Narzack

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]