Christopher Nolanis one of those rare directors most people know the name of. Those who watch movies more casually might not know too many filmmakers by name, but Nolan, alongside a few others, likeQuentin Tarantino,Martin Scorsese, andSteven Spielberg, are genuine household names. Nolan’s first film was released in the 1990s, but he became one of those rare household names starting in the 2000s, at first being well recognized for his psychological thrillers (likeThe Prestige) and forays into the superhero genre (Batman Begins). Essentially, you know you’re doing something right, as a filmmaker, if one of your more divisive efforts still has as much to offer asTenet.
Tenetis not perfect, though, for reasons that are probably obvious to anyone who’s seenTenet. That speaks to this idea that all Christopher Nolan movies are worth watching (including his first,Following), but if you want the best of the best, then that’s what the following titles represent. If these films have flaws,they’re minor enough to barely affect one’s enjoyment and/or appreciation overall, and so, these movies are all pretty masterful. Starting with the great and ending with the legendary, these are the Christopher Nolan films that prove rather difficult to fault.
5’Memento' (2000)
Starring: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano
Of all the Christopher Nolan films that go wild with bending time,Mementomight well go the wildest. Essentially, its story plays out in reverse during one timeline, and in chronological order in the other timeline, and things get to a point where, eventually, these two timelines meet. If thatsounds like it might be confusing, it’s becauseMementokind of is, but by design, and in away that does lead to genuinely startling revelations. By the end, it does feel like the right way to tell the story at hand, and it’s the structure that makes the film stand out.
Like any good psychological thriller, it puts you in the mind of its central character, and this character suffers from short-term memory loss, with the disorienting nature of scenes playing out in reverse kind of replicating where his mind is. Since it was kind of convoluted,Mementodidn’t make Nolan a household name overnight, but it helped. It was a sign of his willingness to make feature-length cinematic puzzles, and when paired withBatman Begins, made five years later (that one was more of a blockbuster), the two films worked in tandem to cement Nolan’s greatness. Oh, and in between the two cameInsomnia, which is also pretty great, and honestly kind of underrated.
4’Interstellar' (2014)
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine
Of all the picks here,Interstellarmight well be the one that gets questioned the most, since it feels like it sticks out a little within Christopher Nolan’s filmography. It’s more sentimental than most of his films, and wades into territory some might find close to cheesy, which is odd to say about anything Nolan’s directed, since some of his other sci-fi movies come off feeling a little cold at times.Interstellarstill has enough that feels grounded and thought-provoking tomake it nonetheless work as great science fictionin the more traditional sense, but it’s the added heart here (including a third act that is, more or less, about the “power of love”) that makesInterstellarfeel different.
And look, if that doesn’t work for you, then that’s okay. This is along movie (pretty much an epic), and the first two-ish hours satisfy in the ways you’d expect a Nolan sci-fi flick to satisfy. The final act is the more divisive part, and if it doesn’t hit, then you’ve still got the first two or so hours.But if you can get on board with the emotional areasInterstellarexplores throughout (and dives right into more explicitly by the end), then it’s a pretty staggering film, and right up there among Nolan’s most ambitious.
Interstellar
3’Oppenheimer' (2023)
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr.
There’s an argument to be made that it was a long time coming, but yes,Oppenheimerdid mark the first time Christopher Nolan directed a Best Picture winner. It came outduring a strong year for cinema, and did great at the Academy Awards nonetheless, while also being critically acclaimed and surprisingly popular at the box office for a grim three-hour-long biographical movie. And make no mistake: the story ofJ. Robert Oppenheimeris a harrowing one, since he helped develop the first atomic bomb, which was used to, in part, bring about the end of one World War while also thrusting the world into a decades-long Cold War.
Opennheimer wrestles with some undeniably heavy themes, features an immense score, has countless great performances, and does interesting things structurally.
Oppenheimerworks as a psychological drama while also being something that works as a war film without showing any actual combat. Itwrestles with some undeniably heavy themes, features an immense score, has countless great performances, and does interesting things structurally(albeit not doing so as radically asMementoorDunkirk). It’s understandable why it’s considered one of thevery best films of the 2020s so far, and though it’s an exhausting and – by design – quite overwhelming movie, it is a rewarding one that deserves to be watched at least once (it’s worth devoting an entire evening – or the better half of an afternoon – to).
Oppenheimer
2’Inception' (2010)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe
At its core,Inceptionis a heist movie, except it’s about implanting something rather than stealing something. Oh, and instead of the location of the heist being something external, like a bank, it’s internal, with the gang of thieves effectively breaking into someone’s mind and leaving an idea in their subconscious. It’s a big idea to introduce, explain, and then explore over the course of a single movie, butNolan makes it work, finding fun ways to churn through a good deal of exposition while continually building upon every interesting idea or concept in increasingly satisfying ways.
It’s probably got the best action of any Christopher Nolan movie to date, and the variety of those action sequences also helps immensely.Further,Inceptionhas a staggering cast, and it’s a film that gives everyone ample time to shine, all the while Nolan, as the film’s director, is probably the biggest star here. It’s a movie that offers a pretty much non-stop ride, and upon rewatches,Inceptionstill holds up well and might even have more to offer for people seeing it for the second, third, or fourth (and so on) time. It offers a fun spin on heist movie conventions, and is, all around, extremely engaging as a piece of cinematic spectacle.
1’The Dark Knight' (2008)
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart
As mentioned before, Christopher Nolan directed the largely impressiveBatman Begins, which formed the first part of a trilogy he concluded in 2012 withThe Dark Knight Rises.Between those, though, came the trilogy’s best entry, and, in turn, probably the greatest thing Nolan has directed to date:The Dark Knight. Yes, it’s a predictable pick to single out as his biggest masterpiece, but it is the film of his that does the most things right and the fewest things wrong. It unfolds at a ridiculously fast pace and does daring things with superhero tropes and conventions, similarly to howInceptionput a unique spin on heist movies andInterstellarventuredbeyond what most epic sci-fi movies do.
The Dark Knightcould well also be thebest superhero movie of the past several decades, or even of all time. It felt overwhelmingly grand and game-changing back in 2008, and the subsequent years have done little – if anything – to diminish that level of power.The Dark Knightis massive, working as acrime film, an action movie, a thriller, and a superhero flick all at once, asking thought-provoking moral questions,feeling sometimes unbearably tense, and also just being really entertaining, all at once. Everything feels balanced, it’s all great, it’sThe Dark Knight, and here, it’s number 1.
