isolated like when they're on the ship...could probably have some sandwiches in there.

[@Ab89dy]

They’ll eat inverted food..

[@ImamSyafii-st4ps]

6:30 i'm on the same boat man, that whole scene made the film work for me. up until that point i didnt really enjoy what i was watching, like it was missing something and also i was so frustrated at times because i couldn't get my head around what happened on screen. glad nolan gives us a satisfying emotional ending, it really makes all the difference.

[@jiren8561]

I love Neil's caracter so much !

[@hughmungus1709]

Everybody needs a Neil in their lives goddamnit 😤

[@ALEXFREEFIRE]

But no one wants to be a Neil:-)

[@andy_wick_0079]

I’m sorry but this beats inception ten fold. And inception was a MASTERPIECE.

[@trillwill4068]

Have you seen Momento or Interstellar? Those are great Nolan movies to watch as well.

[@andy_wick_0079]

@@trillwill4068 I’ve seen interstellar but not momento

[@trillwill4068]

@@andy_wick_0079 oh brother you’ve gotta watch Momento then. Nolan actually got the idea for Tenet doing his film Momento. You’ll love it since you loved Tenet. Similar in ways but also different. Please write me when you’ve watched Momento. I would like to know if you like it or not. Best wishes!! Ps- interstellar is my fav. I watch that movie once a month lol.

[@andy_wick_0079]

@@trillwill4068 thanks man I appreciate it! Ill give it a shot and lyk. Best as well!

[@trillwill4068]

@@andy_wick_0079 awesome! Let me know! 😃😃

[@danielbufton7471]

A couple of little mistakes, 1- when they're on the yellow boat they're already inverted, we know this because while they have the conversation about when the drop is going to happen they're in an air sealed room on the boat and the protagonist has been doing pull ups outside with an oxygen mask on. 2- The version of Neil in that discussion scene on the boat has to travel back through time past the events of the movie's climax, meaning there are in fact 5 versions of him existing during that point in time (6 if you want to put Max in there, which tbh I don't).

[@Wdomino]

I like the max theory, but I find it cooler that the motive for the Protagonist so safe Kat from Sator is "just" so that she can see and live with her son, instead of something of a plotarmor that is used many times in these types of movies. Also that there doesnt need to be any romantic things too, just like in MI5 and 6. Buuuut like you said how does Neil know things of the Protagonist, which does makes sense if ke knew him for a long time, possibly from even when he was a child. Also points for originality, something I didnt even notice first time watching the movie, that the main character doesnt have or state its name, just the Protagonist, just epic. No cliche screaming , just awesome.

[@ajunta2270]

Neil knows many things of the protagonist, but that can also be a result of the protagonist going years back in time in order to train a younger Neil. I think both hypotheses are possible. If I would lean one way, it would be that Neil is not Max. The reason is that Neil says "You have a future in the past" which indicates it's the protagonist that goes inverted, not Neil.

[@orionburch]

I think there’s actually a huge plot hole with Neil’s timeline: In TENET, there’s no instant time travel. If you want to go 5 minutes into the past, you have to reverse yourself, live out 5 minutes of reversed time, and then unreverse yourself. You‘ll now be 5 minutes in the past, and also 5 minutes older. Neil is in his early to mid 30’s in the film. But he tells The Protagonist that they first met years ago for Neil, and years from now for The Protagonist. If they met in the Protagonist’s future, then this is the only timeline which makes sense: - The Protagonist meets and recruits Neil when he is young. - When Neil is 15ish, he and The Protagonist reverse themselves. - They then spend the next 15 YEARS, living as reversed people (!), as they move backwards in the normal timeline, so they can make it back to before the film’s event begin. - When they reach this point in time, they unreverse themselves. By this point, Neil is 30ish. He then dashes off to save The Protagonist in the Opera House. There are a few other possible interpretations, but none of them can avoid the idea that at least The Protagonist spent literal years being reversed. There are many problems with this idea, not least of which is how he handled his air supply. Also, spending years unable to communicate with anyone in the outside world would severely mess up anyone - let alone a 15 year old Neil. This problem exists whether you believe the ‘Max is Neil’ theory or not. :/

[@Adtrevino37]

When we first meet the Pro they are telling him to wake up, and after the Opera house scene where he eats the fake cyanide tablet they say he was in a coma. So maybe he had done that before and knew he had quite a bit time just sleeping to spend that time reversed? I don't know if that actually follows, but I think of that opening scene a lot and that is has some kind of meaning.

