This is one where I REALLY recommend watching the extended cut on Nebula. There's a whole extra 7 minutes on Tenet that I think is super fun nebula.tv/videos/patrickhwillems-tenet-and-a-celebration-of-vibes-movies
Agreed. I looked forward to Miami Vice for months, and I loved it for all of the reasons in the video. Needless to say, I was a bit dismayed when I saw the critical reception. I believe there's a certain part of me that always understood vibes movies inherently even if it wasn't something I could articulate, and I watched it in that headspace, whereas all those critics were viewing Miami Vice from a simple plot-oriented mindset. Not to say that it's a perfect movie, but that largely the criticism it received came from a place of missing the point.
Ocean’s Twelve can also be seen as a “vibes” movie. The plot is as convoluted as they come, but Steven Soderbergh creates such an atmosphere with his direction, use of locations, and having the top-shelf charisma and the rapport of the cast be the backbone of the film, so you can easily just sit back and take it all in without even caring about the plot.
Tenet will always have a soft spot in my heart as it had multiple scenes filmed in Tallinn, Estonia where I live. One of the shots had the main characters get out of a tram right in front of the movie theater I was watching the film in and it felt surreal as big budget blockbusters barely ever have locations like this. Plus the movie opened with a video greetings from Nolan thanking the people of Tallinn for their time in the country which was very sweet!
Tallinn lended itself so well for the movie though as nothing like it had really been used for a locale in a blockbuster before. Seeing my barbershop in a scene was still fucking weird lol.
"The man from U.N.C.L.E." seems to fit with a lot of the Vibes themes. It has great vibes with characters that feel like their own lonely protagonists who just happen to have to work together and have no personal life.
It doesn't have the murky feeling of those films though. It has more of an upbeat 60s vibe to it whereas Tenet and Miami Vice are much murkier and less glamorous than that film and U.N.C.L.E is more of a traditional plot driven film in my opinion and plays all the traditional beats of one. It's good I just don't think it's as experimental as Tenet or Miami Vice in the way Patrick is talking about. Personally I think the Tony Scott film Deja Vu is a better example of a vibe movie or even Tony Scott's other fim Domino or maybe even Man on Fire. Ot the Michael Mann film Blackhat. Those are just my initial thoughts on it anyway.
This is like the coherent and developed version of some ideas that started forming when I saw The Green Kinght. I realized that while I had been engaged the entire time, I couldn’t describe the movie in a way that didn’t sound like a story that could be told in 20 minutes.
And, see, in how I would define a "Vibes Movie" (Fantastical or surrealistic imagery OR Non Human Perspective on normal things, low to no dialogue, low to no violence and a score/soundscape designed to calm the viewer, not pump them up) The Green Knight (yep, 20 minute endgame sequence with no dialogue so yep, just TWO (kind of extreme) acts of violence in the movie and a pretty great fitting score by Daniel Hart), ABSOLUTELY fits. It almost certainly wouldn't fit this video's DEEPLY WEIRD definition at all (too grimy, too few countries, not enough spectacle, not enough momentum), but, well, my take on it is this: If I wouldn't describe a video game doing this stuff as a Vibes Game, why would I call you a Vibes Movie? And, note, this is a day off of playing Stray, from start to finish. TALK. ABOUT. VIBES.
I feel like the John Wick franchise has become a vibes movie series: slick aesthetics, a loner protagonist who's initial motivation seems like a distant memory, and just so much fun without having to stress about the actual plotlines after the second film.
32:12 - This part sums up EXACTLY why I don't let spoilers ruin my day. Spoilers rarely cover things like mood, atmosphere or how the characters actually feel and react to the thing that people are spoiling. Spoilers are nothing but plot mechanics.
This. I don't mind any spoilers. If a film or a tv show catches me, it catches me. Moving over to TV for example, I knew before what the Red Wedding in GoT was, yet watching it still left me devastated because of how it was presented.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. For the better part of a decade, in fact, I’ve gone out of my way to find spoilers so I can get the context out of the way and focus entirely of the execution.
Until they're horror flick spoilers which completely remove the tension from it all and thus the vibe lol. Or mystery spoilers. Or really anything that relies on not knowing how it ends in order to hold the vibe in place at all.
Yeah seriously, people are too concerned with what happens at the end of films. They seem to think that knowing how a film ends, means you can't enjoy the rest of it, as if the only important part of a story is the last few minutes and that the journey _TO_ the end is unimportant. It's a ridiculous attitude to have. The journey there _IS_ the film, not just how it ends. If knowing what happens at the end was the only important part, then why do these people even bother watching any films at all? Because going by their logic, they could simply read the plot summary of a film on Wikipedia and that would be equally enjoyable to them as sitting down and watching the entire film. But obviously it's not.
@@lorescien4148 (Yes this is a very old comment) I disagree that horror and mysteries are ruined by spoilers. You might not have the same experience you would watching it without any context, but by knowing whodunnit, you can spot and appreciate the ways that the creator sets up the mystery and lays clues that you could pick up on as an eagle-eyed viewer. I think the vibes only fall apart if the film wasn't that great at creating the vibes in the first place. The Thing still scares the shit out of me on repeat viewings, even though I know what's coming.
I'm extremely surprised that P. W. didn't mention or hint at John Wick in any way. With possible exception for the first one, these movies are one of the highest scoring in glamour, spectacle and momentum, especially 3rd and 4th installments. Hell, the glamour is such an integral part of the movies appeal, they literally made "cool manly suits" into a body armor. P. S. I love Emma's addition to the show. Her chemistry with Patrick is unparalleled.
I just wrote a comment like this, my feeling is that John Wick feels a lot like a video game and that holds it slightly back, whereas Fallout feels more like Tenet for example than it does many other MI movies. I think the feel of the movie is important. At the same time John Wick makes me consider quite deeply what the movie is about. Especially this fourth one.
Yeah I feel that the latter John Wick movies fit Patrick’s definition of vibe movies perfectly: a lonely protagonist in a convoluted plot (but it doesn’t matter since we always know his immediate goal) with a presentation HEAVY on style and glamour. And everyone wears tuxedos.
@@Si-Horrocks I guess you can argue that John has more clear personal stakes in the story than any other protagonist in vibes movies. Nevertheless, when I was watching John Wick 4 in the theater, I definitely vibed
I'd say that John Wick is basically just a stunt movie, whose inspirations are old action and kung-fu movies. The mood and emphasis is completely different. What PW is talking about is mostly modern noir, i.e. Michael Mann.
I began watching foreign films at an early age. Even if I couldn't understand the dialogue or there weren't any subtitles I still enjoyed just "vibing" with the story visuals. Tenet actually felt like a foreign film to me, in that sense I just had to sit back and vibe with it.
Tenet is about one thing: The temporal pincer movement. Chris Nolan was obsessed with this idea of forward and backward soldier attacking at the same time.
Too bad he forgot to film the bad guys in the scene so we get a lot of nice looking shots of guys with guns mostly shooting at the air and trying to get to........someplace.
@@galactic85blame Alec Baldwin and the guy who shot Brandon Lee. There's a reason you're not allowed to point a blank firing prop gun at people during filming these days
Nolan has made it clear that Michael Mann is one of his many inspirations. And even then, it feels like Mann doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Sometimes a strong visual can transport you farther than a plot ever could.
I think the original Tron would work, too. Lots of technical jargon that makes no sense , the whole movie is defined by a single mission, and the main character doesn’t really change internally.
Totally agree about Tron Legacy. If you watch it for plot it's miserable. But if you just revel if the visuals and the vibe it's an astonishing work of art.
Fellow Tenet enjoyer here. Thank you for your service. I think of Tenet like a video game. The protagonist is a blank slate trying to find his footing the whole time until the very end. And the last line of the movie is all you need to understand. He was following the vibes the whole time.
It’s moved up the list of my favorite Nolan movies. I’ve seen it three times now and it gets better and better. Inception is the opposite, it’s a good movie but on every rewatch the exposition gets more annoying to deal with
I REALLY enjoyed Tenet. In fact, I was surprised to later learn that some people were put off by it. But then, time-twisting weirdness has always been one of my favorite things in fiction!
Everything about this; from the continuity of you and Chloe to Matt’s success to Emma’s post-ironic shirts to everything involving (possibly?) unhealthy amounts of alcohol. Your channel is a true masterpiece and I love it.
i am not disagreeing to the observations in this video, but for me the plot of tenet was kind of the great thing about it. I loved that it avoids all the conventional narrative aspects (as acknowledged in the essay) in order to focus solely on temporal logistics and how the complicated plot weaves together. it was so much fun figuring out all the different parts of it, how cause and effect are related etc.
yes! I did a double viewing recently watching it back to back just for this reason. It's fun studying how he weaved the movement of this movie together. Especially since I absolutely HATED it on first viewing. His workings with time/editing seems to get sharper with every film, or at least explores a new angle of possible time/editing mechanics.
Love Tenet, I think the reason I love it so much is because its such a crazy concept that it really is impossible to understand in real time so you do have to just let go and go with the flow. Understanding entropy doesn’t help at all because it is just beyond our experience so seeing it play out with explosions and style is literally ‘cool’.
I don’t think Nolan himself understood the concept throughly and frankly it shows in the film! The plot is so complex it feels contrived. Also the lead actor was the wrong choice!
@@hekikoka5792 to me the whole "Tenet" is confusing to understand thing was compareable to "Only 1% of the people can solve this puzzle" clickbait images online. Tenet is not hard to follow and it's filled with errors and inconsistencies, even if you suspend your disbelief.
Tenet was the first film I saw in theaters after Covid. I was so damn hyped for it as I am a mega Nolan fan since Prestige. I went into it so damn excited, finally seeing a movie in theaters, seeing a Nolan film and it delivered on everything. I fucking love this movie and I think it will be like Interstellar, which had mixed reviews and feelings when it came out but is now seen as a gem.
