I would like to confirm, it was just truly awful mixing — the only way the theater was able to get you to vaguely hear the dialog was to have volume loud enough the music physically hurt to listen to; the difference between the preceding trailers and the movie itself was so clear I can only assume someone important got hit in the head sometime during development.
International friends have mentioned it wasn’t an issue, because they had subtitles and could keep the film at reasonable volume, and they overall enjoyed the movie.
Maybe it was intentionally designed to eliminate the English speaking audience. But multiple viewings won’t help you.
I do wonder if I got some sort of hearing damage from seeing it in person. It was incredibly loud. I’ve been to many loud movies and several obnoxiously loud concerts, and Tenet was easily the loudest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. Frankly, it was an irresponsible choice by its creators. If it physically hurts, viewers can’t engage with the movie at all. They’re distracted by pain. I can’t even call it an artistic choice because it goes so far beyond that. I would never see it in a theatre again, even without COVID.
I can’t wait to watch it at home so that I can properly digest and enjoy the movie.
I don't understand how this happens, and it's not just a Nolan issue. It's like the movie in its entirety has never been watched by the creators before it being released.
International friends have mentioned it wasn’t an issue, because they had subtitles and could keep the film at reasonable volume, and they overall enjoyed the movie.
Maybe it was intentionally designed to eliminate the English speaking audience. But multiple viewings won’t help you.