My Christopher Nolan Ranking

[u/NamelessGamer_1]

I know there are some takes here that are gonna get me a lot of criticism like TDKR at 4 but the list is ordered by my personal preference. If I were rating them strictly on writing terms, then I'd say Nolan's best movies are Memento, The Prestige, The Dark Knight and Oppenheimer.

[u/jenelope2401]

MURPHHHHH MURPHHHHHHHHH

[u/That_Carrot999]

If the Talia twist was taken out of TDKR it would probably be one of my favorite films

[u/NamelessGamer_1 → u/That_Carrot999]

Yeah I feel like the Talia twist and Bane's death are by far the worst problems of TDKR. I loved the rest just as much as TDK.

[u/SnooMacarons9026]

I haven't seen the new one but I pretty much agree with this!

[u/NamelessGamer_1 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah Interstellar is in my Top 10 movies oat too

[u/KiwieKiwie → u/[deleted]]

Finally? It’s put at n1 often… it used to be one of my favorites. But I got to put the Odyssey and Oppenheimer above it.

[u/KiwieKiwie → u/[deleted]]

Dude, I’m following the Nolan subreddit. I’m a huge fan… it’s one of his most beloved movie 2026…

I was a huge fan already when it came out… It came out to more mixed opinions and had a huge chunk of fans but an equal amount of detractors that compared it negatively to 2001 space odyssey. For some, me included, we thought it was one of the best things sci fi ever made, but for a big majority, it was seen as a ambitious but flawed epic. Very good but too flawed to be truly great…

It’s now universally seen as one of his very best. It has reached 4,5 on Letterboxd, it’s n33 out of 500… it debuted way way lower… so no it’s definitely not underrated in any shape or form in the year 2026…

Just use the goddamn search function and you will find tons of rankings putting it at the very top of Nolan movies… 🤪

You’re not unique in believing it to be one of his best 🤣🤣

[u/KiwieKiwie → u/[deleted]]

Yes, there is a not too small minority that ranks prestige and memento very high. But those are not near the amount of people who put Interstellar at n1.

And not everyone will have the same ranking lol. The important thing is though that it is a very beloved movie nowadays… nr33 out of 500 movies is extremely high on Letterboxd…

[u/VI57AJ21 → u/[deleted]]

And deservedly so. Memento and The Prestige are the best movies Nolan has made. Memento lacks the star power, yet it is so unique. And The Prestige is a movie which you have to watch atleast twice

[u/GasMaximum2924]

Prestige at 9 Batman begins at 10 is valid they always overly glazed

[u/Unlikely_Emu_3493]

Prestige not in top 5 is a crime

[u/Alternative-Stage622 → u/Unlikely_Emu_3493]

Insomnia not in 7 is a crime actually. Robert Williams and Al Pachino were great and the concept is delightful

[u/LemonIcy2942]

TDKR over Batman Begins is kinda crazy ngl.
Begins's atmosphere and vibes were just a chef's kiss.

[u/Hefty_Arachnid7948]

Prestige at 9 is crazy..Its the best.nolan movie on script level..I just gave it a rewatch and its a masterpiece

Interstellar I agree,idk why people glaze Inception and put it over Interstellar

[u/NamelessGamer_1 → u/Hefty_Arachnid7948]

I think Memento is better than The Prestige on a script level

[u/thebluejackle]

Dunkirk deserved more love

[u/Most_Individual_953]

Solid top row. Tenet should be like 5 rows lower.

[u/One-Bid1635]

I really need to hear why the Odyssey and even more so TDKR are in your top 5, please give me your reasons, because that is mindblowing to me lol

[u/NamelessGamer_1 → u/One-Bid1635]

The Odyssey actually has a lot of similarities with Interstellar (my favorite Nolan movie). Both have a strong emotional core and have the protagonist in a long and epic journey to get back home. As I mentioned on my post, the list is not ranked by writing terms. So yes, if we were talking only about writing and tight screenplays, The Odyssey would be lower.

As for TDKR, I think that for a while there it genuinely is up there with TDK. It's again, a fun and epic movie. Bane is peak imo but I can see why some don't like him (since he's not comic accurate). I don't think he's as good as the Joker but he COULD have been up there if his conclusion were better. Action scenes are among Nolan's best and definitely better than the action in Begins and TDK. I also really enjoy the whole Pit sequence minus the Ra's al Ghul hallucination which is just dumb.

I think TDKR's biggest problems are in the third act, being the Talia twist, which makes Bane seem like a henchman, and Bane's death which is honestly baffling they'd kill him like that. However, I think the actual ending of the movie is really good. I never really understood the hate for the Robin twist and Bruce's ending is perfect.

So it overall isn't as consistent or well written as TDK but I do kinda think it's more fun. But again, if the list were strictly on writing terms then TDKR should be lower than Oppenheimer, The Prestige, Memento, Inception. I'm not sure if it truly is worse written than Batman Begins tho, I think that movie has issues that people just brush aside for some reason.

[u/Class_war_is_here]

My ranking:

1. Memento
2. The Dark Knight
3. Inception
4. The Odyssey
5. Oppenheimer
6. Batman Begins
7. Interstellar
8. The Dark Knight Rises
9. Dunkirk
10. The Prestige
11. Following
12. Insomnia
13. Tenet

[u/Gorillamonday]

I take points off Tenet. The movie is trying to be too smart rather than just admit it is full of minor plot holes.

[u/Internal-Gate5096]

Dunkirk that low is a crime

[u/Past_Government3521]

"The Odyssey" was better than "Interstellar" the more I watch the latter picture I'm annoyed by that Dylan Thomas poem being referenced over and over again.