All 14 Christopher Nolan Movies, Ranked By Rotten Tomatoes

Christopher Nolan has steadily become one of the most sought-after filmmakers of the modern day and age. The director has a total of 14 movies on Rotten Tomatoes, and every single one of them ranks 70% and above—and six of them rank above 90%.

Nolan’s first movie was the 1998 neo-noir Following, but his breakthrough came with the mind-bending Memento in 2000. Ever since then, Nolan has preserved a reputation for making artful, intellectually rigorous movies designed for true cinephiles that also happen to be thrilling mega-blockbusters. 

1. The Odyssey (2026) // 96%
2. The Dark Knight (2008) // 94%
3. Memento (2000) // 94%
4. Oppenheimer (2023) // 93%
5. Dunkirk (2017) // 92%
6. Insomnia (2002) // 92%
7. The Dark Knight Rises (2012) // 87%
8. Inception (2010) // 87%
9. Following (1998) // 87%
10. Batman Begins (2005) // 85%
11. The Prestige (2006) // 76%
12. Interstellar (2014) // 73%
13. Tenet (2020) // 70%

The Odyssey (2026) // 96%

As of July 17, 2026, Nolan's film The Odyssey had a 96% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer. The film adapts Homer's epic poem about a king's journey home after the Trojan War for the big screen and the modern era while preserving its timeless impact. The film also features a star-studded cast, including Matt Damon as Odysseus. Critics praised every aspect of the movie, from its direction to its resonant interpretation of the ancient story.

The Dark Knight (2008) // 94%

Heath Ledger famously stars as the Joker in this atmospheric thriller, which follows Batman (Christian Bale) as he explores the boundaries of his own morality while attempting to put an end to the Joker’s reign of terror. The film is beloved by fans of superhero films and cinephiles alike, and Ledger’s deep dive into the Joker’s fractured psyche is nothing short of revelatory. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes call it a “masterpiece” and “an incomparable crime thriller.”

Memento (2000) // 94%

Memento put Nolan’s name on the map, and for good reason. The film is a labyrinthine journey through memory and trauma that manages to be both mind-bending and narratively cohesive. 

It follows Leonard (Guy Pierce) as he attempts to track down the man who killed his wife. However, he also must contend with the fact that he is suffering from an extreme form of amnesia that causes his memory to reset every fifteen minutes, though he can remember everything from before the accident that caused the issue. What emerges is a narrative maze that reviewers largely agreed is both haunting and exhilarating to follow.

Oppenheimer (2023) // 93%

Oppenheimer saw Nolan turn his eyes towards the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist who was the director of World War II’s Manhattan Project and who is often called the “father of the atomic bomb.” 

In Nolan’s hands—and aided by an excellent performance by Cillian Murphy—Oppenheimer’s existential struggle with his creation becomes near-biblical in scope. That, paired with an extraordinary recreation of the bomb’s detonation and the ongoing real implications of Oppenheimer’s efforts—makes this one of Nolan’s most hard-hitting movies, with reviews to match.

Dunkirk (2017) // 92%

Dunkirk also finds Nolan casting his eyes to history. This film explores efforts to rescue Allied troops trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk in May 1940 by German forces. It puts a more atmospheric, quiet spin on a classic war story, but maintains a sense of tension and desperation throughout. Reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes praised the film’s technical effects, cinematography, and score, but some criticized a lack of emotional depth within its characters. 

Insomnia (2002) // 92%

Insomnia, a remake of the 1997 Norwegian film of the same name, stars Al Pacino as a police detective sent to a town in Alaska to investigate a young girl’s murder. The movie follows him as he is drawn into a complex web of secrets while pursuing his primary suspect, portrayed by Robin Williams. Reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes praised the depth of Pacino’s moral complexity and the film’s disorienting and eerie atmosphere, though others critiqued elements of the narrative.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) // 87%

The third film in Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy finds Batman forced out of retirement to face new threats to Gotham City, including a looming nuclear attack by the villainous Bane (Tom Hardy). Reviewers called it a “satisfying finale” to a game-changing trilogy, and widely praised Nolan’s directing and widely praised the depth of the characters here.

Inception (2010) // 87%

Inception follows Leonardo DiCaprio as a thief who steals secrets from people’s dreams. That mind-bending premise only grows more complex when DiCaprio’s character takes on the risky, reality-warping task of implementing an idea into someone’s mind. 

The movie explores the thin boundary between dreams and waking life, and works both as an intricate puzzle and a narratively cohesive character study. Reviewers widely praised the film’s incredible depth and intellectual complexity, with only a few critics calling it excessively confusing. 

Following (1998) // 87%

Nolan’s first film is Following, which he wrote, produced, directed, and edited, all on a tight budget. The film follows an unemployed writer as he searches for inspiration for a novel across London. Soon, he finds himself being drawn deeper and deeper into a criminal underworld by a thief with an unusual approach to morality.

Here, you can already see the classic staples of a Nolan film—the moral complexity, the atmospheric setting, and a mind-bending narrative that makes you question everything and trust nothing. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes largely praised all aspects of Nolan’s debut, though some argued that its narrative was too fragmented and complex to be cohesive. 

Batman Begins (2005) // 85%

Nolan kicked off his Dark Knight trilogy with this film, which presents a fresh origin story for Batman (Christian Bale). It follows a young Bruce Wayne as he trains in the Far East and eventually becomes Batman. 

The movie has been widely credited with moving superhero movies away from bombastic cliches and into a much darker, more complex era. By focusing deeply on Batman’s psychology and the trauma behind his motivations, Nolan created one of the most influential superhero trilogies ever and changed cinema for good. It all started here, with a movie that critics on Rotten Tomatoes praised for everything from its technical prowess to its fascinating darkness.

The Prestige (2006) // 76%

Nolan’s Prestige follows the rivalry between two 19th-century magicians, played by Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman. As their feud escalates, so does the drama. Reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes largely call this film “magical” and “gorgeous,” with many particularly praising its unexpected twists—though some found it too full of smoke and mirrors instead of real magic.

Interstellar (2014) // 73%

Nolan looked to the skies for this galaxy-hopping film, which follows a group of astronauts as they look for a new place for humanity to live as Earth succumbs to famine and chaos. Weaving physics, astronomy, and a deep sense of heart, the film awes with its stunning space-based action sequences. 

Reviewers praised the film’s ability to balance rigorous science with a profound sense of humanity, with many seeing it as a pivotal achievement in cinema. As usual, though, a rare few found it overly pretentious and confusing.

Tenet (2020) // 70%

Nolan’s lowest-ranked film on Rotten Tomatoes is Tenet, which follows a secret agent as he attempts to stop World War III. Here, Nolan takes on the mystery of time itself, and what emerges is one of his most narratively complex efforts. Some critiqued the film’s complexity and lack of emotional depth, though others loved its ambition and scale. 

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