Warner Bros.’ Tenet was one of the few big-budget blockbusters to attempt a full theatrical release during the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic. While many questioned the wisdom of this decision, the studio insisted on an exclusive theatrical run, partially at the insistence of director Christopher Nolan, who believed very strongly in the value of the theater experience.
Unfortunately, the film didn’t do particularly well as a result, failing to revive the industry and leaving Warner Bros. in the awkward position of not wanting to release their box office numbers. Since then, Tenet has become available on VOD services and physical media, which means that true cinema snobs can finally get the full artistic experience on the platform that the film was always intended for: the Gameboy Advance.
That’s right: one enterprising Youtuber took the time and energy to cram all 2 and a half hours of Christopher Nolan’s time-bending thriller onto a format best known for carrying Nintendo and Game Freak’s Pokémon in your pocket. The creator of the conversion, Bob Wulff, managed to put together what he calls “quite possibly the worst way to view Tenet.”
Those who actually owned a Gameboy Advance will know that Tenet isn’t the first film to make its way to the handheld platform. Official versions of Dreamworks Pictures’ Shrek, Shark Tale, and Shrek 2 were released, along with several compilations of cartoons. That said, some pretty big concessions had to be made, as the device couldn’t handle high-quality video, and very few full films ever released due to mediocre reception of the technology.
As Wulff explains, Tenet had to be broken into 5 separate cartridges, as each cartridge can only contain about 30 minutes of video while still keeping the film watchable. The film also had to be squashed down to a fairly ugly 192 x 128 resolution, not to mention trying to make out Tenet’s already questionable audio mixing on a Gameboy speaker system. It’s an impressive technical achievement, but not one that makes for a very pleasant viewing experience.
Still, some things are about the journey and not the destination. Whether or not anyone would ever actually watch the thing, the very fact that it’s even possible is rather amusing and Wulff should be proud of his technical achievement, despite its lack of practical use. Those without the technical know-how will just have to settle for the traditional viewing experience, at least until Warner Bros. comes to their senses and starts mass-producing Gameboy cartridges.
Tenet is now available on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Wulff Den/Youtube
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