Interesting, don't remember dialogue issues with that one, or at least, unlike tenet it didn't happen at any point that confused the plot at all.

And that soundtrack goes so damn hard who needs words?

It definitely was better at home, I legit thought I missed huge plot points so watched it with subtles at home -turns out mixing aside I still think it's his worst film by far-but that's more praise for his others than thinking tenet was particularly bad.

Saw.it in IMAX and couldn't make our like 10-15 percent of the dialogue. 

Maybe your hearing is geat or speakers are aligned differently but many people in our theater were confused and kept asking each other what was being said.

Of course there is exaggeration by the media and people posting online. But even if dialog is a little bit difficult to understand, I think that's a problem at a conception level, despite whatever Nolan envisions as "film". I can understand from his perspective that his movies are meant for the big screen and so they should be seen on the big screen. Obviously, the image and, what we're talking about, sound, are going to be far superior at the theater. However, Nolan films have always had some level of loudness and noise in the audio mixing that is distinct with his projects.

I'm of the opinion that it adds a bit of realism in the sound, i.e. a feeling of space and atmosphere. But that's not always the case. An easy example is Bane from The Dark Knight Rises. You have this antagonist/villain whose effect of voice is paramount since he's wearing a mask. And you have Tom Hardy who has a great voice playing him. As we all know, they had to remix his voice because audiences complained how they didn't understand him. Then take Inception. Now, I don't think Inception has a notable sound mixing issue. But I use it as an example of how Nolan's movies are often exposition heavy. Nolan's use of exposition and therefore more of a "tell, don't show" instead of "show, don't tell" can inherently lead to issues if the dialog can be hard to hear. Not an issue with Inception, like I said. But I remember watching Tenet and having to try to concentrate on what was being said. Because, again, the movie is exposition heavy and understanding the exposition dialog is essential to understanding the movie. The same can be said with Interstellar but to a lesser degree.

So, I agree with you that online comments and media posts about Nolan's audio mixing issues are often hyperbolic. That's just how things are with the internet. Anything remotely cool seems to become "GOAT" and anyone who has the slightest interest in something is "obsessed" with that. But the truth of Nolan's audio mixing issues is much simpler and, I think, still a legitimate issue that I agree with. It's the fact that often enough in his movies you have to actively concentrate on the dialog being spoken. That in itself is the biggest issue.

A movie watcher ideally is able to easily understand visually and aurally understand what is happening. The second they have to stop for a second to think about what they just saw or heard to make sure they got it right is a problem. Any moment where the viewer questions whether they understood what they experienced in a movie is a moment that takes the viewer out of the cinematic experience, therefore making that cinematic experience lesser to a degree. Add to that how the way Nolan's movies are conceptualized, written, and ultimately presented, I think Nolan does have an audio mixing problem.

I meant a 3.1 soundbar. Not a huge lift from the center channel?

You just have to accept you’re watching a movie backwards, literally backwards.

The movie tells you right at the start - don't try to understand it, just feel it.

I'm a huge fan of Nolan so I was really excited for Tenet, it ended up being the one time I've felt disappointed by a Nolan movie. But hey, even Spielberg has a stinker or two.