I love when Nolan stans will use any excuse to justify any and all decisions he makes lol. The film felt like he completely lost hold of the plot and the themes and just went with the whole “Don’t understand it , feel it” shtick and used that as a crutch throughout.
@@michaelotis223 definitely adjacent, but less grounded than most of the vibes movies. Incidentally, the OG Blade Runner and its director Ridley Scott are also known strong influences on Nolan. Scifi Vibes movies could almost include their own category. The Scott directed Alien franchise installments have a few elements of technobabble and unclear plot elements. It's definitely what The Chronicles of Riddick movie is aiming for with its obviously dense yet completely unexplained lore and plot. The Cantina scene in Star Wars is like the distillation of the scifi version of this and the OG Star Wars movie in particular definitely has a sprinklings of this with an unexplained price on Han's head and Luke's unexplained father who was apparently the best star fighter in the galaxy and this Tarkin guy who seems to order this giant black cyborg wizard around.
@@caffetiel Yeah, I was thinking that whatever version that doesn't include Ford's narration qualifies a vibes film. We know nothing about Deckard's personal life, no detail about himself that isn't relevant to the case at hand.
When I watched Tenet for the first time, I walked away thinking, "It wasn't perfect, but there were moments that were literally the coolest shit I've ever seen in a movie", and I really stand by that.
These are the type of UA-cam videos I get excited for but have to wait to watch so I can sit down and savor it. The commentary and editing is way too good to just have it on in the background while I do chores lol. Thanks Pat and the team!
Lee H. Katzin, director of two Miami Vice episodes, when speaking about the show, nailed the idea of a “vibes movie”(/series) for me: “The show is written for an MTV audience, which is more interested in images, emotions and energy than plot and character and words." I reference this quote often.
You could argue that Wes Anderson films (especially the Grand Budapest Hotel) fit into this category, or at least are adjacent to it. I barely remember what happens in these films but I do remember the vibes.
I am so glad I was able to see this movie freely and multiple times when it released since I'm in NZ and we were covid free. There was nothing else much to show at the time so I was able to watch Tenet 15 times over 3.5 months in Laser IMAX and it was glorious. The experience to seeing it there can't come close to being matched.
I honestly LOOOOOVED Tenet from the first time I watched on the big screen (we were literally 4 people in the whole cinema 😅). Everyone else who I've introduced it to got SO FRUSTRATED with it 😂. This video perfectly sums like all my thoughts on the movie. On that note I'm of to rewatch Miami Vice!
I only watched it for the first time last week, and I was shocked, because, well... people were actually _CONFUSED_ by this movie!? Seriously!? It wasn't even remotely confusing. It's not even the most complicated movie Christopher Nolan has ever made, and his films are all simple to understand. Seriously, was this just some kind of long running joke that people were telling, where they were pretending to be confused by the film? You'd have to be really quite stupid to not understand it. You don't have to watch it multiple times either, if you have a functioning brain then you'll understand it first time. What exactly were people confused about? Imagine if these morons watched something like Primer instead. That's an _ACTUAL_ confusing film, unlike Tenet.
I watched Tenet for the first time in 2021 and I absolutely got obsessed with it in a way I haven’t for a film in a long long time I re-watched Tenet like 5 times in the first couple weeks after I saw it and i absolutely love it A movie you have to watch more than once, with headphones on (to hear the dialogue) and it gets better each time
My problem with Tenet was never an absence of plot or some inability to understand what was happening or whatever. It was just that I didn't give a shit what was happening because the movie had no characters I was in any way invested in. It felt like watching a movie with nobody in it.
@@billelliott3507 Maybe they were, but I still didn't feel much connection to the characters. I never cared about the protagonist. However, I personally don't think that's a problem at all. To me the movie wasn't about that sort of a character connection, so it's sort of like saying I didn't feel like the cashier at burger king engaged enough with me about the politics of the universe of My Little Pony; that's not what I would expect or necessarily want in that relationship.
I feel like I’ve appreciated Tenet more as time has gone on, and I think you nailed it when you said it’s kind of the same vibes as the 60’s Bond movies. The protagonist and Neil’s dynamic definitely reminded me of Connery’s Bond and Felix Leiter in those movies. Also it’s truly baffling to me that Christopher Nolan hasn’t even been approached to do an actual Bond movie. From the homages alone, it feels like he’s one of the series’ biggest fans working today
He was in talks to do a bond movie several times. In fact that was supposed to be his next project before tenet. He even had an “actor” in mind, Harry Styles.
@lrigsnart6821 I absolutely love American Beauty but just like all the other Bond films I just can’t get into them. For instance, I don’t like marvel at all, and I love Star Wars but the ideas and not necessarily the movies or the shows. But the few movies that I did enjoy were the ones with easily identifiable and or universal themes. Like In No Way Home, the theme is “fixing people who don’t want to be fixed.” Once Peter gets on his healing journey, almost every interaction in the film calls back you the theme, even for the goblin (“I’ll fix you Peter”) in his own twisted take. In Andor and Rogue one it’s the same. They have themes that are in the forefront and build tire to road traction. Bourne trilogy as well, though the theme is usually uprooted by another literary device like Jason’s Emotional Wound, his memory loss and the tragedy of how he became an agent. Then he hunts the people who trained him like he’s in a half remembered dream. But in Bond, no matter who it’s filmed by, there’s no theme or emotional wound that’s interesting enough, in my opinion of course, to gain the tire to road traction from scene to scene. Like in game of thrones, every character has an emotional wound (Jon is a bastard, Jaime is the king slayer, Tyrion is a dwarf, etc), and they continuously bully those characters or do things to remind the audience what their wounds are, It’s as if the characters are vehicles for their wounds. This makes every conversation in game of thrones, where one wound interacts with another, absolutely explosive and interesting in game of thrones. But in the bond movies everything feels weightless, even in skyfall I was asking myself why should I care about this or why is this at all interesting. So in conclusion, I agree that bond needs an auteur but it also needs to challenge itself in pushing cinematic and narrative language forward. Because the themes they introduce if any have been done before and done far better. Bond needs to learn how to stand on the shoulders of narrative giants and take the challenge in evolving film in general. The best movie/shows do this. While bond, marvel, Lucasfilm seem to be operating in a narrative bubble where better storytelling techniques don’t exist
@lrigsnart6821 I really didn’t get the Mendes Bond films either. I know he’s capable, but I think he was paying too much homage to the past, which I think is inauthentic especially for an auteur. I can’t even assess if his films were better because they feel as weightless as the others (but not as bad as the goldeneye era films). And my theory on bond not hiring Nolan was that he was going to do his own thing (and maybe his choice in bond in Harry styles).
FLCL is my all time favourite piece of visual media, and is completely incomprehensible on the first watch. There is a story but it's just 100% vibes all the way through
Yesss FLCL rocks. i didn't give a single fuck about what it was trying to say on my first watch but it never really bored me. i think the same goes for Paprika as well, for me at least.
Patrick, this is the first video of yours I've seen in a few YEARS. It has truly been a delight to see the progress you and your team have made over the years, and this was really an awesome topic to touch on. I fell in love with Tenet before the movie was over. I understood the aesthetic which was later defined as the vibes, Interstellar was the same way for me. This video is what I'd use to justify loving this movie!
Really appreciate your analysis, Tenet is my favorite of Nolan’s films, and you drawing connections to similar “Vibe” films is illuminating for me. I think the seven words of Tenet are keys to also enjoying movies like Star Wars, or foundational myths that have details or logistics that don’t quite math, but the general story and themes still come through.
I think an interesting point linking Inception and Tenet, is the way they present the uncanny in a see through way. What I mean by that, and what Nolan did with Inception, is rather than portray dreams in a visually more abstract way more coherent with how we experience dreams, rather they are visually no different to any of the other shot in the film because it's almost all shot practically. And what I mean by THAT, is that when looking at a scene the viewer, until revealed by Nolan, had little way of knowing what was and wasn't a dream. So instead you were forced to FEEL it, before you could talk about it among friends after the movie's finished and try to understand it. And with Tenet there's something a little similar, in that it's reverse scenes are visually presented in the exact way a non reverse scene is happening, forcing the viewer to again feel it before they could necessarily understand it.
I feel like someone finally put my love for Miami vice into words. It’s one of my favorite movies and you can turn it on and just get lost in the movie. I’m glad it’s finally getting the recognition it deserves and more people will be watching it after this video. Makes sense why I like tenet also when you put them in a category.
Dead Reckoning part 1 is the vibiest movie that ever vibed. my wife and I have five degree between us and we couldn't reconstruct the plot in any way that made sense, but it checks all the boxes. Glamor, spectacle, loneliness, momentum, all turned up to 11.
The way you're describing VIBES movies reminds me of how some of my favorite sci-fi novels work, specifically Neuromancer. A lot is thrown at you really fast, but the point is never to understand it, the point is to get the vibes. Maybe by the end you understand what is actually happening in the plot, but the real point of the book is to make you feel a certain type of way. Also you get little to no backstory about the characters, and the plot is very goal oriented. If these books were to ever get adapted (which I think isn't a thing that needs to happen) I would want it done like Tenet. Also, hi emma if you're reading this.
I actually described zack Snyder’s sucker punch as a vibes movie years ago in an essay. It doesn’t make too much sense, but the music is dope and you’re constantly going in different locales. You’re just supposed to vibe with it
I find that literary fiction (which I don't care for) is exactly this. Very powerful and emotive, inundating you with words, words, words, emotions, feelings, but in the end it's often a story that only needed about three pages to adequately tell. Sometimes not even that, depending on what the author is really trying to do.
