Please note: This article was originally written in 2017.

Christopher Nolan has easily become a household name and is regarded as one of the best working filmmakers today, and for good reason. He has been working in the industry since 1998 and his diverse filmography shows how truly talented he is. Not only is he behind the camera, but he is also in front of a screen - Nolan has directed ten feature films and also helped write nine of these films. With the release of Dunkirk, Nolan continues to prove why so many people love his work.

I recently watched Following before seeing Dunkirk, so I have now watched every Nolan feature film. Seeing as I'm a huge Nolan fan and he is easily one of my favorite directors, I thought it would be appropriate to rank all of his films. I genuinely believe all of his films are great, and there isn't one that I dislike. However, please keep in mind that this is my own personal list and my order is just based on my own opinion. Let's get started!

#10: Following

First of all, let's get something straight: Following is actually a pretty good first film from Nolan, and not a bad movie by any means. In fact, this movie really surprised me. Clocking it at only 70 minutes, Following was made on a mere budget of $6,000, which is unbelievably low even for independent film standards. Nolan used his own money to make Following, and could only film on the weekends based on the actors' availability. Right away with Nolan's first movie, it's clear that he had an ambitious and creative drive that paved the way for the rest of his work, and Following showed off what potential Nolan had. While this film isn't amazing and suffers a bit in the acting department, it still has a lot to offer. Many parts are reminiscent of his next film, Memento, due to the nonlinear storytelling structure. However, Nolan perfected this format in Memento, and some cuts in Following can come off as jarring and a bit confusing or random. Despite this, I didn't see the ending of Following coming and I was pleasantly surprised with the movie. This film proves that you don't need a lot of money or A-list actors to make a good movie.

#9: Insomnia

Insomnia is the only film that Nolan does not have a writing credit in. The film is actually a remake of a Norwegian film with the same name, but I haven't seen the original film so I can't compare the two. While Insomnia is a very well acted movie and shows a new side of Robin Williams' acting abilities, the movie didn't quite capture my attention.

#8: The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises is a fantastic film, but just doesn't live up to The Dark Knight and, in my opinion, Batman Begins. Compared to the other amazing villains in the first two films, Bane just wasn't as memorable to me. Tom Hardy did a great job playing the character, but he didn't terrify me or blow me away like Heath Ledger's Joker or Cillian Murphy's Scarecrow.

#7: Batman Begins

I feel like Cillian Murphy and Liam Neeson's performances in Batman Begins are both underrated. No one talks about them enough, but both kill it (pun intended). Batman Begins is, surprisingly, the first film to portray Bruce Wayne/Batman's origin story. I know a majority of people don't care about origin stories for popular superheroes anymore since everyone knows them by now, but I actually love origin stories. I love seeing character development in film, so I think that's why I love origin stories.

#6: Inception

Unpopular opinion: I really like Inception and it's a superb film, but I think it's a bit overrated. Please don't click out of this article, I promise everything will be okay. Don't get me wrong, Inception is a fantastic film in every aspect - direction, cinematography, score, writing, acting, story. It has everything about a film that should make me love it (Leonardo DiCaprio AND Joseph Gordon-Levitt?? Sign me up!), but it just never captured me like other Nolan movies. Unlike my top 3 Nolan films, Inception was never a movie that I couldn't stop thinking about. Everyone had told me it was such a confusing movie that I wouldn't understand, but I understood everything after a single viewing. Don't get me wrong, Inception still blew my mind and I think it's a genius film. I understand why it's such a highly praised film, as it deserves to be, but I just don't think it's as good as Nolan's other films. If anything, that just shows how amazing Nolan's other work is.

#5: Dunkirk

I should probably start off by saying that I love war movies. I went into Dunkirk expecting to like it because it's a war movie AND directed/written by Nolan. However, I was scared that I wouldn't like it as much as Nolan's other movies because it isn't a psych thriller and isn't one of the movies that's meant to blow my mind. Boy, was I wrong. Dunkirk blew me away, despite it being different from Nolan's other movies. The film essentially feels like one long scene that never ends, and I was never able to catch my breath the whole time. One of the most genius aspects of Dunkirk lies in its haunting score, composed by the brilliant Hans Zimmer (Zimmer and Nolan's fifth collaboration together). The ticking clock melody perfectly complements the film and was recorded using Nolan's actual watch. Hearing a ticking clock makes the already insanely intense film even more stressful. It's an incredibly immersive experience that I will never forget, and it's the kind of film that begs to be watched on the big screen.

#4: The Dark Knight

What is there to be said about The Dark Knight that hasn't already been said? It's rare to find superhero movies where you want to see more of the character behind the mask as opposed to the hero, but The Dark Knight and the entire trilogy perfectly embodies this. We love Bruce Wayne. We sympathize with Bruce Wayne. And it is so hard to watch Bruce Wayne fail in The Dark Knight. I will never forget the first time I watched The Dark Knight and how much it blew me away, particularly the ending.

#3: Interstellar

I feel like Interstellar is a "love it or hate it" kind of movie. Personally, I adore Interstellar. Like many of Nolan's other films, I love it more each time I rewatch it. Hans Zimmer's beautiful score is my favorite in any Nolan film to date, and it is truly out of this world (ha ha ha). It's one of my all time favorite movie scores and carries so much emotion. Pairing Zimmer's score with each scene is truly indescribable. At the core of this sci-fi film is a story of humanity and love, and Interstellar never fails to move me emotionally every time I rewatch it. Despite its run time of almost three hours, Interstellar never feels long to me and there isn't a single scene that I would cut out. I was so engrossed in the world that Nolan created in Interstellar and I never wanted to leave.

#2: The Prestige

The Prestige perfectly encapsulates every Nolan film. The premise follows two obsessed magicians and the film is essentially a magic trick in it of itself. It is meticulously crafted to perfection and is incredibly well written. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale are fantastic in their roles. The Prestige is the kind of movie that gets better every time you rewatch it. As someone who used to be obsessed with magic (ask me to show you a card trick), this film strikes a particular chord in me. I believe The Prestige is extremely underrated when compared to Nolan's other films, which are talked about way more (i.e., Inception; don't @ me bro). I don't have a single flaw with the movie, and it never fails to blow me away. It is truly a magical film.

#1: Memento

I truly believe that Memento is a perfect film. For Nolan's second feature film (and honestly, his first "real" movie with an actual budget), it is truly amazing what he was able to accomplish. The nonlinear storytelling structure is executed flawlessly, and I love how everything perfectly comes together at the end. Similar to Nolan's other movies, Memento gets better on rewatch and begs to be seen more than once. It's a difficult film to swallow on a single viewing, and I always discover something new despite rewatching this movie probably more than five times. It's a film that I couldn't stop thinking about after I first watched it, and it hasn't left my mind since. Everything about Memento was so revolutionary and Nolan's attention to detail truly paid off. The main characters (Leonard, Teddy, and Natalie) are all very memorable. I cannot praise Memento enough, and I could talk about how much I love this film for hours. If you haven't already seen Memento, do yourself a favor and watch it (multiple times!).

Thank you for reading my ranked list of every Christopher Nolan film! If you agree or disagree with my choices, let me know in the comments below or Tweet me @shinjanaytor!