Christopher Nolan is a name that anyone who claims to love movies will know and he’s perhaps one of the best modern directors out there, with a filmography that’s consistently great enough to make each of his latest films into highly-anticipated blockbuster events. His work boasts not only visual splendour and great writing but perhaps the most iconic aspect that many fans associate with him is how mind-bending his movies usually are, often featuring complex concepts and unexpected twists (though of course, this doesn’t apply to every single one of them).

With the release of Oppenheimer in July 2023, Nolan now has 12 movies under his belt. It’s worth pointing out that there’s no ‘bad’ Nolan movie, but some are definitely better at others. Every Christopher Nolan fan has their own personal favourites and here’s a list of ours. If you feel strongly about this list, make sure to comment with your own ranking of Christopher Nolan movies. This article simply reflects the personal opinions of the writer. Your preferences may greatly vary. In the meantime, head on over here for our review of Oppenheimer.

10. Insomnia (2002)

Despite being at the bottom of this list, Insomnia is by no means a bad movie in any way. This movie is a remake of a 1997 Norwegian movie of the same name and it’s actually a pretty good crime noir thriller. What elevates it beyond any other crime thriller is the intense performances from legends like Al Pacino and the late Robin Williams, who plays against type in this movie by portraying a despicable killer. However, the reason why Insomnia is at the bottom of this list is because it feels more like an overstretched episode of an HBO prestige crime drama series like True Detective. It also has none of Christopher Nolan’s usual signature elements, which makes this movie feel like anyone else could have directed it.

9. Dunkirk (2017)

This might be a controversial placement for Dunkirk but hear me out. It’s not a bad movie at all, it’s a great movie, almost on par with the likes of other gritty and grounded war movies such as Saving Private Ryan and All Quiet On The Western Front. Don’t get me wrong, this movie is impressive on many levels, showcasing the admirable spirit of humanity prevailing despite having lost almost all hope, as it’s based on the actual historical event when the British had to retreat from France in 1940 after getting pushed back by the Nazis. Hell, even Harry Styles managed to give a good dramatic performance in this one. However, just like Insomnia, this movie is one of the least Nolan-like movies on this list and at the time, I was expecting something more fantastical out of a Nolan movie, especially following Inception and Interstellar before it.

8. Following (1998)

This was Christopher Nolan’s directorial debut but we could already see the seeds of what would later be seen as his signature elements as featured in his later movies. At a brisk one hour and 10 minutes long, the black-and-white crime noir tale ends with a great twist, something that would be one of Nolan’s best-known cinematic traits. It’s a bit rough around the edges, but every Christopher Nolan should watch Following at least once in their lives. Fun fact: The name of one of the major characters in this movie is Cobb, a name that Nolan would later reuse as the name of Leonardo DiCaprio’s lead character in Inception.

7. Memento (2000)

This is Nolan’s breakout movie and the movie where he truly started experimenting with unique unconventional formats not seen in mainstream movies. It’s a major risk to make a movie with a non-linear narrative like this but Nolan pulled it off in an impressive way. While some might decry this style as confusing and a frustrating experience, Memento would be the first taste of what makes Christopher Nolan movies what they are best known for. Without this movie, Nolan probably wouldn’t have gone on to make more movies with mind-bending concepts such as Inception and Tenet.

6. Tenet (2020)

Tenet is the result of Nolan taking what he learnt from Memento and Inception, and combining them into one movie. It’s perhaps the most Nolan-esque movie on this list but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the best either. It’s the most ambitious and complex Nolan movie in terms of offering a mind-bending concept, so much so that many viewers require repeat viewings to even make sense of the movie’s narrative. For that reason, this movie is the hardest movie on this list to recommend for anyone new to Nolan’s filmography. However, if you’re a long-time fan who likes Nolan’s signature style, this might very well be one of his best. That being, one major flaw of the movie is that it lacks much of an emotional punch to make viewers more invested, which none of the rest of the movies in the top five (below) suffers from.

5. Oppenheimer (2023)

L to R: Benny Safdie is Edward Teller and Cillian Murphy is J. Robert Oppenheimer in OPPENHEIMER, written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan.

Oppenheimer is Nolan’s most recent movie on this list, and it already ranks pretty high on this list. Cillian Murphy’s brilliant performance as the late Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the Atom bomb, carries the movie by conveying all the complex emotions of a tortured genius. Despite featuring none of the high-octane action of other Nolan movies like Inception or The Dark Knight Trilogy, Oppenheimer still manages to bring suspense and thrills at a breakneck pace even though it’s also the longest movie in Nolan’s filmography (at almost 3 hours long). This movie can easily take a higher placement on this list, but it remains to be seen if the impact of this movie can last repeat viewings, which many of the other movies in this list can boast of.

4. Interstellar (2014)

The best praise I could give Interstellar is that it’s like an emotional 2001 A Space Odyssey. What makes this movie stand out even amongst Nolan’s filmography isn’t that it takes place in space, but how love is the main theme of the movie with the emotional crux between Matthew McConaughey’s character and his daughter (played by Jessica Chastain). The movie is also praised for its scientific accuracy but also criticized for having a twist that can feel a bit too corny and ridiculous even for a Nolan movie. Despite all that, the emotional highs of the movie outweigh everything else, and you’d be lying if you didn’t cry during one of several heart-wrenching scenes in this movie.

3. The Prestige (2006)

(L-R) Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman

The Prestige is one of Nolan’s more underrated movies (since it came out between two of Nolan’s Batman movies) but it’s also actually one of his best. The intense rivalry between the two magicians played by Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman makes for such an engaging and immersive experience that’s delightful to watch from beginning to end. The movie deftly goes from twist to twist, and each one makes the movie even more interesting before ending on such a satisfying crescendo or for the lack of a better word, the movie’s own Prestige (in the movie’s context, The Prestige is the final part and climax of a magic trick), making for one of Nolan’s most watchable movies.

2. Inception (2010)

I won’t lie, I was too young to properly watch or truly appreciate most of Christopher Nolan’s movies when they originally premiered. The first exception to this rule was Inception (I’m not counting the Batman movies because well, it’s Batman), which was the movie that turned me into a fan of the director and the rest was history. Inception, even on repeat viewings, is a phenomenal movie that combines mind-bending sci-fi concepts with elements from heist, spy, and action movies.

What makes Inception so much more impressive (when you really think about it) is that it’s a completely original story written by Christopher Nolan. It’s an adaptation or based on an IP, or even on historical events, but it’s still perhaps his single best movie ever made to date. If there’s one movie I would recommend to introduce Christoper Nolan to a newcomer, it’s this one.

1. The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005, 2008, 2012)

Say what you want about Christopher Nolan, but you can’t deny the greatness of his The Dark Knight trilogy. Its place in cinematic pop culture is now legendary, especially 2008’s The Dark Knight, which remains a beloved and endlessly-rewatchable movie. The Dark Knight remains arguably the best Batman movie and one of the best comic book movies of all time. If a perfect movie exists, then The Dark Knight probably qualifies as one of them. While 2005’s Batman Begins and 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises are less celebrated (and more derided in the latter’s case), they’re still actually great movies. As a whole, the trilogy is an achievement that cements Christopher Nolan’s as one of the best directors out there, and potentially immortalises his name in pop culture history.