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In Tenet, it's revealed at the end that The Protagonist is moving forward in time and Neil is moving backwards. How does he not wear an oxygen mask throughout the film?
If it's time-travel then doesn't it contradict with the movie's tagline? (Not time travel, inversion).
I read the theory of that Neil is moving backwards throughout the film, but not sure if that is accurate. What I think it really is, that He was not moving backwards throughout the film events as we see him, but he already moved backwards all the way to the point where he saved the protagonist at the opera, then inverted back to the normal timeline, then we see him in the film.
The theory that deals with Neil moving backwards the whole time make no sense, it's a complete shot in the dark. Any backward moving person will unable to communicate coordinate with a forward movie person.
When one is inverted, they need inverted oxygen to breathe. For the first time The Protagonist inverts we see him wear the mask. In every scene of the movie if we see people with masks, that's our visual cue that they are inverted.
In the end, The Protagonist saw a dead inverted man who took a bullet for him. On seeing the ring on Neil's bag, The Protagonist realizes that Neil is going to go back, invert himself and go back to the location of the bomb. Over there he will get killed.
Neil is walking away to his death. The Protagonist knows this. Neil has also guessed this. Which is why he says "It's the end of a beautiful friendship for him".
it's revealed at the end that The Protagonist is moving forward in time and Neil is moving backwards
Not exactly.
Both Neil and the Protagonist (as well as many other characters) invert backwards and forwards several times along the plot.
There are times when a forward moving character meets themselves moving backwards (e.g. the Protagonist fighting his clone in the Freeport vault). There are even times when the "original" forward moving characters see their clones from the future (which have inverted, moved backwards and inverted forwards again) e.g. Kat in the boat seeing herself jump from the yacht (having just killed Sator's clone from the future).
The challenge for the audience is to keep track who is who and from where, and imagine how they see the world from their perspectives.
Neil was hired by the Protagonist in the future, quietly traveled backwards all the time to the Kiev Opera siege time, inverted forwards again and did what shown in the film — inverting backwards/forwards again and again as required. When moving forwards he does not need to wear oxygen mask.