I have recently down a Hayden Christensen retrospective and Jumper, for some reason rewatching now has begun to really consume my thoughts. High budget locations, underwater fight scenes (which were actually dangerous). This video really goes a long way to explain what I felt rewatching it years after the first time.
Can't upvote this enough! "Ronin" may be the perfect example of what Patrick describes as a "Vibes" movie: What's the mission? Get the thing. What is that thing? Why do they want it? Irrelevant - as is the backstories or motivations of the characters. And yet even with those elements missing you get a movie full of international intrigue, twisted betrayals, a heady mix of clashing personalities and skills, and two of the best car chases ever put on a movie screen. Nolan could somehow film a car crashing sideways through time, and it'll never be as astounding as that chase through the narrow Paris streets. (It also doesn't have the detriment "Tenet" possesses in chickening out by going back to the "Inception" well of having a character pining for their kids being kept from them (Nolan's most formative life moment was apparently a child custody dispute). The moment where Neil describes the threat as destroying both timelines and everything in them and Kat responds with, "What about my kid?" is part of what makes "Tenet" Christopher Nolan's funniest movie).
I completely disagree that there is no "Save the Cat" moment. Elizabeth Debicki's character is literally named Kat and the car chase scene at the end of Act 2 is about the Protagonist making the choice between "Saving Kat" or allowing the villain to escape with a piece of the weapon. Nothing Nolan does is without meaning and therefore it's hard to believe that the naming of Kat and the story beat wasn't an intentional "Save the Cat" moment in the movie.
Related to this, the Protagonist definitely does develop an emotional investment throughout the film; but I guess what Pat is saying is that these things get glossed over and are never highlighted. The emotional points exist for show, or for who are looking.
Also, the dialog is really not that hard to follow and it's not an excuse for the plot to go forward, it's the very thing that makes the plot go forward. Each dialogue scene is setting up what is going to happen in the very next scene AND what is going to happen 20 minutes later, as well as laying very subtle hints for the second watch, character building as well as being just genuinely fun dialog. Patrick's comments about the plot being mindless nonsense makes me question not only his understanding of movies but his very grasp of the English language.
Thank you. I think the whole film if full of details like this, where you think it's breaking all the rules, but it's just following them in ways we don't expect. Like, at the beginning of the Essay, after Patrick points out that there's no cat being saved, he also points out that the villain never confronts the hero, while showing the villain being defeated by Kat. The whole point of the film is that the Protagonist is a misdirect. It's his film, but it's Kat's story. She's the one who has an ultimate personal stake, she's the one who defeats the villain. All the other stuff is as secondary as the garbled, exposition-heavy dialog.
@@rottensquid Thank you for noticing that, beyond angry that her basically being the main character got overlooked in favour of “She just talks about her son all the time!” (Which is objectively untrue)
@kylemanning444 I find The Protagonist so fascinating and subtle. It's such a common thing to hear about how he doesn't have a personality and depth when he very much does. You just have to pay attention, same as the emotional points you talk about.
Great essay! I had so much fun watching Tenet even though I couldn't keep up with all that was going on. An under rated movie for sure once you get what it's trying to do.
The new opening title sequence is super fun, and Brian's theme is my exact jam, love it. And as someone who also never passes up a chance to talk Mission: Impossible, for me Ghost Protocol fits the Vibes style even more than Fallout. I've watched it nearly a dozen times and I'm still only so-so on the villain's deal or objectives but it doesn't matter, it's all just a steady stream of objective, plan, obstacle, adaptation, and also some character stuff with Brandt and Carter and a little bit Benji, it just zips along.
Speaking of Hitchcock and MacGuffins, the first film that came to my mind when going through what makes a "Vibes" film is "Vertigo." It doesn't meet every criteria since it came out before the Connery Bond films, but it does have: a lonely detective and a doomed relationship; not a globe trotting adventure but a bunch of beautiful scenes around the greater San Francisco area; a convoluted plot that took a few rewatches to full grasp; and most importantly, Bernard Herrmann's score, Robert Burk's cinematography and Hitchcock's direction. In scenes like Jimmy Stewart driving around and following Kim Novak for 15 minutes with no dialogue but tons of character and mood and feelings? Pure vibes, baby.
So glad to hear someone talking about this! I've never had the right way to describe these kinds of movies but they have always been some of my favorites! I was so sad to see the general reaction to Tenet when it was my favorite film of 2020 and I saw it 4 times in theatres because it's "vibe" was just something so intoxicating and so unique!
The difference between some of those moves, I would say is that in the other examples is that there is something to take you along the "vibes", a character, a theme or goal, but tenet does not have compelling ones. It's hard to ride the vibe of tenet wen it's constantly bombarding with exposition and moving on to the next scene without letting you really dwell on them
Yeah... my main issue with people putting Tenet alongside the likes of Miami Vice is that Miami Vice makes me FEEL something. The movie has a consistent emotional core to it (despair and longing mostly haha) that keeps you engaged. Tenet has nothing to anchor me on an emotional level.
I think you're really overstating how much exposition there is to a mandela effect degree, there are long long stretches of action with no exposition, not to mention that there's an argument for the exposition being part of the vibe, given as it's almost impossible to understand the time inversion stuff without taking a break to think about it, because you're not supposed to think about it, you're not supposed to understand the science of it, you trust that it works and you "feel it"
My main problem with Tenet is not trying to understand how the time effect works, but how dated and cliché is the villain portrayed by Kenneth Brannagh. His villain was insufferable to me.
To me Once upon a time in hollywood is the biggest vibe movie ever. I feel (even tough im born about 25 years after the story) that I'm right there in sunny LA. LOVED Tenet btw.
I don’t know if it would technically fit Patricks definition of a Vibes movie, but “don’t try to understand it, feel it” is *exactly* how I feel about David Lynch’s films. Mulholland Drive is one of my favorite movies, but I don’t remember anything about the plot. I just remember how it felt to let the movie’s weird energy just kinda wash over me. Also, this vid makes me really want to watch Miami Vice. If it’s like how Patrick describes, I’d probably love it.
Here's how I remember Mulholland Drive, and bear in mind it's been years: Lady goes to Hollywood, it eats her up as she falls to the depths of murder, and while she fantasizes about how it should be, in the end guilt tears at her until she kills herself.
I thought i messed up by watching it drunk because I was SO confused but it wound up being such a memorable movie experience and to this day one of my favorites, and now I’m thinking it’s because I was able to shut off the analytical part of my brain and just feel it
@@michaelotis223 I thought the film was doing the classic misdirection trick by inviting you to try and out-think the director, while the real plot as happening somewhere else.
Would like to add Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy to the vibes movie list. Never got any of the plot but am constantly rewatching it for the sheer vibe of it.
I hear you, Patrick. You really make a lot of sense here, and I would agree with all the other examples you name. Tenet still gives me a headache - and I don't mean its plot. Still, cool you found a way to love it. And I guess I now get people who do, too. Thanks for that.
"Well dreams, they feel real while we're in them, right? It's only when we wake up that we realize how things are actually strange." I feel like this line from inception also summarizes how plot doesn't really matter in vibes films.
The Big Lebowski is the greatest (aka my favorite) VIBES movie of all time. I found the movie plot to be confusing, and it took me at least 5 re-watches to fully grasp the convoluted plot of The Dude being searched and attacked, Bunny being kidnapped, and protagonists finding out that it was a fraud. Little by little in every rewatch, I was caring more about the characters and the cool atmosphere of every scene than the entire plot. Now I rewatch The Big Lebowski whenever I can just for the coolness and fun of the scenes and characters.
I always was rooting for Tenet. I went to the movies 3 times on the release and then watched it 3 times on a TV, I just can't get enough of it. Finally it is getting more recognition it deserves
I think a good early Vibes film is North By Northwest. The entire point of the film is that the driving force, propelling the main character across the country, is nonsensical. The movie is an overcomplicated excuse to make a bunch of really impressive scenes and scenarios in a bunch of unique locations. It's kind of crazy how this one really unserious film inspired both Bond and Mission Impossible.
I don’t think they’re that related but this reminds me a lot of the Dirk Gently books. They have a lot stuff just kind of happening that doesn’t seem to make sense until at the end where they explain how everything is connected. You just kind of have to accept things are happening that you will not get until later
Tenet is one of the strangest movies of all time for me personally. I've watched it probably 20 times and I honestly couldn't tell you right now if I actually like it or not. I mean, I obviously like WATCHING it... but I don't know how I feel about it as a film. It's just... perplexing.
I appreciate the replication of the mission impossible 1 scrawling titles you made in the intro. I myself have tried editing my own for fun and they are way more complicated than I originally thought. Well done
The problem with Tenet is that it has no Feel at all. It's as interesting as watching an Ice cube on the northpole who does not want to melt because it's to cold. So how can you feel this film. It is stupid as it is overaded.
When you were talking about plot I couldn’t help or think of the line from into the Spiderverse “There's always a bypass key, a virus key, a who-cares key I can never remember so I just call it a goober.”
At first I really didn't enjoy TENET that much, but by now it's definitely one of the movies I'd recommend people just to experience something "different". The sounddesign is phenomenal IMO as well
8:02 I finally saw Tenet for the first time in its imax re-release in March of this year and man I’m still thinking about it can’t get over it, Ludwig’s work on the score is just absolutely beautiful
The modern-day obsession with plot is such a contradictory frustration, because we always complain about how better movies were, but movies back then never bothered about plotholes, i mean the best films ever probably would be deemed illogical and incomplete by reddit nerds pointing out every inconsistency and every continuity issue. The internet has put every scene of a movie on trial for accuracy, realism and plotholes. The amount of times I’ve seen ppl whine about unrealistic scenes in competent action movies as proof of it being trash, while happily praising unrealism in the sleazier blockbusters, or in Bollywood blockbusters, is so strange. Anytime a Hollywood action movie that’s not over the top like F&F is always criticised for every little fault. With modern day internet, with all information at our fingertips, it feels like a lot of people don’t want to suspend disbelief.
