Image credit: Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Getty Images, Summit Entertainment

For the past two decades, few people have broken brains and bent minds like Christopher Nolan. Since his 2000 breakout Memento, the British director has released hit after hit culminating in one of the strongest filmographies of the 21st century. From The Dark Knight Trilogy to films like Inception and Interstellar, Nolan has brought pure joy to a certain type of film bro. Characterised by mind-bending physics and deep existentialism, and punctuated by explosive set pieces and creative structural and narrative decisions, Christopher Nolan has honed an idiosyncratic style that many have tried to mimic without success. 

After the success of Memento, which tells its story in reverse chronological order, and its follow-up Insomnia, Nolan was recognised as a truly novel creative force and essentially given what he needed to make whatever he wanted (a blank cheque, as they say). He turned down the chance to direct Troy in 2003, and instead, laid the groundwork for the modern superhero movie complex with Batman Begins. After that, it was mind-boggling hit after hit after hit. 

The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Inception, and Interstellar—all singularly creative and unique—were massive successes both critically and commercially. Each of them cracked IMDb’s top 50 chart and we know more than a few men who will say one or more of them is their favourite movie ever. It’s no surprise to any Nolan-head, then, that his films have grossed over US$5 billion worldwide. 

A look at the actors he has worked with reads like a murderers row of the very best of his generation. Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey, Heath Ledger, Tom Hardy, Matt Damon, Cillian Murphy, Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Guy Pearce, Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale are just a few that come to mind. 

Image credit: Universal Pictures

And now, people are calling his latest movie, Oppenheimer, a masterpiece. The historical deep dive into the father of the atomic bomb is Nolan’s most serious work to date and a culmination of his years of experience behind the camera. A piece of work that looks set to vault Nolan even further into the pantheon of the best directors. 

But where does Oppenheimer land among some of the most beloved films of the decade? Take a look back at the filmography of one of the greats with every Christopher Nolan movie, ranked from worst to best, and find out. 

Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

12. Tenet (2020)

Tenet highlights the difficulty of the exercise we have taken on. By no means a bad film, the quality of Nolan’s work means that something has to sit at the bottom of the list and unfortunately, that film is Tenet. Released just as cinemas reopened after shuttering during the pandemic, Tenet saw Nolan lean into one of the most frequent criticisms of his films—that they were too complicated—and throw caution to the wind. Following a physics-bending plot that sees time go simultaneously forward and in reverse, the film is nonetheless spectacular. It’s a little messy—borderline nonsensical at times—but if you don’t try too hard to make sense of it you’ll have a fun time. 

Image credit: Momentum Pictures

11. Following (1998)

Nolan’s first feature film, Following, may not have been as explosive as Tenet, but the tight, 70-minute thriller made on a shoestring budget by the then 28-year-old was probably more difficult to make. Everything was rehearsed to the end of its life so Nolan could shoot as few takes as possible (he was paying for the 16mm film himself) and as they couldn’t afford proper lighting, he mainly worked with whatever light was naturally available. Knowing all this, Following, which is about a man who likes to follow strangers around London and accidentally finds himself following the wrong person into the criminal underworld, is an incredibly impressive feat that should be shown to any upcoming filmmaker who thinks they need more money to make a movie. 

Image credit: Summit Entertainment

10. Insomnia (2002)

After Memento’s success in 2000, Nolan was brought up to the big time to direct Insomnia. Starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams, the film is a tense, psychological thriller that proved that Nolan had the chops to not only direct superstars but make a lot of money doing it. With a budget of $46 million, Insomnia would go on to earn $113 million globally while achieving critical praise along the way. More grounded than many of the films that were to come, Insomnia nonetheless sticks with you for a while after watching it. 

Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

9. Batman Begins (2005)

Despite being on the lower end of this list, Batman Begins is one of the most important films of the 21st century, laying the blueprint for the modern-day superhero movie industry. Without Batman Begins and the story of how Bruce Wayne became Batman, as well as Tobey McGuire’s Spider-Man, not only would we not have the masterpiece that is The Dark Knight, but we wouldn’t have any of the more grounded, edgier takes on some of our favourite superheroes that we’ve seen over the past two decades. Also, it introduced the world to Christian Bale’s growling Batman, so let us just say, thank you. 

Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

8. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The final instalment of The Dark Knight trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises couldn’t live up to the standard set by its predecessor, The Dark Knight, but it is still one of the best superhero films made in recent years. Pitting Bale against the menacing, brutal figure of Tom Hardy’s Bane, the final act of Nolan’s superhero oeuvre finishes things off with a literal bang (and a nice cup of coffee), but it’s the set pieces that we remember most. Whether its chopping a plane in half mid-flight or blowing up a football stadium as a game is being played, The Dark Knight Rises is another brilliant showcase of Nolan’s ability to engineer incredible visual spectacles. 

Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

7. Inception (2010)

Allow us to discuss these rankings for a moment. When it comes to Nolan, most people will agree that there is a top film, then five bangers and then five more films that while still solid, aren’t up there in the pantheon. That cut falls here, in between film six and film seven. From here though, the quality and uniqueness of each of the films means that any given cinephile is likely to come to you with a different order. This leads us to... Inception. 

For some, Inception is a flawless masterpiece that deserves to be in Nolan’s top three, but for others—us included—there are cracks to the movie. After the success of The Dark Knight, Nolan set out to make his most ambitious mind-bending film to date and the result was the Leonardo DiCaprio-led Inception. 

Following a thief who steals information from people’s dreams and is tasked with doing the reverse—plant an idea instead of stealing it, aka ‘inception’—the film dives deep into metaphysical ideas of dreams and how our subconscious interacts with our daily lives. It is a marvellous, inventive film that is responsible for some incredible acting and set pieces, but for us, it gets lost in exposition too frequently and spends too much time explaining the mechanics of its world rather than actually developing the characters in it. 

Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

6. Dunkirk (2017)

Much more grounded than the films that Nolan had been making in its lead-up, Dunkirk is a slow-burn depiction of the evacuation of soldiers from Dunkirk back to Britain in World War II. To be honest, when we first saw this film, we didn’t think much of it. But, unlike something like Inception which gets creakier with each rewatch, Dunkirk only gets stronger and more powerful on subsequent visits. Using a truncated timeline which plays with the chronology of each storyline, the film still manages to display Nolan’s creative use of structure despite having a more straightforward subject matter. If you haven’t rewatched this one since it came out, do yourself a favour and go back to it—it earned Nolan his first Best Director nomination at the Academy Awards for a reason. 

Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

5. The Prestige (2006)

With The Prestige, Nolan did the impossible and made magicians actually seem cool. Set in the 1890s, the film follows two friends turned rivals, played by Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, as they push each other beyond the boundaries of safety in pursuit of the perfect magic trick. The performances are some of the best in any Nolan film to date and (mild spoilers) the film has one of the most satisfying twists of any film from the past twenty years. A masterclass in suspense and a Nolan classic.

Image credit: Summit Entertainment

4. Memento (2000)

Coming two years after Following, Memento was the film that started it all and introduced the world to the eccentric mind of Christopher Nolan. Based on a short story by his brother Jonathan Nolan, Memento has an impossibly cool concept for a movie at its core. It follows Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce), a man with a form of amnesia that means he can’t form new memories as he uses polaroids, notes and tattoos on his own body as clues to find his wife’s killer. But if that wasn’t fascinating enough, Nolan took it a step further by splitting two timelines—one told in black and white, one in colour—with one running chronologically and one in reverse order, eventually meeting at the conclusion of the film. Perhaps Nolan’s greatest and most successful mindfuck, Memento is the perfect example of what makes a Nolan movie a Nolan movie.

Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

3. Interstellar (2014)

Interstellar is by no means a perfect film. Like Inception and to a more drastic degree Tenet, the film requires a level of suspension of disbelief to even wrap your mind around its final shoe drop. But, unlike both of those films, this film marries some of the most visually spectacular sequences in any film in the 21st century with rock-solid character development. Set in the near future, Interstellar follows Joseph Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) as he sets out into space looking for the solution to Earth’s dwindling resources. It is a remarkable visual experience that is grounded by heartbreaking performances from McConaughey, as well as Jessica Chastain, as it explores what it means to sacrifice your life for the good of others. 

Image credit: Universal Pictures

2. Oppenheimer (2023)

As we said above, Oppenheimer is the culmination of over two decades of work as a director. It is the sort of film that would not be interesting, and could be borderline offensive to the complexities of the story it tells, if it was not made by a filmmaker ready to make it. Ten years ago, that might not have been Christopher Nolan, but now it certainly is.

Rather than using complex narrative structures and athletic filmmaking manoeuvres for the sake of flexing his skill—something he has been guilty of in the past—in Oppenheimer, Nolan implements them always in service of the story—never despite it. It is not a film that many people will want to rewatch, but it is as impactful, complex and thought-provoking as any Nolan has made.

Nolan called father of the atomic bomb J. Robert Oppenheimer “the most important man who ever lived”, and this is the most important film he has ever made. 

Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

1. The Dark Knight (2008)

The Dark Knight is the pinnacle of not just Nolan’s body of work, but the superhero genre of movie making. Not only does it feature one of the greatest performances of the 21st century from Heath Ledger, but it is simply flawless. From its opening sequence, which some call the greatest of any action movie, to its final moments, The Dark Knight delivers a brutal, grounded battle between Batman and The Joker that you can’t tear your aways from. Everything in this movie—from the practical effects to the endlessly quotable lines—is timeless and although Oppenheimer is an astounding achievement, this is the film Nolan will always be known for. His best work ever and one of the best films of all time. 

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