What is Christopher Nolan‘s best movie? The answer might vary among cinephiles, thanks to Nolan’s filmography, which spans a wide variety of genres. Some would point to Memento, as its non-linear structure makes for a compelling mystery. Others would throw The Dark Knight trilogy into the ring, as it helped put Nolan on the map and showcased that superheroes can be taken seriously when in the right hands. The best answer is a movie that Nolan made 12 years ago, a science fiction odyssey that still holds up today. It also contains two key elements that helped cement Nolan as a top-tier filmmaker.
That movie is none other than Interstellar. Released in 2014, Interstellar is the story of Joseph Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), an astronaut-turned-farmer who struggles to make a living on a ravaged Earth. When a series of mysterious events begins at his home, Cooper stumbles upon a group of scientists on a mission to save Earth and winds up traveling into space to find a new home for humanity. While Interstellar might draw attention for its daring premise or its star-studded cast, which includes Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain, there’s more to this movie than meets the eye.
‘Interstellar’ Shatters A Myth About Christopher Nolan
Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway in ‘Interstellar’Image via Paramount Pictures
Prior to Interstellar, Nolan was often labeled as being a “cold” director due to the more realistic bent of his movies. Inception was mostly twisty architecture and spinning tops, despite being set in a world where you could build anything in your dreams, and the Dark Knight movies seemed to relish ripping away any semblance of a normal life from Batman. Interstellar changes the game, as it’s a movie that is built on the idea that love can save the world. Cooper’s journey means he has to leave his daughter, Murph, behind, and the scene where he drives away is heartbreaking thanks to McConaughey’s tear-jerking performance. It’s one of many times that Interstellar pulls at its audience’s heartstrings, but that’s nothing compared to the jaw-dropping ending.
Towards the end of Interstellar, Cooper falls into a massive black hole and winds up at a certain point in space-time, which happens to be Murph’s bedroom. It’s revealed that Cooper was the “ghost” who caused the disturbances that led him to travel into space, which, to this day, remains one of the best plot twists in any Nolan movie. It also underscores Cooper’s love for his daughter, as he can communicate with her through the space-time fracture and provide her withthe information she needs to save Earth. Early in the movie, Hathaway’s Amelia Brand tells Cooper, “Love is the one thing that we’re capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space.” Interstellar is hell-bent on proving her right.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
The Matrix
Mad Max
Blade Runner
Dune
Star Wars
01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
Thanks to ‘Interstellar’, Christopher Nolan’s Movies Are Now Must-See Events
Interstellar was a smash success, becoming one of the top ten highest-grossing movies of 2014 and earning considerable critical praise. It also marked a trend of Nolan shooting primarily in IMAX, as he used IMAX 70mm for key space-set sequences. While Nolan had previously used IMAX for a major sequence in The Dark Knight Rises, Interstellar is one of the first movies to use the format primarily as a selling point. It also marked the beginning of Nolan’s collaborations with cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, who’s worked on all of Nolan’s movies, including the upcoming Greek epic The Odyssey.
The major push of the IMAX format and the sheer scope of its story made Interstellar feel like a can’t-miss cinematic event, and that effect has spread throughout the rest of Nolan’s filmography. In an age when most movies rely on intellectual property, Nolan is one of the few directors who can sell a movie on his reputation alone. The strongest evidence of this lies in Interstellar‘s 10th-anniversary re-release, which drew a significant audience and a record-breaking box-office haul for a movie in IMAX. Though time might have passed, Interstellar remains the Christopher Nolan movie to beat.
