Many deem Christopher Nolan’s (Interstellar, Oppenheimer) The Dark Knight the best comic book movie ever. Those and others consider Nolan’s three Batman films the quintessential superhero trilogy. The Dark Knight is the franchise’s standout, successfully eclipsing the superhero genre and delivering an eerie tale of good versus evil that requires many chief characters to make layered, moral decisions at a moment’s notice. In particular, The Joker (Heath Ledger – Brokeback Mountain, Monster’s Ball), the film’s villain, continually requires its protagonists to choose between what is best for them and society’s greater good. Fans of superhero movies and those who traditionally have little to no interest in that genre can equally appreciate The Dark Knight.
Category Archives: Christopher Nolan
Memento (2000)
A tour de force with its initial viewing, Christopher Nolan’s (Dunkirk, Interstellar) mind-bending Memento felt, more than 99% of the films I watch, worthy of a second viewing. What initially captivated but confused me equally would likely enthrall me further while clearing up plot holes. It turns out that this wasn’t the case. Not only did my second watch cause me to be more uncertain of the events, their timelines, and overarching structure. It also left me feeling bored by the premise and disengaged from the story. In a way, it feels odd to say that. At the same time, the film could be more straightforward in its attempt to entertain and differentiate itself in new and unique ways. Even in the early stages of his directing career, Nolan was, for better or worse, telling his viewers that he was the most intelligent person in the room and to get used to it.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Barbieheimer, the crafty, endearing portmanteau of Barbie and Oppenheimer, the two biggest blockbusters of the summer, became mainstream weeks months before the dual-day release of each movie. Moviegoers flocked to the theaters in greater fashion than even 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick. This ultra-successful and undeniably popular film has become universally accepted as bringing people back to theaters following the COVID-19 pandemic. Some would say that it saved movie theaters entirely. As someone who sees two, three, or sometimes even more movies in the theater in any given month, and often being one of a small handful of patrons, I am in that camp.
Dunkirk (2017)
Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Rises, Inception) might be the best technical director we’ve ever seen. His precession is perfect. His attention to detail is unmatched. His brain operates so that it is always ahead of his actors and two steps ahead of his audience. We’ve seen technical masterpieces throughout his already storied career. At 47, he already has masterpieces like Following, Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, The Prestige, Inception, and Interstellar all underneath his belt. According to Rotten Tomatoes, his “worst” movie is Interstellar, which still has a 71% fresh rating. That means his “worst” movie still had five out of every seven critics gave the movie a positive rating. However, for all of the positives associated with Nolan’s films (and there are many), he has failed to capture the often-needed emotional component with every single one.
Interstellar (2014)
Interstellar is a good movie that aims to be not just a great movie but a movie that people talk about for years and years to come. I imagine that there will be a circle of fans who will do this, but I think, for the majority of people, this will be a movie that they enjoy but won’t ever think of as being unique or legendary. I think this movie tried too hard to make that lasting impression rather than just live in the moment of making a great film. As I will mention below, this movie could have been much more straightforward and, in doing so, much more effective. I felt the first 45 minutes of the movie created a cast of characters and a setting in which numerous stories could have been told, and the film could have succeeded. I say this because Interstellar is, first and foremost, a space exploration movie with overtones of the importance of human relationships and weighing what is best for society against what is best for an individual. However, I would like to know if I recommend the movie. And I do recommend it. As much as I wanted it to be great, it wasn’t. But it was still good. At 168 minutes, it is at least 45 minutes too long. And the spaceship scenes themselves are absolutely brutal. There is way too much dull talk of esoteric physics that went straight over the heads of 90% of the audience. It wasn’t needed and forced you to try to use your brain to comprehend everything that was happening. That wasn’t why I was there. I go to movies to not have to use my brain.
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