Really great video! I had a blast watching it. I also absolutely love Tenet, I agree with pretty much everything you said about it, though weirdly I actually also really enjoy the plot of the movie. Deconstructing it and trying to make it all make sense is really fun for me and I've had some great late night conversations with friends about it. My question for you is, do you think Blade Runner 2049 counts as a Vibes movie? I think it might but I'm not certain. Hope you see and read this and I hope you have a great day!
Ridley Scott has made some of my favourite vibes films, even if the sci-fi ones don't fit all the criteria you lay out here. When I think of 'Blade Runner', or want to watch it again, it's to go visit that world, to walk in those lonely shoes and eat greasy street noodles in a trench coat while soaked in smoke and neon and rain. 'Alien', which I just watched again recently, has one of the thinnest "plots" of any film, but it's such a gritty atmospheric experience - you can feel the cynical camaraderie of the crew like they working on a cargo ship or a submarine, yet it's still a very unique, otherly / futuristic world that they all inhabit. 'Ghost In the Shell' (the original anime) is another sci-fi vibe. Similarly to 'Blade Runner', the plot is basically about moving the main characters through sequences of gathering and processing information that serves them up an existential quandary, roll credits. But damn, the long shots of city life, the lights, the rain, the solitude. What a vibe. One Ridley Scott that might fit your criteria (though it's been years since I watched it) is 'Hannibal'. I remember Julianne Moore absolutely nailing the Jaded Detective role of Starling a decade after her experience in 'Silence Of the Lambs'. Plus it felt lifted, expensive, glamorous, delicious. I don't remember the plot or the story, I just remember feeling afterward that I really wanted to put on an expensive suit and dine at a fancy restaurant. Similarly to Nolan, Scott isn't afraid to leave romance out as a driving factor and instead lean heavily on someone just being damn good at their job, but first immersing you into a richly-felt 'vibe'. (I would guess that's due to him coming up through commercials, where you need to sell a feeling before anyone speaks.)
I love Tenet! We rented it when it came out, cuz covid, and I think we watched it 3 or 4 times in that 2 day rental period. It was the first time in a long time that I had watched a movie where I wasn't tempted to look at my phone or anything else. It was a whole 2(3?) Hours of not thinking about the pandemic or the election or the implosion of society, and for that alone I have to thank Chris Nolan. What a film!
I’m rewatching Brotherhood of the Wolf for the first time in years, and it seems very vibe-y. I feel like I could turn off the subtitles and still get the vibe.
This is such a weirdly restrictive way to look at "vibes movies" which seems like it should be an entire broad category. Like, I agree that these are vibes based movies, but the idea that the specific vibe they're going for ("cool spy") is the only vibe a movie can be about is so weird to me. Like, look at Skinamarink, I Saw the TV Glow, In A Violent Nature, there are tons of movies that are about the vibes not the story or characters and are very different from these
Was waiting to see the biggest vibe film of all time "2001: A Space Oddessey" in this. Everything you said in this video could be summarised by the Kubrick quote - "A film is--or should be--more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what's behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later." Nolan pretty much keeps Kubrick in his highest rankings as a director. Kubrick was THE vibe guy before anyone else.
Great video, I think what you are describing here - the vibes - between the plot, enhancing the character moments, giving the audience the feel of what's going on. I think that perfectly describes what phase 4 of the MCU is missing. They have plot, they have character moments, but there is no vibe, zero, nothing.
I love this new category. So many of my favorite films are in this category. And now I'm wondering if the John Wick films and The Man From UNCLE qualify. :)
Hey Patrick, I love your consistent ability to make me appreciate movies I would have thought of as "lazy" or "fan servicy". I wonder if you make an extra effort to explore movies that get that kind of reception, or you truly love them on first watch and are surprised by the general reaction. Have a great day!
i love Tenet. Strange thing is the more i watch it the more i love it. . i have basically watched it once every month now. Every time i love it more. And yeah every time I miss something cause i really don't want to understand it so have never been to reddit theories. Tenet is simply f*cking AWESOME!!!
while they don't 100% fit into your category of Vibes Movies, I still want to mention the Bourne trilogy, which have many aspects of what you're talking about (except for glamour) and are very strong on vibes, and of course vibes are inherently something that is felt and can't totally be broken into specific concrete rules anyway they really are the most melancholic and somber and lonely spy/action films in my opinion, "how could I forget you? you're the only person I know" and then the second movie opens... and unlike the other franchises he doesn't have a team, no Luther or M or silently understanding partner, he's truly alone for so much of it
I never understood people who either like or dislike tenet calling it a "puzzle box" it's literally just a bond movie where they have to stop the bad guy blowing up the world.
I think realising that I don't need to understand everything in a story immediately was the most important insight I ever had with regards to enjoying art. Then came the insight that I don't need to understand every word of an English language work as I was learning the language, and lastly the insight that it can be enjoyable not to get all the answers but to be left with questions.
I personally call films like You Were Never Really Here, Drive, and Le Samourai “Ronin Cinema.” They’re post-samurai (also post-western) films about a lonely protagonist (oft rife with problems and probably an addiction or psychological issue) in a vibey and slowly-paced film with some sort of brutality. Taxi Driver is a near-Ronin Cinema film for me, but he doesn’t seem to fit that same journey that Ronins follow
Honestly this makes me more Michael Mann comeback with Ferrari and Heat 2 let’s hope there just as vibey as Miami Vice, also hear me out Michael Mann directing a Bond movie
I hope that Michael Mann and William Freidkin do a project together, I think they would mesh well based on To Live and Die In LA. Heck get William Petersen involved too
This is one where I REALLY recommend watching the extended cut on Nebula. There's a whole extra 7 minutes on Tenet that I think is super fun nebula.tv/videos/patrickhwillems-tenet-and-a-celebration-of-vibes-movies
All those “storys” cross youre videos, give me a Doug Walker vibe
Not best vibe
Hope youre not gona end up like him
@@denorangeblackandwhite2213 never seen his stuff so i don't even know what this means
Is it too bold to call Michael Bay movies vibe cinema? It feels bold and dare I say, nuts?
my comment is really good
So why no John Wick mention, huh?
Long-suffering Miami Vice enthusiast here, glad to see it finding a place in the world
way too underrated fr
I have harassed everyone I know about this movie. I have always loved it for exactly the reasons Patrick said.
I’ve been a Miami Vice truther ever since I saw it at the cinema
Agreed. I looked forward to Miami Vice for months, and I loved it for all of the reasons in the video. Needless to say, I was a bit dismayed when I saw the critical reception. I believe there's a certain part of me that always understood vibes movies inherently even if it wasn't something I could articulate, and I watched it in that headspace, whereas all those critics were viewing Miami Vice from a simple plot-oriented mindset. Not to say that it's a perfect movie, but that largely the criticism it received came from a place of missing the point.
@@PsyanideInk I’ve got some great essays on Miami Vice if you or anyone else is interested in reading
Ocean’s Twelve can also be seen as a “vibes” movie. The plot is as convoluted as they come, but Steven Soderbergh creates such an atmosphere with his direction, use of locations, and having the top-shelf charisma and the rapport of the cast be the backbone of the film, so you can easily just sit back and take it all in without even caring about the plot.
Very true
I was wondering what are good examples and this one is perfect. Thanks
Ocean's Twelve is my favourite for this very reason.
No, that's with the time travel plot hole isn't it. Too crazy.
Tenet will always have a soft spot in my heart as it had multiple scenes filmed in Tallinn, Estonia where I live. One of the shots had the main characters get out of a tram right in front of the movie theater I was watching the film in and it felt surreal as big budget blockbusters barely ever have locations like this. Plus the movie opened with a video greetings from Nolan thanking the people of Tallinn for their time in the country which was very sweet!
Yeah, Tallinn is awesome, makes me wonder if filmwise it will be now considered the city of Tenet or still the city of Stalker 🙂
Tallinn lended itself so well for the movie though as nothing like it had really been used for a locale in a blockbuster before. Seeing my barbershop in a scene was still fucking weird lol.
Ohio better
I've wanted to visit Tallinn for ages! I guess I'll have to rewatch Tenet after eventually do and see if I recognize anything!
@@Antwannnn let me guess, American who never left the US right? Can I make another guess that you're also overweight?
"The man from U.N.C.L.E." seems to fit with a lot of the Vibes themes. It has great vibes with characters that feel like their own lonely protagonists who just happen to have to work together and have no personal life.
It doesn't have the murky feeling of those films though. It has more of an upbeat 60s vibe to it whereas Tenet and Miami Vice are much murkier and less glamorous than that film and U.N.C.L.E is more of a traditional plot driven film in my opinion and plays all the traditional beats of one. It's good I just don't think it's as experimental as Tenet or Miami Vice in the way Patrick is talking about. Personally I think the Tony Scott film Deja Vu is a better example of a vibe movie or even Tony Scott's other fim Domino or maybe even Man on Fire. Ot the Michael Mann film Blackhat. Those are just my initial thoughts on it anyway.
Iirc it also has Elizabeth debicki in a leading role
I think it's Alicia Vikander@@iiiivvvv9986
“I ordered my hot sauce an hour ago” was all the Save The Cat I needed. Minimalist Cat.
lol literally saving Cat
I'm not sure if I understand the trope, but isn't the protagonist choosing to save the people in the cheap seats in the Opera an example as well?
