Random Movie List: Ranking Christopher Nolan's Movies

This year has marked the conclusion of Christopher Nolan's heralded Batman trilogy.  In addition, I think it's safe to say that it has marked an end of an era for Nolan himself.  While his career thus far has been more or less defined by the success of his take on the Caped Crusader, his overall record over the last decade or so has been nothing short of astounding.  

I don't think there's ever been a filmmaker who began his career with so many consecutive successes, both critically and commercially.  There are surely examples of filmmakers who made art-house or independent movies that had better track records.  But, in terms of both audience appeal and love from the critics, Nolan is in an elite class.

All in all, he has directed seven feature films -- eight if you count Following, which I don't.  I'm leaving Following off the list for no good reason other than I haven't seen the whole thing.  I keep starting it (it's streamable on Netflix) late at night and have fallen asleep, which is more of a commentary on my ability to stay awake than on the movie itself.  Other than that, it doesn't count simply because it was never really released in any real form other than to show people what Nolan did before he became famous.  Yet, even that's a crappy reason for not including it.  

I'm just not counting Following, okay?  I don't have a good reason.  

So...where was I?  Seven feature films directed by Christopher Nolan.  I will do my best to rank them here.  One thing to keep in mind: I hold all of these movies -- almost all of them anyway -- in very high regard.  Nolan is simply an incredible filmmaker and a master storyteller.  Those that appear lower on the list are all high-quality films, they're just low on Nolan's list.  They'd probably be near the top of a list ranking the works of virtually any of Nolan's contemporaries.  

7.  The Prestige

If there's one movie on this list that I don't consider to be exceptional, it's The Prestige.  It's a fine film on a technical level.  The acting is good and the story is fine.  It's just not great, which is why it's at the bottom of the list.  I enjoyed the movie, though I think I was one of very few people who knew what was going on the entire time, so the end didn't surprise me very much at all.  Still, I don't have any real complaints about the movie, other than it's the only Nolan film that I don't have a desire to watch over and over again.

6.  Insomnia

This is the moit oft-forgotten gem in the Nolan cannon, which is a shame.  I really do love this movie, probably more than it deserves.  The script -- until the final act, anyway -- doesn't have an ounce of fat on it.  The tone and pacing are pitch-perfect throughout, and Al Pacino gives his quietest, subtlest, and probably his best performance of the post-Scent of a Woman era.  It does run out of steam a little in the climactic act, which feels like a compromise to the studio more than a deliberate choice on Nolan's part (though I don't know if that's true).  Still, people need to realize that, without this movie, Nolan probably never would have gotten to direct Batman Begins.

5.  The Dark Knight Rises

Now comes the hard part: deciding which Batman movie to rank the lowest. Those who read my review will know that I had some significant complaints about this movie the first time I saw it.  After seeing it a second time, the problems in the first half of the movie didn't bother me near as much.  Still, of the three Nolan-Bale Batman outings, this one suffered the most from either fatigue, over-indulgence or both.  Still, the second half of the movie -- especially the last 45 minutes or so -- are so mind-blowingly awesome that I feel like a tool for even daring to criticize the rest of the movie.  

4.  Batman Begins

Easily the greatest super hero origin story ever put to film.  The first half of Batman Begins -- depicting Bruce Wayne's tragic childhood, his journey of self-discovery, and especially his run-in with the League of Shadows -- is incredibly well done.  Like Insominia, the script to Begins is just a model of focus and efficiency.  

3.  Inception

This movie, written off initially as Warner Brother's favor to Nolan, is Exhibit A in the case against the modern studio system.  In a world where mainstream movie fare is all sequels, remakes, and reboots, Inception demonstrates that a movie need not be stupid and watered-down in order to do good business and it showed that good filmmaking can eliminate the need for built-in audience appeal.  This movie should be the blueprint for future summertime movie making.  Sadly, it's more often viewed as an enigmatic outlier that cannot be repeated.  

2.  Memento

I'm not just picking this movie this high because it's the first and I feel the need to pay homage to something old.  Memento is just an astounding piece of work that few have even come close to surpassing in the decade since its release.  It's a modern classic that first introduced the world to Nolan's genius.  Like many of his movies, it's completely accessible and enjoyable for any audience, but it has the feel and pacing of an art film.  That's precisely what make's Nolan so unique -- he's an auteur and an artist operating well within the populist mainstream.  Aside from that, Memento is just a masterwork of story structure and pacing.  Every time I see this movie, I am completely in awe.

1.  The Dark Knight

I know this is an anti-climactic choice, but what're you gonna do?  This is Nolan's best movie and, until he comes up with something better, it will define his career.  The Dark Knight demonstrated for critics and audiences that even things as absurd as comic book heroes could be the substance of great art and is the standard by which all super hero movies are now measured.  It is also a transcendent crime/police epic, an intense morality play, and an examination of post-9/11 America.  But, at the end of the day, it's just a bad-ass movie that packs a greater emotional wallop than anyone has a right to expect of a big-money blockbuster.  It's probably unfair to give Nolan all the credit -- much of it should go to Heath Ledger's now-immortal portrayal of the Joker.  I've always thought Christian Bale was replaceable as Batman --  it's Ledger's performance in this movie anchors, not just The Dark Knight, but the entire trilogy.  Still, it was Nolan who wrote the part and cast Ledger in the role.  So, perhaps this is a chicken-egg discussion.  In any event, this is Nolan's best movie.  

Feel free to nit-pick or disagree with my choices here.  Just know that, if you disagree with me, you're wrong.