The best Christopher Nolan movies, ranked (including Oppenheimer)

2. The Dark Knight

If you haven’t seen The Dark Knight, you’re seriously missing out. Nolan continued his Dark Knight trilogy in 2008 with the sequel and completely blew audiences away. There are so many good things to say about this movie. Let’s start with the amazing cast.

Christian Bale reprises his role as Bruce Wayne in The Dark Knight, with Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman also returning. Of course, the biggest highlight of the movie is the late Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker. His performance is widely regarded as one of the best in movie history, embodying the level of chaos needed for the iconic villain. The intensity and unpredictability he brought to the role are both intimidating and captivating to watch.

Ledger truly transformed for the role and transcended the superhero genre with his remarkable performance. The Dark Knight hit theaters just months after the actor’s tragic death, and he ended up posthumously winning an Academy Award.

Apart from the acting, The Dark Knight is the best entry in Nolan’s Batman trilogy because of its dark and gritty tone, great pacing, awesome action sequences, and overall impressive cinematography. The storytelling is easy enough for anyone to understand — especially compared to Nolan’s other works — while challenging the viewer at the same time.

It’s not hard to believe The Dark Knight is Nolan’s top-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes.