Summary
- Nolan includes major twists in most of his films, leading to satisfying conclusions.
- Nolan's work on The Dark Knight trilogy revolutionized Batman's story, making it dark and gripping.
- Nolan's best twist unfolds in "Tenet," revealing the Protagonist as the mastermind behind saving the world.
Christopher Nolan is one of the best directors in modern history, with a tendency to subvert expectations and include major twists in his films. Despite his incredible talents, Nolan is not a prolific director, as he takes his time with choosing the movies he works on and spends years crafting the story to get it to perfection. While this could be frustrating to eager fans who want to see more work from Nolan, it pays off with the overall quality of his projects.
In his career, Christopher Nolan has completed a total of 12 feature-length films since 1998. While this is a very small figure compared to some other directors, Nolan has also had almost every one of his films nominated for Oscars, and frequently takes home multiple wins. He is also a dedicated writer who frequently chooses to write the scripts himself or in collaboration with other creatives, such as his brother, Jonathan Nolan. With most of his films, Nolan also includes a major twist that leads to a satisfying and thought-provoking conclusion.
10 Talia al Ghul Was The Child In The Pit
The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Knight Rises
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The Dark Knight Rises is the final chapter in the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, with Christian Bale donning the cape and cowl once more to save Gotham City from certain destruction. Eight years after the events of The Dark Knight, Batman has left the public eye after taking the fall for the crimes committed by a twisted Harvey Dent. However, he is called back into action when a mysterious villain named Bane arrives to bring disorder to Gotham, forcing him to confront deeper, darker recesses of his past to be able to face a challenge he may not be ready for.
- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Release Date
- August 16, 2012
- Cast
- Christian Bale , Anne Hathaway , Michael Caine , Gary Oldman
- Runtime
- 2h 45m
One of Nolan's greatest achievements that brought him into the mainstream was his work on The Dark Knight trilogy, which redefined Batman in media. Prior to Nolan's version, Batman struggled to move past the wacky and odd versions that appeared in Adam West's TV show, then the Tim Burton films. While they crawled towards a darker story, Nolan completely shattered the ideas that came before and made the story dark, gritty, and incredibly gripping.
However, within the trilogy of a superhero story, there was only so much room to add in big twists. The character of Batman is well-known, as are many of his greatest rivals, and the city which he lives in. In order to work in a twist in movies like the third entry, The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan had to get creative. The movie built up the idea of this terrible pit before ultimately revealing that Talia al Ghul was the girl in the pit, and also the woman Miranda Tate in disguise.
9 Cobb Frames The Young Man
Following
However, Nolan has done far more with some of his other films to introduce intricate twists. Nolan's first feature length film, Following, was released in 1998. The story follows a young man who gets tied up with a criminal whom he aspires to emulate for his freedom and lifestyle. However, after a short period, he becomes tied up in dangerous crimes of murder and robbery that go beyond what he initially hoped for.
The film does a great job at putting the pieces in place and revealing the twist ending where Cobb, the criminal, has been conning the other man all along in order to use him as a scapegoat. The reason this twist is placed so low, however, is simply because the reveal didn't come as much of a surprise. Nolan was still honing his craft, and there were many more projects to explore beyond this feature debut.
8 Ra's al Ghul Is Henri Ducard And In Gotham
Batman Begins
Batman Begins
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Christopher Nolan's take on Batman's origin story sees Christian Bale take up the mantle of the Caped Crusader. Batman Begins follows young Bruce Wayne who, reeling from the murder of his wealthy parents, decides to become a vigilante in order to save Gotham City. This pits him against the mysterious League of Shadows, an organization intent on destroying Gotham with the help of the villainous Scarecrow and his powerful fear toxin.
- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Cast
- Ken Watanabe , Liam Neeson , Gary Oldman , Tom Wilkinson , Linus Roache , Christian Bale , Katie Holmes , Mark Boone Junior , Michael Caine , Rutger Hauer , Cillian Murphy , Morgan Freeman
- Runtime
- 2h 20m
Returning to the Batman films, Nolan's initial foray into the world of Batman was with Batman Begins in 2005. The origins of Bruce Wayne are revealed, with the brutal murder of his parents and his escape from Gotham to find himself and experience other things the world had to offer. Bruce trains with a man by the name of Ra's al Ghul who teaches him how to fight, and how to control his emotions.
However, when Bruce is back in Gotham, applying the skills he learned from his mentor to become the city's greatest protector, he is stunned to learn that his old friend is behind the recent criminal activities. Ra's had been posing as a man by the name of Henri Ducard, but his true intentions were to send the city of Gotham into chaos and ruin. This twist was once again well executed, leaving a lasting impression after the movie ends.