@@moorederodeo yep. also sticking with his buddies even after they were rumbled at the start.
This is like the coherent and developed version of some ideas that started forming when I saw The Green Kinght. I realized that while I had been engaged the entire time, I couldn’t describe the movie in a way that didn’t sound like a story that could be told in 20 minutes.
The Green Knight is one of those movies that permanently sits in my mind. I can’t get it out.😅😁
Probably another movie saved by the great vibes
And, see, in how I would define a "Vibes Movie" (Fantastical or surrealistic imagery OR Non Human Perspective on normal things, low to no dialogue, low to no violence and a score/soundscape designed to calm the viewer, not pump them up) The Green Knight (yep, 20 minute endgame sequence with no dialogue so yep, just TWO (kind of extreme) acts of violence in the movie and a pretty great fitting score by Daniel Hart), ABSOLUTELY fits. It almost certainly wouldn't fit this video's DEEPLY WEIRD definition at all (too grimy, too few countries, not enough spectacle, not enough momentum), but, well, my take on it is this: If I wouldn't describe a video game doing this stuff as a Vibes Game, why would I call you a Vibes Movie? And, note, this is a day off of playing Stray, from start to finish. TALK. ABOUT. VIBES.
Some of the best Cinematography ever. It is so beautiful .
John wick
I feel like the John Wick franchise has become a vibes movie series: slick aesthetics, a loner protagonist who's initial motivation seems like a distant memory, and just so much fun without having to stress about the actual plotlines after the second film.
32:12 - This part sums up EXACTLY why I don't let spoilers ruin my day. Spoilers rarely cover things like mood, atmosphere or how the characters actually feel and react to the thing that people are spoiling. Spoilers are nothing but plot mechanics.
This. I don't mind any spoilers. If a film or a tv show catches me, it catches me. Moving over to TV for example, I knew before what the Red Wedding in GoT was, yet watching it still left me devastated because of how it was presented.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. For the better part of a decade, in fact, I’ve gone out of my way to find spoilers so I can get the context out of the way and focus entirely of the execution.
Until they're horror flick spoilers which completely remove the tension from it all and thus the vibe lol. Or mystery spoilers. Or really anything that relies on not knowing how it ends in order to hold the vibe in place at all.
Yeah seriously, people are too concerned with what happens at the end of films. They seem to think that knowing how a film ends, means you can't enjoy the rest of it, as if the only important part of a story is the last few minutes and that the journey _TO_ the end is unimportant. It's a ridiculous attitude to have. The journey there _IS_ the film, not just how it ends.
If knowing what happens at the end was the only important part, then why do these people even bother watching any films at all? Because going by their logic, they could simply read the plot summary of a film on Wikipedia and that would be equally enjoyable to them as sitting down and watching the entire film. But obviously it's not.
@@lorescien4148 (Yes this is a very old comment) I disagree that horror and mysteries are ruined by spoilers. You might not have the same experience you would watching it without any context, but by knowing whodunnit, you can spot and appreciate the ways that the creator sets up the mystery and lays clues that you could pick up on as an eagle-eyed viewer. I think the vibes only fall apart if the film wasn't that great at creating the vibes in the first place. The Thing still scares the shit out of me on repeat viewings, even though I know what's coming.
I'm extremely surprised that P. W. didn't mention or hint at John Wick in any way. With possible exception for the first one, these movies are one of the highest scoring in glamour, spectacle and momentum, especially 3rd and 4th installments. Hell, the glamour is such an integral part of the movies appeal, they literally made "cool manly suits" into a body armor.
P. S. I love Emma's addition to the show. Her chemistry with Patrick is unparalleled.
I just wrote a comment like this, my feeling is that John Wick feels a lot like a video game and that holds it slightly back, whereas Fallout feels more like Tenet for example than it does many other MI movies. I think the feel of the movie is important. At the same time John Wick makes me consider quite deeply what the movie is about. Especially this fourth one.
Yeah I feel that the latter John Wick movies fit Patrick’s definition of vibe movies perfectly: a lonely protagonist in a convoluted plot (but it doesn’t matter since we always know his immediate goal) with a presentation HEAVY on style and glamour. And everyone wears tuxedos.
john wick laps every other movie for a vibes movie
@@Si-Horrocks I guess you can argue that John has more clear personal stakes in the story than any other protagonist in vibes movies.
Nevertheless, when I was watching John Wick 4 in the theater, I definitely vibed
I'd say that John Wick is basically just a stunt movie, whose inspirations are old action and kung-fu movies. The mood and emphasis is completely different. What PW is talking about is mostly modern noir, i.e. Michael Mann.
I began watching foreign films at an early age. Even if I couldn't understand the dialogue or there weren't any subtitles I still enjoyed just "vibing" with the story visuals. Tenet actually felt like a foreign film to me, in that sense I just had to sit back and vibe with it.
Tenet is about one thing: The temporal pincer movement. Chris Nolan was obsessed with this idea of forward and backward soldier attacking at the same time.
Too bad he forgot to film the bad guys in the scene so we get a lot of nice looking shots of guys with guns mostly shooting at the air and trying to get to........someplace.
it's ridiculous to think Tenet isn't about anything more
@@galactic85that was my only gripe with the film tbh
@@galactic85blame Alec Baldwin and the guy who shot Brandon Lee. There's a reason you're not allowed to point a blank firing prop gun at people during filming these days
@@lithuaniaball Tenet was filmed before Rust??? What are you even on about?
Nolan has made it clear that Michael Mann is one of his many inspirations. And even then, it feels like Mann doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Sometimes a strong visual can transport you farther than a plot ever could.
Emma's Real Genius inspired "I
Tron Legacy is amazing, I agree, it’s definitely a vibes movie.
Came here to second Tron Legacy. It deserves way more love.
I think the original Tron would work, too. Lots of technical jargon that makes no sense , the whole movie is defined by a single mission, and the main character doesn’t really change internally.
Totally agree about Tron Legacy. If you watch it for plot it's miserable. But if you just revel if the visuals and the vibe it's an astonishing work of art.
Real Genius, great Kilm
Fellow Tenet enjoyer here. Thank you for your service.
I think of Tenet like a video game. The protagonist is a blank slate trying to find his footing the whole time until the very end. And the last line of the movie is all you need to understand. He was following the vibes the whole time.
Here for Tenet appreciation
Will defend it and the 3 layers of "rules" the movie has that unfold perfectly if you're paying attention through all 3 acts
It’s moved up the list of my favorite Nolan movies. I’ve seen it three times now and it gets better and better. Inception is the opposite, it’s a good movie but on every rewatch the exposition gets more annoying to deal with
We live in a twilight world…
Maybe a rewatch could help. I didn't love it back when I watched it in theatres during the earlier covid days. Did have some cool scenes for sure tho.
@@thakatspajamaz ...and the constant allusions to THE PINCER MANEUVER and Entropy. It pays off.
I REALLY enjoyed Tenet. In fact, I was surprised to later learn that some people were put off by it. But then, time-twisting weirdness has always been one of my favorite things in fiction!
Everything about this; from the continuity of you and Chloe to Matt’s success to Emma’s post-ironic shirts to everything involving (possibly?) unhealthy amounts of alcohol. Your channel is a true masterpiece and I love it.
James Cameron does vibes fantastically well in the Avatar series. More flying on the banshees, more swimming and time with the Tulkun.
i am not disagreeing to the observations in this video, but for me the plot of tenet was kind of the great thing about it. I loved that it avoids all the conventional narrative aspects (as acknowledged in the essay) in order to focus solely on temporal logistics and how the complicated plot weaves together. it was so much fun figuring out all the different parts of it, how cause and effect are related etc.
yes! I did a double viewing recently watching it back to back just for this reason. It's fun studying how he weaved the movement of this movie together. Especially since I absolutely HATED it on first viewing. His workings with time/editing seems to get sharper with every film, or at least explores a new angle of possible time/editing mechanics.
Its where a lot of the rewatch value is. I felt like I understood 60% of it after my third rewatch.
Love Tenet, I think the reason I love it so much is because its such a crazy concept that it really is impossible to understand in real time so you do have to just let go and go with the flow. Understanding entropy doesn’t help at all because it is just beyond our experience so seeing it play out with explosions and style is literally ‘cool’.
I don’t think Nolan himself understood the concept throughly and frankly it shows in the film! The plot is so complex it feels contrived. Also the lead actor was the wrong choice!
@@hekikoka5792 to me the whole "Tenet" is confusing to understand thing was compareable to "Only 1% of the people can solve this puzzle" clickbait images online.
Tenet is not hard to follow and it's filled with errors and inconsistencies, even if you suspend your disbelief.
Tenet was the first film I saw in theaters after Covid. I was so damn hyped for it as I am a mega Nolan fan since Prestige. I went into it so damn excited, finally seeing a movie in theaters, seeing a Nolan film and it delivered on everything. I fucking love this movie and I think it will be like Interstellar, which had mixed reviews and feelings when it came out but is now seen as a gem.
@@hekikoka5792What entails a "wrong choice"?
I love when Nolan stans will use any excuse to justify any and all decisions he makes lol. The film felt like he completely lost hold of the plot and the themes and just went with the whole “Don’t understand it , feel it” shtick and used that as a crutch throughout.
Honestly I'm surprised that Blade Runner 2049 wasn't mentioned in this. I've only seen it once, but it feels like it nails every requirement.
