Christopher Nolan Ranked

Ranking all 12 Of His Films So Far

Welcome back to Christopher Nolan week. As you have probably already figured out, Nolan is my favorite director. While some directors can make a captivating story and others can create unbelievable images and moments on screen, I have always found that Nolan can do both simultaneously better than any other director. It is something special when I can watch one of his movies for the first time and love it, and then watch it for the tenth time and love it even more. Of his twelve movies, there is not one I do not enjoy. Below are his twelve releases so far, ranked based on my personal taste.

12. Insomnia (2002)

Of all of Nolan’s movies, this one feels the least like himself. There is nothing special in here that another director could not do. The actual movie is not bad on its own. A movie all about guilt after a police detective’s actions make him the guilty party, and him running away from this reality. It even has interesting aspects that set it apart from a normal police investigation movie, such as a villainous Robin Williams performance. Even with good performances, the movie feels like Nolan had to prove himself. Not proving he was a good director, Memento had already done that. Rather, he is proving he can be trusted within the studio system and was given a simple movie to get on base. Because of this, Insomnia is the safest of all of Nolan’s movies, and one I have never revisited after watching.

11. Following (1998)

Following is Nolan’s first film, and even at a low budget, you can see his creativity shining through with ideas and storytelling techniques he will later return to. The movie (coming in at an hour and nine minutes!) is about a man bored with life who follows people for entertainment and purpose. He then finds purpose when a man he follows turns out to be a burglar. The ideas of boredom with domestic life and turning to sin and crime for purpose are fascinating and deeply human. The movie is not mind blowing, but there is a clear indie filmmaker spirit that is endearing and holds your attention even as the story is not as refined as later ones.

10. Batman Begins (2005)

I am sure that at the time of release for Batman Begins, audiences could not believe what they were seeing, and this was revolutionary for the superhero genre. Today, after dozens upon dozens of other superhero movies, this movie is just fine. It is a long winded origin story to a story that has been beaten to death. The movie does not seem like a foundational text but rather a template for so many other superhero movies that have caused what we now know as superhero fatigue. It does have interesting ideas about fear and how you can either be inspired by your fear to live a bold and worthy life or use fear to control the masses. Even with the ideas in place, it is Nolan’s worst Batman movie.

9. Oppenheimer (2023)

The first time I saw Oppenheimer, I did not like it. Part of the reason why is because the showtime started at 10pm, and by the time it ended, I was exhausted. No matter the time I saw it, I would still be worn out as it is an exhausting and maximalist movie that takes multiple rewatches to understand all that is going on. This makes sense after reading the book, the movie is based on American Prometheus (coming in at 721 pages). Both the book and the movie span decades with hundreds of names that are mentioned once but expected to be remembered. Yet the overwhelming story is in service of telling a story of regret. Based on the title of the movie, you may believe this is a movie about a great man. But the title of the book highlights what makes this movie incredible. What really makes the movie stand out is that, like Prometheus, he was responsible for a world changing event in human history, but is now being punished. Living with immense guilt and under constant scrutiny. The idea of the movie being regret makes it so engaging, especially the idea of regret, knowing you did your best, but you will never be fully understood by outsiders. One of the highlights of this movie is that Nolan puts a soundtrack to the feeling of regret with the crowd stomping on the bleachers, which is turned into the best score of the 2020s by Ludwig Göransson.

8. Memento (2000)

To this day, this is still Nolan’s most creative plot and a bold proclamation that he is one of, if not the defining, director of the 2000s. Memento is about a man who has memory loss that resets about every fifteen minutes. To remember things, he has mementos to remind him of what his objective is in life. What makes this movie so creative is that it is broken up into two sections. One section is in color and starts at the end and is working backwards. While the other section starts before the events of the movie and goes in chronological order. Then at the end of the movie the two plots converge at the beginning of the story. When boiling down this movie to a single word, it is easy to say confusion, as even by my explanation, it leaves you scratching your head. But a better word would be incomplete. The audience is always confused because you are not given all the pieces of the puzzle, but more so, our main character is incomplete, as he does not know his purpose in life. So much so, he is being taken advantage of by others as they offer to make his life complete through purpose, but he is just a pawn. It shows the danger of purposelessness and how there are always people out there ready to take advantage of that and give the wrong purpose.

7. The Prestige (2006)

The Prestige has become the cool film bro answer to what is the best Nolan movie, and they have a strong argument. This movie is about two rival magicians and the lengths they would go to outperform each other. You may have just checked out, thinking how could a movie about magicians be good? What do you mean by “outperforming”, like who can pull a bigger rabbit out of a hat? What makes this movie so good is its ideas on ambition. Human beings are ambitious people; it does not matter if it is climbing the ladder at work, the ambition to get a bigger bank account, or the ambition to win. So yes, it does have magicians, but it is more so about the lengths someone is willing to go to be the best in their field and what humanity they are willing to give up to do so.

