LOS ANGELES • Director Christopher Nolan’s new thriller, Tenet, received warm reviews last Friday as American cinema chains reopened with industry-wide safety measures aimed at reassuring audiences during a pandemic.

Tenet is the first big-budget movie from a major Hollywood studio to hit theatres since the coronavirus pandemic shuttered cinemas around the world in March.

Ticket sales for the film from AT&T’s Warner Bros will be closely watched as a gauge of how many people will leave their homes to go to the movies.

The film opens in 70 countries, including Singapore, starting on Wednesday and in the United States on Thursday next week.

Tenet got an 87 per cent approval rate on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, though critics said its time-bending plot was so contorted, it was hard to follow at times.

American actor John David Washington, son of superstar Denzel Washington, plays an operative of the Central Intelligence Agency recruited to help the shadowy Tenet organisation, which is trying to stop an apocalyptic event.

The Times of London called the 21/2-hour film a “globetrotting, jaw-dropping and delightfully convoluted big-screen blockbuster” and added: “Cinema, finally, has returned.”

The New York Times said the movie was enjoyable and “reassuringly massive in every way as a piece of movie-making shot across multiple global locations”.

IndieWire was less impressed, calling the movie a “humourless disappointment”.

The Hollywood Reporter said Tenet had a lot riding on it: “There will be viewers scrutinising every tweet, review and opinion aggregator as they weigh whether to leave their quarantine bubbles to see it.”

Cinemas have been gradually opening around the world.

In the US, major chains – including AMC Theatres and Cineworld’s Regal Cinemas – opened their doors last weekend with limited attendance, mask requirements and other measures to reduce the chances of catching the disease.

The National Association of Theatre Owners announced last Friday that operators of more than 30,000 screens had agreed on a standard set of procedures.

“Moviegoers need to know that there is a consistent, science and experience-based set of health and safety protocols in place no matter what theatre they visit,” said Mr John Fithian, president of the industry group.

REUTERS