TENET ***

There's been a great deal of talk about the impenetrability of the plot of Christopher Nolan's latest blockbuster "Tenet" when, in fact, the plot isn't so much impenetrable, (the 'plot' itself, for want of a better word, is actually quite simple and is spelled out in the first fifteen minutes or so), as sci-fi silly. This is another time travel picture but instead of time travel it's called 'inversion' which is really time travel by the back door so that about midway through the forward thrust of the plot takes a back seat and we start going back in time or maybe 'back to the future'; at least I think that was what was happening. To be honest, by now I didn't really care. I had long stopped trying to 'follow' the movie and was now just sitting back and enjoying every daft minute of it.

Of course, it's not the first time Nolan has mucked about with 'inversion' or just played havoc with our perceptions of reality. "Momento" told its story backwards while I'm still puzzling over "Inception". This, you may argue, is cleverness for its own sake but I'm sure Nolan doesn't expect anyone to take a calculus or a set of algorithms into the cinema. He knows this is nonsense and he's just messing with us and messing with us on a supersonic level. First and last "Tenet", (oh, and the title's a palindrome, geddit?), is just a big, dumb-but-pretending-to-be-clever action flic with some of the most terrific set-pieces in years, (an 'inverted' car chase sets a new high). It's also got a deliberately cheesy script and some bravura tongue-in-cheek performances.

If John David Washington is a little too insouciant as the hero, (or the protagonist as he keeps referring to himself), he's ably backed up by a superb Robert Pattinson as his sidekick, a terrific Kenneth Branagh relishing his role as the villain to end all villains, (please cast him in the next Bond movie), and a spunky Elizabeth Debicki as a time-travelling wife, mother and potential love interest. You don't expect performances of this quality in nonsense of this kind so let's just say they are a bonus. The final bonkers, saving the world from total destruction climax is over-extended and the movie tidies itself up a little too smugly but I'll forgive these minor blemishes when everything else is so much fun.