With the release of Oppenheimerit’s time to rank all of director Christopher Nolan’s movies from worst to best (BWAAAAHM!). This was no easy task. Unlike ranking five Indiana Jones movies or seven Mission Impossible films, Nolan offers 12 films that range from historical dramas (Dunkirk, Oppenheimer), to science fiction thrillers (Interstellar, principle) to mysteries (Prestige, A memory) to his Batman trilogy. Through it all, Nolan has risen to become one of the best directors in the world, one of the few who can reliably fill theaters on the opening weekend, and is considered a last resort for grown-up cinema fans. Here are all of Nolan’s films, from weakest to strongest.
12. Insomnia (2002)
It says a lot about Nolan that the “worst” movie he’s directed is still pretty good and worth watching. Insomnia is a remake of the Norwegian title, and it’s perhaps notable that it’s the only film directed by Nolan that he didn’t write or co-write. Here, a Los Angeles detective (Al Pacino) teams up with a small-town detective (Hilary Swank) to solve a murder in remote Alaska. It’s a nice, dark detective drama, but it lacks Nolan’s usual ambitious sweep.
11. Following (1998)
Nolan’s feature debut, made for a reported $6,000, showed all the promise for the then 20-year-old director. Shot in black and white, it has some themes he’ll explore for decades to come: it focuses on a purposefully obsessive, socially alienated protagonist who follows a code (sound familiar?), and it has a twisted third act and clever Nolan-esque expository dialogue. The film centers on a man who follows strangers around London and gets involved in more than he bargained for after breaking his rule of never following the same person twice. At just 70 minutes, some might argue it’s not a full-length film, but Nolan – who put three years of his life into putting it together – said it’s as valid as anything he’s done.
10. Tenet (2020)
John David Washington is compelling as a secret agent trying to prevent World War III in a war between the present and the future. principle it feels like a collection of Nolan’s most frustrating habits, from an oppressive soundscape that overshadows the dialogue, to stylish but flat characters, to a narrative that’s twisted to the point that it sometimes loses the audience. Still, principle wins some admittedly shallow points for looking cool and sounding cool and trying to do something original with time travel. (THR review.) (THRReview of.)
9. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Tom Hardy is wonderful as the menacing terrorist Bane and has some strong scenes in the climax of Nolan’s Batman trilogy (like the opening of the hijacking and Bruce’s trial in The Pit). The film also deserves credit for its big-picture thinking – criminals completely taking over Gotham City is a plot that really does (as long as you don’t think too much about the plausibility of a police force conveniently locked in the sewers for months on end). (THRReview of.)
8. Memory (2000)
The one that caught everyone’s attention: Nolan’s sophomore (co-written with his brother Jonathan) is a twisted noir thriller starring Guy Pearce as a man unable to form new memories while trying to solve his wife’s murder. It’s a fascinating puzzle that showed a director who could combine an accessible genre film with a challenging narrative and pull it off, all leading to an ending that was, well, unforgettable.
7. Dunkirk (2017)
Dunkirk is masterfully well-made from its opening shot, which cuts to falling leaflets on a street amid a ticking clock, as WWII British soldiers try to escape the Germans as they invade France. Nolan’s knack for staging action is on display in one compelling sequence after another. Yet some of the characters feel unfamiliar and interchangeable, keeping the audience at an emotional distance even as Nolan uses every broad cinematic technique to draw us close. (THRReview of.)
6. Interstellar (2014)
Nolan is often accused of being a cold director – and he can be. But there’s nothing unusual about Matthew McConaughey’s strong performance as an astronaut who abandons his daughter in a quest to save humanity by discovering a new world to replace the dying Earth. While the story has some plot holes (okay, a lot), the resulting combination of 2001: A Space Odyssey-inspired cinematic wonder and its emotional weight make this one of Nolan’s most popular films (and currently his most successful non-superhero title at the box office). (THRReview of.)
5. Home (2010)
From there, Nolan hit home runs. begining Nolan combines so many of his signature talents into one original blockbuster as he follows Leonardo DiCaprio as a man who implants false memories into his corporate clients. It’s visually spectacular, extremely clever, and has the director’s coolest final shot. While Hans Zimmer’s score became a meme for this iconic Eha, it is also one of the composer’s greatest efforts (see “Time”). (THRReview of.)
4. Batman Begins (2005)
The first hour of Batman begins is a fantastic start to not only a grown-up Dark Knight trilogy, but a reimagining of what superhero movies can be if they’re treated as larger-than-life crime dramas with practical effects instead of gag-filled, CGI-fueled save-the-world dramas. Christian Bale quickly proved himself a fine successor to the hood, and there’s never been a better Alfred than Michael Caine, although the film’s final act falters a bit.
3. The Prestige (2006)
Prestige is an incredible mystery based on Christopher Priest’s turn-of-the-century novel about dueling possessed wizards with great performances from the dogmatic Bale, the scorching Hugh Jackman (“You do not know?!“) and an all-too-wise Kane. The Nolan brothers’ script uses voice-overs and narration in such a confident and propulsive way, and it has an ending you’ll never see coming.
2. Oppenheimer (2023)
Oppenheimer is too long, too chatty, and its final act shifts from bets on the fate of the world to men sitting around tables arguing over security clearance (imagine if Batman defeated the Scarecrow in Batman begins and then spent another 40 minutes discussing how best to fix Gotham City’s damaged monorail system). And yet, Nolan uses every well-honed tool in his toolbox to create a dramatic masterpiece that possesses something his other, softer films have largely lacked: a contemporary, real-world relevance. Based on the biography American Prometheus, Nolan successfully tells the story of a major historical figure, defends science, and thrillingly reminds the world of the dangers of weapons of mass destruction. Ludwig Göransson’s score is perhaps the best yet for a Nolan film. And Nolan’s hell scene after the Trinity test is perhaps the most cleverly directed and emotionally powerful scene of his career. (THRreview of and cover story.)
1. The Dark Knight (2008)
Because you will never watch Oppenheimer as many times as you’ve probably already watched the black Knight — as the clown says, it’s “just a lot of fun.” It’s still the best superhero movie ever made, with Heath Ledger delivering a legendary (and posthumously Oscar-winning) performance as the Joker that towers over every frame, despite only appearing in 33 minutes of the 152-minute film. The script (by the Nolan brothers, along with David S. Goyer) is fantastic, with so many iconic lines (“You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become a villain” … “It’s all part of the plan…”). Every supporting cast pops, Zimmer’s score is eerily tense, and the action sequences are grounded and effective. So many of Nolan’s films have a long running time, but this one you don’t want to end. (THRReview of.)
— Aaron Couch contributed to this story.