Christopher Nolan’s next movie, The Odyssey, is expected to be released from Universal Pictures in 2026, featuring a telling of Homer’s epic poem. While fans await Christopher Nolan’s next epic, why not look back on his filmography and look at his previous 12 movies to decide on a definitive ranking of every Christopher Nolan movie?
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The best Christopher Nolan movie depends on individual tastes, but there are some factors involved in the beauty of all Christopher Nolan movies that come from the visuals, the stories, the acting, and the music to form an incredible and unparalleled cinema experience.
12
The Following
A Troubled Writer Makes a Hobby of Following Strangers in Nolan’s First Movie
- Release Date: 5 November 1999
- Runtime: 70 minutes
- Genres: psychological thriller
The Following was Christopher Nolan’s feature film that debuted in 1998, and it’s an interesting reflection to see the evolution of both his visual style and story-telling almost 3 decades later. The Following is a rather short film, clocking in at just over an hour, but the neo-noir crime thriller has a cult classic feel to it.
The Following is more simplistic than Nolan’s other works, but that works in the film’s favor. An early work of Nolan’s brilliance, The Following has a few staples of Nolan’s filmography with a twist and turn here and there without feeling overstretched and in keeping with an independent feel.
11
Insomnia
A Slow-Burn of a Sleep-Deprived Detective Solving a Cold Murder
A troubled police detective investigates the murder of a teenage girl in a quiet Alaskan fishing town, where a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse begins to play with his prime suspect as the two constantly battle within psychology and thoughts to see which is the most dangerous and stable of the two – and who among the damned needs salvation.
Christopher Nolan’s casting of Al Pacino is exceptional for the role of the detective, Dormer, who plays the role with incredible internal guilt and sadness alongside a weariness to captivate audiences, while Robin Williams’ performance becomes riveting, creepy, and intellectual. The two are great, but there’s a lot of reflection and slow-burns to see Insomnia compete with heavy hitters.
10
Batman Begins
A Refreshing and Realistic Take on Batman
It was time for DC and Warner Bros. to give Batman a much-needed rest after the critical and commercial disappointment of Batman & Robin back in the ’90s, but Christopher Nolan saw the potential for Batman with a more modern approach, to provide the Caped Crusader with an origin befitting of realism and darkness that would captivate audiences and make them fall in love with Batman again.
Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins is more than just the beginning of a revitalized comic book genre but is a bold attempt at deconstructing and forming the concept of the Batman we all know and love today. Christian Bale was exceptional casting, and the politics of Gotham City are extremely believable.
9
Memento
An Amnesiac Solves His Wife’s Murder Without Forming New Memories
Guy Pearce plays Leonard Shelby, a man who suffers from anterograde amnesia, which means he can no longer form new memories. The last thing he remembers is that his wife was killed, and so he spends his life trying to hunt the man down, using notes, photos, and tattoos to try and piece together the mystery that he forgets the moment he takes his eyes off of what he’s looking at.
Memento can be an anxiety-inducing watch for its complexity as a detective thriller, and since Memento was one of Nolan’s earliest works, it’s most definitely worth checking it out to see just how far evolved Nolan has become as he guides audiences through a fractured narrative with a bold structure that only Nolan can captivate with.
8
The Prestige
Rival Magicians Demand Fame With Deadly Consequences
Pairing up the incredible talent of Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman is a recipe for success in terms of acting ability and cinema immersion, which is exactly the experience that The Prestige provides. The movie itself follows two magicians in the fall of their friendship, where they become fierce competitors and showmen who are willing to sacrifice anything to bring about their own individual fame.
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Christopher Nolan brings out further greatness from Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, and the compelling mystery and twists of The Prestige benefit all who are seeking a great movie of illusionists that audiences can’t prepare for the first time. The Prestige proves that movies are magic, both in their creation and within their story.
7
Tenet
A Convoluted Movie Involving the Pincer of Temporal Time
Introducing the concepts of objects that can manipulate the past via the future is certainly a confusing subject, and Tenet tries to explain the ideas of a temporal pincer movement by showing time as a constant that goes backward and forwards at the same moment – which serves as a confusing yet compelling case for John David Washington’s The Protagonist to save the world.
