Tenet

The Protagonist, a CIA agent, is thrust into a high-stakes extraction mission at a Kyiv opera house where Ukrainian forces have taken control. As the situation escalates, he faces impossible choices: to extract a fellow operative or eliminate him amid chaos and gunfire.

In a dramatic turn of events, a masked soldier wearing a red trinket saves the Protagonist's life by defying the laws of physics and reversing a bullet's trajectory. This moment marks the introduction of the concept of time inversion, setting the stage for the unfolding narrative.

After the chaotic mission, the Protagonist is captured by mercenaries who torture him and force him to ingest cyanide. Awakening later, he discovers that the cyanide was merely a test of loyalty and that his team has been killed, leaving him to unravel the mystery behind their mission.

In his quest for answers, the Protagonist is recruited by the shadowy organization named Tenet. Under the guidance of his CIA superior, Fay, he meets Barbara, a scientist who explains the concept of bullets exhibiting 'inverted' entropy, a sign of something much more significant to come.

The Protagonist teams up with Neil, a resourceful ally he meets through a CIA informant. Together, they delve deeper into the mysteries of time inversion, drawing them closer to the nefarious plots of the Russian oligarch, Andrei Sator.

Through their investigation, the Protagonist and Neil trace the inverted bullets to Priya Singh, an arms dealer in Mumbai. Priya reveals her perplexity over the alterations made to standard ammunition sold to Sator, suggesting a connection between their time and a future yet to unfold.

Priya connects the Protagonist with Sir Michael Crosby, who shares insights into Sator's background. Crosby describes a secret Soviet city, Stalsk-12, where Sator's past intertwines with a catastrophic accident, linking it ominously to their mission in Kyiv.

The Protagonist learns about the complicated relationship between Sator and his estranged wife, Kat. She confides about a forged Goya painting, which Sator uses as leverage against her, and the Protagonist devises a plan to retrieve the artwork for a meeting with Sator.

In a daring operation to retrieve the Goya painting, the Protagonist and Neil crash a plane into a vault in Oslo. This intense confrontation not only tests their skills but also reveals the existence of the turnstile, which can reverse the entropy of objects.

On the Amalfi Coast, the Protagonist finally meets Sator, only to discover that the painting is no longer in danger. Despite an initial intention to eliminate the Protagonist, circumstances lead Sator and the Protagonist to forge a temporary alliance in the pursuit of a plutonium case.

Tracking Sator’s operations, the Protagonist and Neil steal a case during a violent encounter in Tallinn. They celebrate retrieving the artifact lost during the Kyiv mission, but their success is abruptly interrupted by an inverted version of Sator who holds Kat hostage.

The climax sees a chaotic clash between Sator’s men and Tenet operatives, blending moments of inversion and regular time. The Protagonist and Kat are caught in Sator's machinations, forcing them to confront their past selves as they fight for survival.

As the final moments approach, the Protagonist uncovers Sator's intention to create an algorithm that would reverse the entropy of mankind, threatening to erase history. With Kat's revelation of Sator's terminal illness, the stakes grow even higher.

In a climactic show of strategy, Tenet teams mount a synchronized assault utilizing both inverted and non-inverted forces against Sator's operations. In the midst of the assault, Kat seizes a crucial moment to eliminate Sator while the Protagonist secures the algorithm.

In the aftermath of the operation, the Protagonist contemplates his journey and the complex web of loyalty and deception he has navigated. He realizes that he has become the architect of Tenet and must now grapple with the duality of fate and free will.