The three best (and worst) movies by Christopher Nolan
By Matthew Pyne
Christopher Nolan has long been a part of our movie-going lives. Initially making unknown films to becoming a box office titan, Nolan has the rare ability to blend quality with profit. Whether it be the Batman trilogy, or some of his recent works involving meta subjects such as time travel or dream extraction, Nolan has been dazzling audiences for over 20 years.
One constant remains with all Nolan movies, however: time. Time, and its presence, gives each Nolan movie a heartbeat. Although sometimes involving complex subjects, time has the audience anticipate how the plot may unfold.
I’m actually of the opinion that Nolan is underrated as a filmmaker. Yes, he is king of the box office for movies that exclude superheroes, but there is much more under the surface.
Technically, he loves the use of practical effects whenever possible. But, for a movie like Interstellar which didn’t make either my ‘best’ or ‘worst’ list, the visual effects are so stunning, that it’s hard to believe that it isn’t what I remember most from that movie. Nolan makes complete films and doesn’t really possess a weak skill that pitfalls so many directors.
I’m ranking my three best and worst Nolan movies in anticipation of his next film, Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer tells the story of Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb.” Plus, we at Hidden Remote haven’t ranked Nolan’s movies since 2016, so I thought it might be time for a refresh.
The best and worst Christopher Nolan movies
The best Christopher Nolan movies: The Dark Knight (2008)
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Standard pick, I know. However, I think The Dark Knight isn’t just Nolan’s best, I think it’s one of the best movies ever made. Even if you disagree on my quality assessment, it cannot be denied the cultural impact it made. Heath Ledger’s performance, especially spawned a generation of actors attempting to recreate the inimitable.
Between the thrilling visual effects, chase scenes, and cat-and-mouse game between Batman and the Joker, The Dark Knight captured a magic I’m not sure we’ve seen since. It hit the winning combo of: The best Batman ever (Bale), the best Joker ever (Ledger), and the best Batman script ever. Nolan writes or co-writes all of his own scripts as well. I feel like this gives him the best vision to see the movie play out before it even gets made.
This movie has an opening scene so impeccable I would feel no shame on putting it on any Top 10 list of greatest scenes ever. Everything is meticulously plotted and story boarded out, that it feels like it had been practiced hundreds of times before. Much like another famous director, David Fincher, Nolan seems to be a perfectionist and it shows.