Blade Runner leans more towards the "tone poem" side of things, IMO
@@michaelotis223 definitely adjacent, but less grounded than most of the vibes movies. Incidentally, the OG Blade Runner and its director Ridley Scott are also known strong influences on Nolan. Scifi Vibes movies could almost include their own category. The Scott directed Alien franchise installments have a few elements of technobabble and unclear plot elements. It's definitely what The Chronicles of Riddick movie is aiming for with its obviously dense yet completely unexplained lore and plot. The Cantina scene in Star Wars is like the distillation of the scifi version of this and the OG Star Wars movie in particular definitely has a sprinklings of this with an unexplained price on Han's head and Luke's unexplained father who was apparently the best star fighter in the galaxy and this Tarkin guy who seems to order this giant black cyborg wizard around.
I would say the OG blade runner qualifies more on this category than 2049.
@@v-trigger6137Final Cut yes, less the theatrical
@@caffetiel Yeah, I was thinking that whatever version that doesn't include Ford's narration qualifies a vibes film. We know nothing about Deckard's personal life, no detail about himself that isn't relevant to the case at hand.
When I watched Tenet for the first time, I walked away thinking, "It wasn't perfect, but there were moments that were literally the coolest shit I've ever seen in a movie", and I really stand by that.
These are the type of UA-cam videos I get excited for but have to wait to watch so I can sit down and savor it. The commentary and editing is way too good to just have it on in the background while I do chores lol. Thanks Pat and the team!
"And I'm a punctual adult for a cool glass of milk:" lol...that line and the delivery sent me.
Lee H. Katzin, director of two Miami Vice episodes, when speaking about the show, nailed the idea of a “vibes movie”(/series) for me: “The show is written for an MTV audience, which is more interested in images, emotions and energy than plot and character and words."
I reference this quote often.
For all of the places it falls short, Michael Mann's Miami Vice is, still to this day, a visual and auditory treat.
Miami Vice is what Bad Boys directed by Terrence Malick would look like. Banger fuckin' movie!
You could argue that Wes Anderson films (especially the Grand Budapest Hotel) fit into this category, or at least are adjacent to it. I barely remember what happens in these films but I do remember the vibes.
Vibe adjacent
They have plots though. So does Tenet.
Perfect timing! Even though I’ve seen Tenet many times, I just saw in theaters in IMAX for the first time. Ludwig’s score shook the entire room lol
I am so glad I was able to see this movie freely and multiple times when it released since I'm in NZ and we were covid free. There was nothing else much to show at the time so I was able to watch Tenet 15 times over 3.5 months in Laser IMAX and it was glorious. The experience to seeing it there can't come close to being matched.
I honestly LOOOOOVED Tenet from the first time I watched on the big screen (we were literally 4 people in the whole cinema 😅). Everyone else who I've introduced it to got SO FRUSTRATED with it 😂. This video perfectly sums like all my thoughts on the movie. On that note I'm of to rewatch Miami Vice!
I only watched it for the first time last week, and I was shocked, because, well... people were actually _CONFUSED_ by this movie!? Seriously!? It wasn't even remotely confusing. It's not even the most complicated movie Christopher Nolan has ever made, and his films are all simple to understand. Seriously, was this just some kind of long running joke that people were telling, where they were pretending to be confused by the film? You'd have to be really quite stupid to not understand it. You don't have to watch it multiple times either, if you have a functioning brain then you'll understand it first time.
What exactly were people confused about?
Imagine if these morons watched something like Primer instead. That's an _ACTUAL_ confusing film, unlike Tenet.
I watched Tenet for the first time in 2021 and I absolutely got obsessed with it in a way I haven’t for a film in a long long time
I re-watched Tenet like 5 times in the first couple weeks after I saw it and i absolutely love it
A movie you have to watch more than once, with headphones on (to hear the dialogue) and it gets better each time
My problem with Tenet was never an absence of plot or some inability to understand what was happening or whatever. It was just that I didn't give a shit what was happening because the movie had no characters I was in any way invested in. It felt like watching a movie with nobody in it.
That's James Bond.
Sounds like a you problem. Everyone was very charismatic and cool in the movie
@@billelliott3507 Maybe they were, but I still didn't feel much connection to the characters.
I never cared about the protagonist.
However, I personally don't think that's a problem at all. To me the movie wasn't about that sort of a character connection, so it's sort of like saying I didn't feel like the cashier at burger king engaged enough with me about the politics of the universe of My Little Pony; that's not what I would expect or necessarily want in that relationship.
I feel like I’ve appreciated Tenet more as time has gone on, and I think you nailed it when you said it’s kind of the same vibes as the 60’s Bond movies. The protagonist and Neil’s dynamic definitely reminded me of Connery’s Bond and Felix Leiter in those movies.
Also it’s truly baffling to me that Christopher Nolan hasn’t even been approached to do an actual Bond movie. From the homages alone, it feels like he’s one of the series’ biggest fans working today
How do you know he hasn't been approached?
He was in talks to do a bond movie several times. In fact that was supposed to be his next project before tenet. He even had an “actor” in mind, Harry Styles.
I think you also need to watch it somewhere with a giant screen and giant speakers
@lrigsnart6821 I absolutely love American Beauty but just like all the other Bond films I just can’t get into them.
For instance, I don’t like marvel at all, and I love Star Wars but the ideas and not necessarily the movies or the shows. But the few movies that I did enjoy were the ones with easily identifiable and or universal themes. Like In No Way Home, the theme is “fixing people who don’t want to be fixed.” Once Peter gets on his healing journey, almost every interaction in the film calls back you the theme, even for the goblin (“I’ll fix you Peter”) in his own twisted take.
In Andor and Rogue one it’s the same. They have themes that are in the forefront and build tire to road traction.
Bourne trilogy as well, though the theme is usually uprooted by another literary device like Jason’s Emotional Wound, his memory loss and the tragedy of how he became an agent. Then he hunts the people who trained him like he’s in a half remembered dream.
But in Bond, no matter who it’s filmed by, there’s no theme or emotional wound that’s interesting enough, in my opinion of course, to gain the tire to road traction from scene to scene. Like in game of thrones, every character has an emotional wound (Jon is a bastard, Jaime is the king slayer, Tyrion is a dwarf, etc), and they continuously bully those characters or do things to remind the audience what their wounds are, It’s as if the characters are vehicles for their wounds. This makes every conversation in game of thrones, where one wound interacts with another, absolutely explosive and interesting in game of thrones.
But in the bond movies everything feels weightless, even in skyfall I was asking myself why should I care about this or why is this at all interesting.
So in conclusion, I agree that bond needs an auteur but it also needs to challenge itself in pushing cinematic and narrative language forward. Because the themes they introduce if any have been done before and done far better. Bond needs to learn how to stand on the shoulders of narrative giants and take the challenge in evolving film in general. The best movie/shows do this. While bond, marvel, Lucasfilm seem to be operating in a narrative bubble where better storytelling techniques don’t exist
@lrigsnart6821 I really didn’t get the Mendes Bond films either. I know he’s capable, but I think he was paying too much homage to the past, which I think is inauthentic especially for an auteur.
I can’t even assess if his films were better because they feel as weightless as the others (but not as bad as the goldeneye era films).
And my theory on bond not hiring Nolan was that he was going to do his own thing (and maybe his choice in bond in Harry styles).
“I guess we’ll find out in a few months” 💀
I was looking for this comment 😭
FLCL is my all time favourite piece of visual media, and is completely incomprehensible on the first watch. There is a story but it's just 100% vibes all the way through
Yesss FLCL rocks. i didn't give a single fuck about what it was trying to say on my first watch but it never really bored me. i think the same goes for Paprika as well, for me at least.
The Pillows definitely helped
make FLCL super amazing.
[Solo]
This is me but with Gurren Lagann
@@lankyGigantic don't think that Gurren Lagan was "tough to understand" for anyone......
I see you're a man of culture
Patrick, this is the first video of yours I've seen in a few YEARS. It has truly been a delight to see the progress you and your team have made over the years, and this was really an awesome topic to touch on. I fell in love with Tenet before the movie was over. I understood the aesthetic which was later defined as the vibes, Interstellar was the same way for me.
This video is what I'd use to justify loving this movie!
Really appreciate your analysis, Tenet is my favorite of Nolan’s films, and you drawing connections to similar “Vibe” films is illuminating for me.
I think the seven words of Tenet are keys to also enjoying movies like Star Wars, or foundational myths that have details or logistics that don’t quite math, but the general story and themes still come through.
I think an interesting point linking Inception and Tenet, is the way they present the uncanny in a see through way. What I mean by that, and what Nolan did with Inception, is rather than portray dreams in a visually more abstract way more coherent with how we experience dreams, rather they are visually no different to any of the other shot in the film because it's almost all shot practically. And what I mean by THAT, is that when looking at a scene the viewer, until revealed by Nolan, had little way of knowing what was and wasn't a dream. So instead you were forced to FEEL it, before you could talk about it among friends after the movie's finished and try to understand it. And with Tenet there's something a little similar, in that it's reverse scenes are visually presented in the exact way a non reverse scene is happening, forcing the viewer to again feel it before they could necessarily understand it.
Here for the Tenet appreciate!! It’s my absolute favorite Nolan film as it actually feels like it has more to say than all of Nolan’s other films!!
I feel like someone finally put my love for Miami vice into words. It’s one of my favorite movies and you can turn it on and just get lost in the movie. I’m glad it’s finally getting the recognition it deserves and more people will be watching it after this video. Makes sense why I like tenet also when you put them in a category.
You could probably add Micheal Mann's Colaterial and Thief to the vibe list, even though they both have a pretty deep character study woven into them.
Most definitely. And I'd add Manhunter to that list too, total vibes, aesthetic viscerality there also!
Dead Reckoning part 1 is the vibiest movie that ever vibed. my wife and I have five degree between us and we couldn't reconstruct the plot in any way that made sense, but it checks all the boxes. Glamor, spectacle, loneliness, momentum, all turned up to 11.
