By Max McAuliff, Opinion Editor
Christopher Nolan is the most talented writer and director in the entertainment industry right now. Yes, more talented than Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg or even Martin Scorsese. Nolan consistently releases movies that not only receive great reviews, but that make a boatload of money at the box office as well. Movie studios today are all about making a profit and a movie studio can rely on Nolan to make a very large one. Whereas in comparison Scorsese released his last movie on Netflix.
Nolan has written and directed numerous blockbuster movies such as “Inception,”, “Interstellar” and the entire “The Dark Knight” trilogy.
“Inception” is known for being a mind-bending thrill ride that keeps the viewer guessing until after the credits roll. It was not until a few years ago that “Inception” actor Michael Caine spoke about what many believe to be the true meaning to the end of the movie.
“Interstellar,” on the other hand, stars Hollywood heavyweights Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and Michael Caine (again). “Interstellar” is another mind-bending tale that sends McConaughey and Hathaway on a journey into space to find a suitable planet to replace the dying Earth. While most believe “Inception” to be the superior movie, “Interstellar” is still a very good (and very high grossing) movie. It also spawned memes of a crying Matthew McConaughey that still to this day make the rounds on social media.
However, Nolan’s crown jewel and the movie series that cemented him as an elite writer/director is “The Dark Knight” trilogy. “The Dark Knight” trilogy is arguably the best superhero trilogy of all time thanks to Nolan’s gritty, modern take on Batman. The trilogy inspired superhero movies to try and take a more serious approach, however, none have been as successful as Nolan’s trilogy. Not only did the trilogy make a lot of money and receive critical praise, but it also received recognition from the Academy Awards. The late Heath Ledger won the Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for his role as The Joker in “The Dark Knight”. It is sufficient to say that “The Dark Knight” trilogy put Nolan on the map as a big-time writer/director that can be entrusted with a large budget because he will turn an even larger profit.
Nolan’s’ new release “Tenet” is a somewhat different story. The movie was originally supposed to come out in July, but instead wound up coming out Labor Day weekend after a couple of delays. Instead of being a high-grossing summer tentpole like most Nolan movies are, it seemed as if Warner Bros. forced it to come out. A lot of movie theaters in the country remain closed and “Tenet” lost a lot of money due to that. “Tenet” had the potential to make $1 billion and instead is sitting at a worldwide gross of $307 million according to Box Office Mojo. While that is certainly a high enough gross to cover the $200 million budget and make a profit, it is a significantly smaller amount than it could have made.
Nevertheless, Nolan is still one of the hottest writers/directors in Hollywood. Of course, Quentin Tarantino, Stephen Spielberg and Martin Scorsese are all great directors who have released Hollywood classics. But their time has passed, and Nolan has proven time and time again that he is the best director in Hollywood.
mcaulimr18@bonaventure.edu
