The editorial team of the 'After Credits' project decided to compile our top 10 Christopher Nolan films, ranking them from worst to best.

After a long brainstorming session and engaging debates, the 'After Credits' team is pleased to present our top 10 films by Christopher Nolan, released over the years and ranked from worst to best. Let's celebrate the release of 'Tenet' (alas, not included in the list, since not all of us have seen it yet) and figure out: is Nolan a genius?

10. The Dark Knight Rises

The decision on Nolan's least successful (which doesn't mean 'bad') film was almost unanimous. 'TDKR' is chaotic, introduces new characters it doesn't know how to handle, tries to conclude the entire film series while being a standalone work, constantly maneuvering between these two tasks. The film is overlong, plot holes are hard to ignore, and the level of pathos is off the charts – but that doesn't mean you should beat your chest if you like it. The flaws are compensated by excellent acting, a wonderful soundtrack, and very high-quality direction. Perhaps if the previous 'The Dark Knight' hadn't been so good, this film would be perceived differently. But we have what we have. And this is definitely (again, in our humble opinion) Nolan's weakest feature film.

9. Dunkirk

War dramas need to be approached with knowledge and an understanding of what you want to say to the audience. Alas, 'Dunkirk' didn't shine as much as viewers hoped. Again, the film is very, very good, but it ended up being a strange attempt to recreate 'Saving Private Ryan' with a small twist in the form of three storylines unfolding over different time periods. After watching the film in theaters, audiences came out deeply impressed – and unfortunately, that impression fades very quickly, leaving a slight aftertaste of secondhandness. Perhaps the inflated expectations from the line 'directed by Christopher Nolan' influence viewer opinion too much?

8. Insomnia

A well-made, solid, atmospheric detective with an interesting plot – all this can be confidently said about Erik Skjoldbjærg's film 'Insomnia'. And then in 2002, a Hollywood remake by Christopher Nolan comes out, starring the excellent Al Pacino and Robin Williams. The strange effect this film produces can perhaps be explained by the fact that Nolan loves to explore the same thoughts and ideas about self-deception and self-sacrifice, which in this case don't mesh very well with the original film's concept. Nevertheless, the film is interesting and makes an impression, as evidenced by the approval of Erik Skjoldbjærg himself. But that wasn't enough for us.

7. Interstellar

To the loud indignation of one editor who absolutely loves this film and definitely saw it in the top three, the sci-fi 'Interstellar', highly praised by critics and called a true masterpiece of cinema by many movie lovers, stopped its march through our top at only seventh place. Why is that? We tried hard to justify it. However, the otherworldly soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, mesmerizing direction, and impeccable acting cannot completely overshadow both the incredible pomposity of what's happening on screen and the plot holes the size of the black holes shown. Plus, the very effect of a 'universally accepted masterpiece', so persistently imposed from all sides, leads to rejection of the film by many cinema lovers. That's just how it is.

6. Following

For a debut work, the neo-noir 'Following' is almost perfect. It's more than enough to showcase the director's style, the themes that concern him, and the interesting techniques he uses to realize his ideas. Of course, at this stage of Nolan's development, a slight uncertainty and attempts to find something worthwhile are still visible, but the film (with its meager budget of $6,000) is undoubtedly very good and deserves only praise, even if it can't compete for a higher spot in our top.

5. Batman Begins

After the successful films of Tim Burton and... ahem... the not-so-successful films of Joel Schumacher, rebooting the Batman franchise was an extremely difficult task – telling the story of the caped crusader once again in a fresh and interesting way seemed almost impossible. But miracles happen, and Christopher Nolan's version not only exceeded expectations but also sparked a new wave of popularity for the character in particular and DC film adaptations in general. Despite a fairly standard plot, the talents of Nolan, Bale, Freeman, Murphy, Neeson, and Caine managed to elevate the film to a qualitatively different level. We appreciated it.

A small aside to share an interesting fact with you – the first four places are occupied by films, each of which was placed first in the personal top of one of the four editors surveyed. But democracy is democracy, we had to reach a compromise.

4. The Prestige

The amazing drama 'The Prestige' (again, deviating significantly from the ideas of the source material, but this time for the better) is very hard to explain, and understanding its success is also not easy. It tries to deceive the viewer several times – and each time the viewer is happy with the deception and welcomes each new deception with open arms. The theme of illusion creates a wonderful playground for Nolan, who, like a magician, shows us his empty sleeves, only to pull out a live canary the next second, along with unconventional roles for Bale and Jackman. What slightly prevents this film from climbing higher is a touch of unreality in the final reveal – but this film will definitely not leave you indifferent.

3. Inception

Will the top fall? Is it really Cobb's true totem? These and many other questions still haunt fans of 'Inception', a film about a dream within a dream within a dream, a film so multi-layered that the effect it produces will not let go of the stunned viewer for a long time. The strange combination of ideas, visuals, music, and plot does not oppress, but on the contrary, by the time the end credits roll, it allows you to feel like a very smart and thinking person. And Leonardo DiCaprio and his team simply tell the intended story with astonishing subtlety under Christopher's careful guidance. Bravo.

2. The Dark Knight

One really wants to put into the Joker's mouth a phrase from another popular character: 'Chaos is a ladder.' A subtle, almost scientific study of the origin of evil and its fundamental difference from good, disguised as a Batman film. How rarely such experiments are brought to life even somewhat successfully! And it's all the more pleasant to see that 'The Dark Knight' was a resounding success and is truly beautiful intellectual cinema. Of course, we cannot ignore the brilliant performance of Heath Ledger – his portrayal of the Joker became a true gold standard for how to depict villains in cinema and contrast them with the main characters.

1. Memento

We don't know what made this film a success. The theme? The plot? The brilliant way to depict the protagonist's amnesia so that the viewer experiences all the events along with him and feels the same confusion? It seems that such an effective technique for non-linear storytelling is hard to conceive and even harder to bring to life, but Nolan succeeded already in his second feature film. Moreover, the aspect of the film concerning the nature of Sammy Jankins' existence is not always understood even by viewers who have watched 'Memento' multiple times. What is that, if not a sign of genius?

Do you agree with the ranking in this top? Which Nolan film do you love the most?

You can read a review of Christopher Nolan's new film 'Tenet' here.