The way you're describing VIBES movies reminds me of how some of my favorite sci-fi novels work, specifically Neuromancer. A lot is thrown at you really fast, but the point is never to understand it, the point is to get the vibes. Maybe by the end you understand what is actually happening in the plot, but the real point of the book is to make you feel a certain type of way. Also you get little to no backstory about the characters, and the plot is very goal oriented. If these books were to ever get adapted (which I think isn't a thing that needs to happen) I would want it done like Tenet. Also, hi emma if you're reading this.
Oh man, my thoughts went to Neuromancer too.
I actually described zack Snyder’s sucker punch as a vibes movie years ago in an essay. It doesn’t make too much sense, but the music is dope and you’re constantly going in different locales. You’re just supposed to vibe with it
I find that literary fiction (which I don't care for) is exactly this. Very powerful and emotive, inundating you with words, words, words, emotions, feelings, but in the end it's often a story that only needed about three pages to adequately tell. Sometimes not even that, depending on what the author is really trying to do.
I have recently down a Hayden Christensen retrospective and Jumper, for some reason rewatching now has begun to really consume my thoughts. High budget locations, underwater fight scenes (which were actually dangerous). This video really goes a long way to explain what I felt rewatching it years after the first time.
Jumper is so sick
Ronin is probably my favorite vibes movie, just pure momentum and spectacle carried on the back of an incredibly storied ensemble cast.
I can't believe I never heard of that film, or saw it, until this year. It's like Mission Impossible with fewer blockbuster stunts.
Ronin is a masterpiece
Can't upvote this enough! "Ronin" may be the perfect example of what Patrick describes as a "Vibes" movie: What's the mission? Get the thing. What is that thing? Why do they want it? Irrelevant - as is the backstories or motivations of the characters. And yet even with those elements missing you get a movie full of international intrigue, twisted betrayals, a heady mix of clashing personalities and skills, and two of the best car chases ever put on a movie screen. Nolan could somehow film a car crashing sideways through time, and it'll never be as astounding as that chase through the narrow Paris streets.
(It also doesn't have the detriment "Tenet" possesses in chickening out by going back to the "Inception" well of having a character pining for their kids being kept from them (Nolan's most formative life moment was apparently a child custody dispute). The moment where Neil describes the threat as destroying both timelines and everything in them and Kat responds with, "What about my kid?" is part of what makes "Tenet" Christopher Nolan's funniest movie).
A fellow Ronin enjoyer! A movie not talked about nearly enough at the time or in the decades since its release since it really holds up.
Yes!
I completely disagree that there is no "Save the Cat" moment. Elizabeth Debicki's character is literally named Kat and the car chase scene at the end of Act 2 is about the Protagonist making the choice between "Saving Kat" or allowing the villain to escape with a piece of the weapon. Nothing Nolan does is without meaning and therefore it's hard to believe that the naming of Kat and the story beat wasn't an intentional "Save the Cat" moment in the movie.
Related to this, the Protagonist definitely does develop an emotional investment throughout the film; but I guess what Pat is saying is that these things get glossed over and are never highlighted. The emotional points exist for show, or for who are looking.
Also, the dialog is really not that hard to follow and it's not an excuse for the plot to go forward, it's the very thing that makes the plot go forward. Each dialogue scene is setting up what is going to happen in the very next scene AND what is going to happen 20 minutes later, as well as laying very subtle hints for the second watch, character building as well as being just genuinely fun dialog.
Patrick's comments about the plot being mindless nonsense makes me question not only his understanding of movies but his very grasp of the English language.
Thank you. I think the whole film if full of details like this, where you think it's breaking all the rules, but it's just following them in ways we don't expect. Like, at the beginning of the Essay, after Patrick points out that there's no cat being saved, he also points out that the villain never confronts the hero, while showing the villain being defeated by Kat. The whole point of the film is that the Protagonist is a misdirect. It's his film, but it's Kat's story. She's the one who has an ultimate personal stake, she's the one who defeats the villain. All the other stuff is as secondary as the garbled, exposition-heavy dialog.
@@rottensquid Thank you for noticing that, beyond angry that her basically being the main character got overlooked in favour of “She just talks about her son all the time!” (Which is objectively untrue)
@kylemanning444 I find The Protagonist so fascinating and subtle. It's such a common thing to hear about how he doesn't have a personality and depth when he very much does. You just have to pay attention, same as the emotional points you talk about.
The Tenet spoofing in the music is immaculate. Well done.
Great essay! I had so much fun watching Tenet even though I couldn't keep up with all that was going on. An under rated movie for sure once you get what it's trying to do.
The new opening title sequence is super fun, and Brian's theme is my exact jam, love it. And as someone who also never passes up a chance to talk Mission: Impossible, for me Ghost Protocol fits the Vibes style even more than Fallout. I've watched it nearly a dozen times and I'm still only so-so on the villain's deal or objectives but it doesn't matter, it's all just a steady stream of objective, plan, obstacle, adaptation, and also some character stuff with Brandt and Carter and a little bit Benji, it just zips along.
Speaking of Hitchcock and MacGuffins, the first film that came to my mind when going through what makes a "Vibes" film is "Vertigo." It doesn't meet every criteria since it came out before the Connery Bond films, but it does have: a lonely detective and a doomed relationship; not a globe trotting adventure but a bunch of beautiful scenes around the greater San Francisco area; a convoluted plot that took a few rewatches to full grasp; and most importantly, Bernard Herrmann's score, Robert Burk's cinematography and Hitchcock's direction. In scenes like Jimmy Stewart driving around and following Kim Novak for 15 minutes with no dialogue but tons of character and mood and feelings? Pure vibes, baby.
So glad to hear someone talking about this! I've never had the right way to describe these kinds of movies but they have always been some of my favorites! I was so sad to see the general reaction to Tenet when it was my favorite film of 2020 and I saw it 4 times in theatres because it's "vibe" was just something so intoxicating and so unique!
I can't believe how hard Patrick and the team go with these opening credits. Man alive that's some good stuff
The difference between some of those moves, I would say is that in the other examples is that there is something to take you along the "vibes", a character, a theme or goal, but tenet does not have compelling ones. It's hard to ride the vibe of tenet wen it's constantly bombarding with exposition and moving on to the next scene without letting you really dwell on them
THANK YOU.
Yeah... my main issue with people putting Tenet alongside the likes of Miami Vice is that Miami Vice makes me FEEL something. The movie has a consistent emotional core to it (despair and longing mostly haha) that keeps you engaged. Tenet has nothing to anchor me on an emotional level.
I mean, I always found Elizabeth debicky's character and her struggle very compelling
I think you're really overstating how much exposition there is to a mandela effect degree, there are long long stretches of action with no exposition, not to mention that there's an argument for the exposition being part of the vibe, given as it's almost impossible to understand the time inversion stuff without taking a break to think about it, because you're not supposed to think about it, you're not supposed to understand the science of it, you trust that it works and you "feel it"
My main problem with Tenet is not trying to understand how the time effect works, but how dated and cliché is the villain portrayed by Kenneth Brannagh. His villain was insufferable to me.
To me Once upon a time in hollywood is the biggest vibe movie ever. I feel (even tough im born about 25 years after the story) that I'm right there in sunny LA. LOVED Tenet btw.
Can I just pop in and say how much of a FANTASTIC addition to the videos Emma is? "Heat... great Kilm" had me cackling.
Thank you so much!!
I don’t know if it would technically fit Patricks definition of a Vibes movie, but “don’t try to understand it, feel it” is *exactly* how I feel about David Lynch’s films. Mulholland Drive is one of my favorite movies, but I don’t remember anything about the plot. I just remember how it felt to let the movie’s weird energy just kinda wash over me.
Also, this vid makes me really want to watch Miami Vice. If it’s like how Patrick describes, I’d probably love it.
David Lynch definitely has a vibe
Here's how I remember Mulholland Drive, and bear in mind it's been years:
Lady goes to Hollywood, it eats her up as she falls to the depths of murder, and while she fantasizes about how it should be, in the end guilt tears at her until she kills herself.
I thought i messed up by watching it drunk because I was SO confused but it wound up being such a memorable movie experience and to this day one of my favorites, and now I’m thinking it’s because I was able to shut off the analytical part of my brain and just feel it
Tell me why I thought you meant you watched this video drunk and not the movie. 😂
@@joselopezjr.7864 Don't worry, i watched the video drunk. So you wouldn't have to. (its very good either way)
It's better when you just go with the flow.....stop trying to out-think the director and run with it
@@michaelotis223 I thought the film was doing the classic misdirection trick by inviting you to try and out-think the director, while the real plot as happening somewhere else.
The plot just exists to fascilitate cool scenes.
Cool dialogue, cars, settings, action ...
Cool dialogue, cars, settings and action make me fall asleep if I don't care about anyone or anything in the movie.
Comments like these make me fear that I am right in thinking this video might serve as a gateway drug for "turn off your brain" movie viewing.
@@esotericVideos Analysis like this should be paired with criticism of it. It's not like brain dead movies are a good thing.
@@esotericVideosI think the better word is mind
Your brain is just tissue
I'll take heart felt any day
Would like to add Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy to the vibes movie list. Never got any of the plot but am constantly rewatching it for the sheer vibe of it.
The plot in that film is actually pretty straightforward, but there are a few dead ends. That film is very good.
The Circus had a clown in it. That's all you need to know.
Mann does the same staring into the distance at the beach with Manhunter. That probably was in the script though.
I hear you, Patrick. You really make a lot of sense here, and I would agree with all the other examples you name. Tenet still gives me a headache - and I don't mean its plot. Still, cool you found a way to love it. And I guess I now get people who do, too. Thanks for that.
"Well dreams, they feel real while we're in them, right? It's only when we wake up that we realize how things are actually strange." I feel like this line from inception also summarizes how plot doesn't really matter in vibes films.
