I have a confession to make. And, I know that as a film guy[1], I’m about to admit to a form a sacrilege(not even my most blasphemous opinion, either), but I don’t think I’m a Christopher Nolan fan. I think he peaked with Interstellar, which was very good, and everything since has been downhill. Now, let me take a look at his work as a whole and see where I land:
The Following – Very film school, doesn’t do much for me.
Insomnia- Pretty good. Buoyed by a great Robin Williams and a really interesting high concept
Memento- Yeah, okay, this one is good. However, I don’t think it’d be as good told in a straightforward manner.
Batman Begins- Extremely good. The editing and cinematography(especially during action scenes) are extremely bad, though.
The Dark Knight- A legendary performance by Heath Ledger, better action, really good Harvey Dent(who is killed off stupidly)
The Prestige- Yeah, it’s pretty good.
The Dark Knight Rises- Hamstrung by the lack of Joker and Two-Face, extremely corny beginning, subpar conflict with Batman and Bane, great Anne Hathaway performance, bunch of plot holes, and maybe the worst comic book nod in a Hollywood movie.(“Why don’t you use your first name; Robin?)
Inception- Really good, the best action he’s ever managed.
Interstellar- His best from the score to the direction to the acting and production design. Just incredible
Dunkirk- Technically very good, needless time shenanigans
Tenet- A return to needless time shenanigans, doesn’t make a lick of sense[2], awful-AWFUL action- probably the worst he’s ever done, and the distillation of his tendency to make enemies faceless and soulless.
Oppenheimer- Didn’t see because Tenet was so bad.
Alright, so looking at that list, I guess he still has more hits that misses for me, but I think my issue is that Dunkirk was nothing special, and Tenet was so frustratingly bad that it makes me think I don’t like Nolan. Maybe his next flick will be a return to form. For me. The one person whose opinion matters.[3]
[1] I mean, not really. I just know what I like and what I don’t like, and I usually feel pretty strongly about it. For instance, I’ll defend to the death Grind and Surf Ninjas, but I have no time for tripe like Birdemic or Sharknado. It’s a Wonderful Life is a masterpiece and The Big Lebowski is just okay.
[2] Yes, I could understand and follow it, it just doesn’t work.
[3] Oppenheimer did almost a BILLION worldwide.
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