6. Inception (2010)

From here to the end of the list, any of these six movies could be number one on any day of the week. They rotate in and out depending on my moods or seasons, and because they are all that good. Inception is the announcement of the Christopher Nolan we know and love today. Memento showed his creativity, and The Dark Knight showed he is a master at spectacle, but Inception puts the two together in an original story that dominated at the box office (the fourth highest grossing movie of 2010 and the only original movie in the top five). Inception follows a team who infiltrates people’s dreams. Again, sounds crazy, but ultimately it is a story about family. A man trying to get home to his family and another dealing with the loss of his father. It is a movie that shows the reality of family with the profound regret we have with certain members of our family, but the unwavering love that is present that gives people drive.

5. Tenet (2020)

The options for the one word description of Tenet are as follows: cool, sick, legendary, mesmerizing, and insane. While in the 2010s James Bond got more serious and darker, Nolan creates his own Sci-Fi James Bond who goes on missions while moving backwards in time. There is a device in this movie that, if you enter it, you stop moving forward on the timeline of life but start moving backwards. To the people around you, you look like you’re literally moving backwards. So you get to watch gun fights, car chases, and explosions happen backwards, and it is freaking sick. The first time I saw this movie was a drive in theater with some friends. The movie premiered in August of 2020, while COVID was still going on, but there was no way I was waiting till home video release, so to the drive in I went. Two memorable things from this experience, one the people I saw it with hated this movie, and they do represent a faction of Nolan fans who think this movie is nonsense. Secondly, this movie has been critiqued for having a poor audio mix. Let me tell you, having the audio come out of your car radio did not help whatsoever.

4. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Eleven year old me had never been more hyped for a movie before in my life than The Dark Knight Rises. I had watched the trailer a hundred times and, to this day, still remember quotes from it. Many find this movie the worst of the trilogy and even Nolan’s worst movie. And while I agree it is long and easy to point out plot holes, I find it a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy and a great examination of what legacy is. The movie is dealing with the legacy of Harvey Dent and creating a lie for the good of the city. Bane is continuing the legacy of Ra’s Al Ghul, which is to really confront the problems of the world, is to destroy it without mercy. While Batman is leaving a legacy of hope and sacrifice. It presents interesting questions of what legacy are we leaving on Earth through our actions at both a personal and global level?

3. Dunkirk (2017)

As much as I did not like Oppenheimer the first time I watched it, I did not like Dunkirk even more. I was expecting Saving Private Ryan for the next generation as Nolan becomes the new Spielberg, mixing character and cinematic depictions of history the world has never seen before. I was shocked to find out there was little to no character development in this movie, and to this day, I cannot tell you the name of one of the characters. In hindsight, I realize Nolan was not creating a character study, he was documenting perseverance. In the face of hopelessness, what does it mean to rise to the challenge by land, air, and sea? What did it take to win WWII, and the answer is courage in the face of defeat. The reason why there are no characters is because any of these men can represent the soldiers who lived out perseverance at the Battle of Dunkirk and throughout the war. Once I got over the hurdle of unmet personal expectations every time I watch this movie, I am overwhelmed by the breathtaking filmmaking. The aerial combat, the sinking ship, and even the way the beach looks makes this movie unlike any other war movie to ever exist.

2. The Dark Knight (2008)

From fifth grade to my freshman year of college, this was my favorite movie of all time. There is little that needs to be said about this movie, as it has been widely celebrated and universally acclaimed as one of the best movies of the 21st century and the best superhero movie ever. To sum up what this movie is about, I would use the word control. At the beginning of the movie, everything is under control, and crime is being shut down in the city. Yet The Joker walks in and shows their control is an illusion, and man made control buckles when chaos is introduced. This leads to our heroes crossing moral lines for even greater control, including spying on an entire city, and in the process losing their humanity. This movie shows the evil nature of chaos, but the way to fight it is not through crushing might, but, as shown in The Dark Knight Rises, through hope.

1. Interstellar (2014)

Interstellar is the best of Nolan’s movies put together. It has the creativity of Memento, Inception, and The Prestige. It has the spectacle of Dunkirk, The Dark Knight, and Tenet. Even with Nolan’s upcoming movie, this year, The Odyssey, he has already made it in a way by showing Matthew McConaughey trying to get home after an epic adventure. It is a combination of his themes, like the idea of family from Inception, the idea of legacy from The Dark Knight Rises, and the ideas of finding purpose, an avenue for ambition, and completeness. All of which comes together in this movie with his message on love. Love is what unites a family, love is one’s legacy, and love is where someone finds purpose in life. I believe Nolan will always be remembered for Interstellar, and as time goes on, it will continue to impact others with its message on the unstoppable nature of love.