Christopher Nolan Ranked

By Electric Sheep Founder· July 20, 2026 · 13 items ·91 views

Having now seen The Odyssey, it felt appropriate to throw this down. I don't expect many people to agree with me, but that's ok. Yell at me in the comments. Nolan is an interesting director, and has made himself an important one at this point. I respect what he does, especially his emphasis on making big "theater" movies. He knows how to make a spectacle, even if sometimes his characters and writing are lacking.

Cheers2

Salty

Not much to say about this one. Good debut. Interesting movie. He definitely grew beyond this.

12B-

Tenet

2020

Action Thriller +1

The hardest that Christopher ever Nolan'd. Ambitious, but ultimately doesn't work for me. Lots of cool ideas strung together by an incoherent story.

11B-

Dunkirk

2017

War Action +1

A movie of cool moments, but ultimately pretty forgettable overall. I don't think it ever made it beyond "another war film" for me.

10B+

Insomnia

2002

Thriller Crime +1

I really like Insomnia, but it's tough to put much higher on the list, as there's not much that stands out relative to the rest of his filmography. It is a fun thriller, though.

Another mixed bag movie. It was an ambitious project, but I think it tried too hard to be "more" than a biopic. On one hand, it is easily the grandest biopic that's been made, on the other, I don't know how much replay value this really has - especially with its long runtime. It's been 3 years and I haven't even considered watching it again. The panic attack scene was cool, though.

The Dark Knight Rises

2012

Action Crime +2

The worst of the trilogy, while also having some of its coolest scenes. It has the highest highs and the lowest lows. A real mixed bag.

7B+

Inception

2010

Action Science Fiction +1

Ov-er-ra-ted *clap clap clapclapclap* Cool movie with some fun scenes, but to me it is not the mindblowing experience that it seemed to be for others. Still a good heist movie, though.

Batman Begins

2005

Drama Crime +1

Still holds up as one of the better batman movies, let alone superhero movies. A very solid origin story. May not stand out as much these days with it living in The Dark Knight's shadow, but it's a great movie in its own right.

Memento

2000

Mystery Thriller

This is one of the movies I found as a teenager that helped me get interested movies more seriously. It's not his best, but it is a favorite of mine.

4B+

The Odyssey

2026

Adventure Action +1

I was 100% ready to hate on this out of principle, but he really knocked it out of the park. First Nolan movie in years that I will want to own to watch again. Might end up overtaking Interstellar for me over time.

3A-

Interstellar

2014

Adventure Drama +1

I was not a fan of this when it came out, but it has grown on me every time I've watched it over the years. It's probably his greatest spectacle. I do think that the performances here do a lot of heavy lifting for the writing, but that is usually the case for Nolan.

2A-

The Dark Knight

2008

Action Crime +1

Can't say anything that hasn't already been said. Maybe still the best superhero movie, despite how fatigued of them some of us may be.

1A-

The Prestige

2006

Drama Mystery +1

It's got everything you want from a Nolan movie, and the characters are actually fleshed out and well written. It's got the most replay value of all his movies for me. Plus, it's just got that cool factor.

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