[@mmehdi3437]

The protagonist, did not reverse himself, only neil did. Also we dont know when he made Tenet, maybe he started it only a few years later after these events, so maybe neil only had to go 5 years back or so

[@pyropulseIXXI]

that isn't a plot hole

[@orionburch]

@@pyropulseIXXI Why not? I’d love for there to be a good explanation, but I haven’t found a way that doesn’t involve someone spending a very long time living in reverse. And that brings up oxygen, food, social, education issues.

[@jacobmiller1101]

People lie.

[@steph86red]

I really thought he was Max - but after watching again, I don't think so. In this final scene - one of Neil's last lines is "you have a future in the past, years from now for you, years ago for me." I think the protagonist carries on in regular time for a while after the events of the movie to learn more information, then inverts himself and travels back to the past to recruit Neil and the Tenet army (Ives and Wheeler) and set everything in motion.

[@seanchen9265]

Let's breakdown the line "A Future" - protagonist moving foward like the movie (last scene) "In the Past" - Case of 1st inversion by the protagonist (Going backward for protagonist) "Years from now for you" - After the last scene of the movie, new start "Years ago for me" (As in Neil as a grown up in that said context) - Telling protagonist that he still young when they first met. The giveaway is when Neil said he was recruit by protagonist. Cant find any blonde similar characters that look alike in the movie. So gonna be max.

[@sen.m7832]

The thing is, future and past in terms of chronology doesn’t work the same in this film because time isn’t linear. We have no idea if Neil meant HIS past, or if he meant they had a future TOGETHER in the past, meaning they both inverted whilst Neil was younger. I think Nolan left it deliberately ambiguous

[@kumarjo1982]

Max full name is Maximilien. Invert the last four letter gives you Neil. It’s so obvious confirmation from the director that Neil is Max

[@ajunta2270]

@@kumarjo1982 Never is it said his name is Maximilien. It's Max, which can be short for many names, or not short for anything at all.

[@ohgeez4354]

I think the neil/max story is legit

[@Zapata44]

no way those are all jus coincidences

[@sen.m7832]

Same

[@just.a.prayer]

Emmanuel Torres are there ever coincidences in a Nolan movie?

[@dan7291able]

@@Zapata44 Too much smoke, plus the last shot of the movie, its 100% for me

[@Buizerd88]

@@Zapata44 I still dont see any coincidences.. only people looking at something hard enough that they see what they want to see. Only coincidence to me is that they are both white (and sort of blonde)

[@JesseLeeHumphry]

I think it's red and blue because of red and blue shift. Red shift is moving "away" (which we could consider moving time 'forward' away from a starting point) and blue shift is moving "towards" (which could be time moving 'back' to starting point or 'condensing').

[@leonh.651]

I watched it three times now and still can't wrap my head around it...

[@crayvd8229]

If only I could hear the damn character dialogue. Despite that, I still loved the movie.

[@ajunta2270]

I don't really get this. I thought it was easily audible. Maybe some theatres didn't get the audio levels right?

[@schokoladendonut]

Ajunta Same! I‘ve seen multiple people comment that but I don’t really get it. I understood all the dialogues perfectly.

[@Pewpewz]

I honestly thought that was half the point, to make it more realistic. You can't always hear exactly what people say, especially with gas masks on. I thought it was awesome that it wasn't easy to hear every word

[@ashb7]

@@Pewpewz that awesomeness is pretty easily overwritten by annoyance for people who actually want to follow the plot. And I felt subtitles were the far more awesome feature when I watched it.

[@manikhantavaragani326]

Before watching TENET Brain cells : Time isn’t the problem, it’s getting out alive.

[@asianversionofet3350]

I can’t wait to see this movie again for the first time a few weeks ago from now! It’s gonna be so good! Great video by the way 👍🏻

[@pelily2234]

The more I look into this movie, the more I love this character and the more I want to see these events from his perspective.

[@cprw10]

Me too❤ Neil is my favorite character of the movie. The MVP of the movie

[@ethanium9280]

I like your video, because its not just smashing the fact that we already know in the movie like most video about Tenet in youtube. But you actually explain every single plot to us and tell us about your own opinion. Keep it up man !