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Heat Vision Home Movies Movie News All 13 Christopher Nolan Movies Ranked From Worst to Best, Including ‘The Odyssey’ The definitive ranking of all 13 of the acclaimed director's films, including 'The Dark Knight,' 'The Prestige,' 'Tenet' and 'Dunkirk.'

It says a lot about Nolan that the “worst” film he directed is still rather good and worth seeing. Insomnia is a remake of the Norwegian title and is perhaps notable in that it’s the only movie Nolan directed that he didn’t write or co-write. Here, a veteran Los Angeles detective (Al Pacino) teams with a small-town investigator (Hilary Swank) to solve a murder in remote Alaska. It’s an effective, moody detective drama, but it lacks Nolan’s usual ambitious scope and feels like a for-hire job.

Nolan's debut feature, made for a reported $6,000, showed all the then-20-something director’s promise. Shot in black-and-white, Following features some themes Nolan would continue to explore for decades to come. Its protagonist is a single-minded obsessive alienated from society who follows a code (sound familiar?), and it has a surprising third act and smart expositional dialogue that feels distinctly Nolan. The feature centers on a man who follows strangers around London and becomes embroiled in more than he expected after breaking his rule never to follow the same person twice. At just 70 minutes, some might argue it's not a feature-length movie, but Nolan - who put three years of his life into scraping it together - has said it's just as valid as anything he's made.

The one that got everybody’s attention: Nolan’s sophomore effort (based on a story by his brother Jonathan) is a twisty noir thriller starring Guy Pearce as a man unable to make new memories trying to solve his wife’s murder. It’s a compelling puzzle that showed a filmmaker who can blend an accessible genre movie with a challenging narrative and pull it off, all leading to an ending that’s, well, unforgettable.

Dunkirk is masterfully well made from its very first shot, which smash cuts onto a street with falling leaflets amid a ticking clock as British World War II soldiers attempt to flee France as German forces close in. Nolan’s skill in staging action results in one gripping sequence after another. Yet several of the heroes feel unknowable and interchangeable, which keeps the audience at an emotional distance even as Nolan employs so many cinematic techniques in an effort to pull us closer. (THR’s review.)

The first hour of Batman Begins is a fantastic launch to not only a grown-up Dark Knight trilogy but also a total re-imagining of what superhero movies can be if they’re treated like larger-than-life crime dramas with practical effects instead of quip-filled, save-the-world, CGI-fueled dramedies. Christian Bale quickly proved he’s a fine heir to the cowl and there’s never been a better Alfred than Michael Caine. Still, the film’s final act staggers a bit.

Nolan is often accused of being a cold filmmaker and can be. But there's nothing chilly about Matthew McConaughey’s powerful performance as an astronaut who leaves behind his daughter (Mackenzie Foy, Jessica Chastain) in a quest to save humanity by finding a new world to replace a dying Earth. While the story has some plot holes, the resulting combination of 2001: A Space Odyssey-inspired cinematic wonder and emotional heft makes this one of Nolan’s most popular films, a title whose reputation has grown since its release. (THR’s review.)

The Prestige is a marvelous mystery based on Christopher Priest’s novel about dueling turn-of-the-century obsessive magicians with terrific performances by a dogmatic Bale, a searing Hugh Jackman (“You don’t know?!“), and an all-too-wise Caine. The Nolan brothers’ perfect script uses voiceover and narrative in such a confident and propulsive way, and there’s an ending twist you won’t see coming (and then wonder how you could have missed it). The Prestige was a modest hit upon release and has grown over the years to become a favorite of Nolan fans.

Nolan uses all his cinematic powers to bring Homer's seemingly impossible-to-adapt 2,800-year-old tale to life in a way that somehow feels contemporary and grounded. The writer-director's almost ridiculously star-stuffed cast and Herculean practical production efforts make the film feel like a throwback to Hollywood's mid-century run of sandal-and-toga epics such as Spartacus and Ben-Hur (one half expects Peter Ustinov to show up). Nolan delivers one fantastical set piece after another to test Matt Damon's Odysseus, while keeping the audience equally compelled by the palace intrigue back at Ithaca as Anne Hathaway’s Penelope holds off a brutish gaggle of suitors. When the two storylines collide, Nolan stages a clash of A-list titans that throws the director's usual cerebral machinations aside and instead satisfies his audience with some good old-fashion bloodlust. Filmmakers literally don't - or can't -make them like this anymore.