The Big Lebowski is the greatest (aka my favorite) VIBES movie of all time.
I found the movie plot to be confusing, and it took me at least 5 re-watches to fully grasp the convoluted plot of The Dude being searched and attacked, Bunny being kidnapped, and protagonists finding out that it was a fraud.
Little by little in every rewatch, I was caring more about the characters and the cool atmosphere of every scene than the entire plot.
Now I rewatch The Big Lebowski whenever I can just for the coolness and fun of the scenes and characters.
I think this is much more common in comedy.
I always was rooting for Tenet. I went to the movies 3 times on the release and then watched it 3 times on a TV, I just can't get enough of it. Finally it is getting more recognition it deserves
I'm so happy someone understood Tenet for what it is. you deserve a sub 👍
I think a good early Vibes film is North By Northwest. The entire point of the film is that the driving force, propelling the main character across the country, is nonsensical. The movie is an overcomplicated excuse to make a bunch of really impressive scenes and scenarios in a bunch of unique locations. It's kind of crazy how this one really unserious film inspired both Bond and Mission Impossible.
I don’t think they’re that related but this reminds me a lot of the Dirk Gently books. They have a lot stuff just kind of happening that doesn’t seem to make sense until at the end where they explain how everything is connected. You just kind of have to accept things are happening that you will not get until later
Can we take a moment to appreciate Patrick's (or whomever is doing its) skill at making these awesome graphics during the video?
Tenet is one of the strangest movies of all time for me personally. I've watched it probably 20 times and I honestly couldn't tell you right now if I actually like it or not. I mean, I obviously like WATCHING it... but I don't know how I feel about it as a film. It's just... perplexing.
I appreciate the replication of the mission impossible 1 scrawling titles you made in the intro. I myself have tried editing my own for fun and they are way more complicated than I originally thought. Well done
The problem with Tenet is that it has no Feel at all.
It's as interesting as watching an Ice cube on the northpole who does not want to melt because it's to cold.
So how can you feel this film.
It is stupid as it is overaded.
When you were talking about plot I couldn’t help or think of the line from into the Spiderverse “There's always a bypass key, a virus key, a who-cares key I can never remember so I just call it a goober.”
At first I really didn't enjoy TENET that much, but by now it's definitely one of the movies I'd recommend people just to experience something "different".
The sounddesign is phenomenal IMO as well
8:02 I finally saw Tenet for the first time in its imax re-release in March of this year and man I’m still thinking about it can’t get over it, Ludwig’s work on the score is just absolutely beautiful
The Thomas Crowne Affair is an ultimate vibes movie.
The modern-day obsession with plot is such a contradictory frustration, because we always complain about how better movies were, but movies back then never bothered about plotholes, i mean the best films ever probably would be deemed illogical and incomplete by reddit nerds pointing out every inconsistency and every continuity issue. The internet has put every scene of a movie on trial for accuracy, realism and plotholes. The amount of times I’ve seen ppl whine about unrealistic scenes in competent action movies as proof of it being trash, while happily praising unrealism in the sleazier blockbusters, or in Bollywood blockbusters, is so strange. Anytime a Hollywood action movie that’s not over the top like F&F is always criticised for every little fault. With modern day internet, with all information at our fingertips, it feels like a lot of people don’t want to suspend disbelief.
Really great video! I had a blast watching it.
I also absolutely love Tenet, I agree with pretty much everything you said about it, though weirdly I actually also really enjoy the plot of the movie. Deconstructing it and trying to make it all make sense is really fun for me and I've had some great late night conversations with friends about it.
My question for you is, do you think Blade Runner 2049 counts as a Vibes movie? I think it might but I'm not certain.
Hope you see and read this and I hope you have a great day!
Ridley Scott has made some of my favourite vibes films, even if the sci-fi ones don't fit all the criteria you lay out here. When I think of 'Blade Runner', or want to watch it again, it's to go visit that world, to walk in those lonely shoes and eat greasy street noodles in a trench coat while soaked in smoke and neon and rain. 'Alien', which I just watched again recently, has one of the thinnest "plots" of any film, but it's such a gritty atmospheric experience - you can feel the cynical camaraderie of the crew like they working on a cargo ship or a submarine, yet it's still a very unique, otherly / futuristic world that they all inhabit. 'Ghost In the Shell' (the original anime) is another sci-fi vibe. Similarly to 'Blade Runner', the plot is basically about moving the main characters through sequences of gathering and processing information that serves them up an existential quandary, roll credits. But damn, the long shots of city life, the lights, the rain, the solitude. What a vibe.
One Ridley Scott that might fit your criteria (though it's been years since I watched it) is 'Hannibal'. I remember Julianne Moore absolutely nailing the Jaded Detective role of Starling a decade after her experience in 'Silence Of the Lambs'. Plus it felt lifted, expensive, glamorous, delicious. I don't remember the plot or the story, I just remember feeling afterward that I really wanted to put on an expensive suit and dine at a fancy restaurant. Similarly to Nolan, Scott isn't afraid to leave romance out as a driving factor and instead lean heavily on someone just being damn good at their job, but first immersing you into a richly-felt 'vibe'. (I would guess that's due to him coming up through commercials, where you need to sell a feeling before anyone speaks.)
I love Tenet! We rented it when it came out, cuz covid, and I think we watched it 3 or 4 times in that 2 day rental period.
It was the first time in a long time that I had watched a movie where I wasn't tempted to look at my phone or anything else. It was a whole 2(3?) Hours of not thinking about the pandemic or the election or the implosion of society, and for that alone I have to thank Chris Nolan. What a film!
I’m rewatching Brotherhood of the Wolf for the first time in years, and it seems very vibe-y. I feel like I could turn off the subtitles and still get the vibe.
This is such a weirdly restrictive way to look at "vibes movies" which seems like it should be an entire broad category. Like, I agree that these are vibes based movies, but the idea that the specific vibe they're going for ("cool spy") is the only vibe a movie can be about is so weird to me. Like, look at Skinamarink, I Saw the TV Glow, In A Violent Nature, there are tons of movies that are about the vibes not the story or characters and are very different from these
You made a whole video on Vibes and didn't mention Blade Runner? Both blade runner films are the most potent vibes movies I have ever seen!
Was waiting to see the biggest vibe film of all time "2001: A Space Oddessey" in this. Everything you said in this video could be summarised by the Kubrick quote -
"A film is--or should be--more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what's behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later."
Nolan pretty much keeps Kubrick in his highest rankings as a director. Kubrick was THE vibe guy before anyone else.
2001 is an excellent example
Great video, I think what you are describing here - the vibes - between the plot, enhancing the character moments, giving the audience the feel of what's going on. I think that perfectly describes what phase 4 of the MCU is missing.
They have plot, they have character moments, but there is no vibe, zero, nothing.
I love this new category. So many of my favorite films are in this category. And now I'm wondering if the John Wick films and The Man From UNCLE qualify. :)
Thumbs up for Man from Uncle. I was also thinking of that one.
@@DC5Brandon heck yeah
Feels like this guy goes out of his way to make people dislike him, but when you get to the content is so insightful and complete it was worth it.
Hey Patrick, I love your consistent ability to make me appreciate movies I would have thought of as "lazy" or "fan servicy". I wonder if you make an extra effort to explore movies that get that kind of reception, or you truly love them on first watch and are surprised by the general reaction. Have a great day!
i love Tenet. Strange thing is the more i watch it the more i love it. . i have basically watched it once every month now. Every time i love it more. And yeah every time I miss something cause i really don't want to understand it so have never been to reddit theories. Tenet is simply f*cking AWESOME!!!
That first two minutes truly is what it feels like to first become a Tenet fan.
Miami Vice is badass. One of my favorites. It's well done and unfortunately underrated. I'm glad you're showing some love for it.
Wow. That opening credits was awesome
the way you described VIBES movies is how i've been skating thru actions blockbusters for my entire life😅
while they don't 100% fit into your category of Vibes Movies, I still want to mention the Bourne trilogy, which have many aspects of what you're talking about (except for glamour) and are very strong on vibes, and of course vibes are inherently something that is felt and can't totally be broken into specific concrete rules anyway
they really are the most melancholic and somber and lonely spy/action films in my opinion, "how could I forget you? you're the only person I know" and then the second movie opens... and unlike the other franchises he doesn't have a team, no Luther or M or silently understanding partner, he's truly alone for so much of it
One difference is that Bourne had a plot, unlike Tenet
just took your advice and watched Tenet and found it to be a great film! Thanks for your reco.
I never understood people who either like or dislike tenet calling it a "puzzle box" it's literally just a bond movie where they have to stop the bad guy blowing up the world.
I think realising that I don't need to understand everything in a story immediately was the most important insight I ever had with regards to enjoying art. Then came the insight that I don't need to understand every word of an English language work as I was learning the language, and lastly the insight that it can be enjoyable not to get all the answers but to be left with questions.
I personally call films like You Were Never Really Here, Drive, and Le Samourai “Ronin Cinema.” They’re post-samurai (also post-western) films about a lonely protagonist (oft rife with problems and probably an addiction or psychological issue) in a vibey and slowly-paced film with some sort of brutality. Taxi Driver is a near-Ronin Cinema film for me, but he doesn’t seem to fit that same journey that Ronins follow
Thank you, Patrick, for finally defining what I kind of instinctively knew was these kinds of films.
Honestly this makes me more Michael Mann comeback with Ferrari and Heat 2 let’s hope there just as vibey as Miami Vice,
also hear me out Michael Mann directing a Bond movie
I hope that Michael Mann and William Freidkin do a project together, I think they would mesh well based on To Live and Die In LA. Heck get William Petersen involved too