Few movies can be as confusing as Tenet, and considering this movie excels at providing a pattern of poetry with the way it weaves a beginning and an end as a circle, it’s one of those movies that definitely needs to be watched twice, or thrice considering all the elements that might overwhelm new audiences. While Tenet has some great moments, an incredible cast, and a great feel – the sound mixing and plot often makes it hard to follow what’s going on.
6
The Dark Knight Rises
The Epic Finale to Batman’s Story
Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale worked together to hang up the cape and cowl of Batman with the conclusion to the epic Dark Knight Trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises, which takes place 8 years after Joker’s mayhem ravished Gotham and took the life of Harvey Dent. Batman has to come back after the masked man, Bane, threatens Gotham – but Batman knows that this could very well be his last fight.
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The Dark Knight Rises might share a few inconsistencies and plot holes that require a bit of disbelief, but it’s a wonderful conclusion to an epic saga of a realistic Batman. Christian Bale once again gives his all in the role, and the tension and imagery keep audiences holding their breath for what awaits Gotham’s protector.
5
Dunkirk
A World War 2 Epic About Young British Soldiers Evacuating Dunkirk
Dunkirk has an immense heightened intensity for its realism of the World War 2 events of Dunkirk, where the British, Belgian, and French battle to evacuate the lost town of Dunkirk against the German forces that repel them. A story of young men thrust into war for their country, paired with the overwhelming scale of death, is a highly intense and breathtaking experience.
Dunkirk doesn’t just provide one singular narrative to grip audiences with, as there are a multitude of threads to follow all during different moments of the evacuation. Christopher Nolan’s interesting techniques prove his mettle as a filmmaker, as each story woven tightly within one movie shows the dedication and role each man had in World War 2’s pivotal moments.
4
Inception
A Complex Thriller Entwines with Dreams
Christopher Nolan builds an ensemble with Leonardo DiCaprio, Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy, Elliot Page, and more in Inception – a thriller that involves a group of professionals who seek to extract information from their targets by delving deep into their dreams. Yet, for this mission, it’s time to risk it all by going from a dream, within a dream, into a dream.
Inception is filled with suspenseful twists and turns, and the possibility within dreams tells an engaging story that stimulates intellectually and entertainingly. Inception excels by blowing the minds of first-time viewers, and providing deeper and more emotional connections on further rewatches.
3
The Dark Knight
An Intense Thriller That Proves Superheroes Are More Than Cool Capes
The Dark Knight constantly competes as not only one of the best Batman movies and the best superhero movies but also as one of Christopher Nolan’s finest works. The movie itself follows Batman in his war against the criminals of Gotham City, where a new ruthless foe has come to watch Gotham burn by breaking Batman mentally – and Heath Ledger’s Joker will always and forever remain one of the greatest and most acclaimed roles in cinema history.
The Dark Knight has an intense story – a detective mystery where Batman desperately tries to thwart the Joker from plunging Gotham into a further spiral of chaos. With such a realistic rendition of Batman in our world, this movie is unforgettable for fans of thrillers and a deeper psychology of the character.
2
Oppenheimer
The Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Father of the Atomic Bomb
Christopher Nolan once again dips his toes into real life, where he tasks himself with telling the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer during World War 2 and involves himself in the realistic creation of the Atomic Bomb in the top-secret Manhattan Project. Mired with betrayal, conspiracy, and hardship, it’s an intense race for humanity that may result in the world engulfed in hellfire.
Cillian Murphy’s portrayal of Oppenheimer is truly haunting in the physical manifestation of the scientist and his mannerisms. The sheer dread in Cillian Murphy’s eyes and the daunting realization of what he has created grants an intense feeling of nuclear anxiety, and pairing that with Nolan’s exceptional storytelling, audiences are treated to two tales of World War 2 behind the scenes and a thriller that shows the explosive climate of politics.
1
Interstellar
An Incredible Sci-Fi Epic Provides an Unforgettable Space Experience
Interstellar follows humanity in the near-distant future where the Earth is dying, and soon, the planet will be uninhabitable. With one chance to save humanity and his daughter, Cooper makes the heartbreaking decision to leave Earth behind in search of a new home for life – and Matthew McConaughey gives an unparalleled performance alongside other incredible actors like Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain.
Interstellar has it all – the spectacle, the heartbreak, and the epic. The complexity of Interstellar’s visuals, science, and twists makes it ever-rewatchable, and Hans Zimmer’s work transcends space itself as a theme for the galaxy. Interstellar is bold, complex, and intricately beautiful in performance and visuals.
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