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Christopher Nolan names ‘Gladiator II’ as his favourite movie of 2024

Thu 19 December 2024 10:27, UK

It’s that time of year when the film industry begins looking back on the past 12 months and picking the movies that stood out, including Christopher Nolan, who has named Gladiator II as his favourite movie of 2024.

Writing in Variety, Nolan explained why he was so taken by Scott’s sequel to his 2000 hit, saying that the director didn’t attempt to draw explicit parallels to the present day with the film, but instead allowed it to speak for itself, “once again showing us who we are simply by inviting us to enjoy the crazy inflationary ride.”

“Crazy” and “inflationary” might not sound like compliments, but Nolan stresses that it’s the scale balanced with clarity of vision that makes Gladiator II a perfect encapsulation of Scott’s virtuosity. Not only does the director raise his own game with the action sequences, Nolan asserts, but he controls the chaos into “clear and jaw-dropping” sequences.

“The effect is not just to entertain,” Nolan says, “[B]ut to drive us towards awareness of the movie’s themes. Few filmmakers have ever worked so invisibly on multiple levels.”

Nolan is known for championing large-scale cinema and theatrical releases, having cited classic directors like Alfred Hitchcock and David Lean as a major inspirations. It is perhaps not surprising then that the Inception director would pick Gladiator II as the best movie of the year. Although not as universally beloved as other 2024 releases, it is the epitome of no-holds-barred filmmaking.

Christopher Nolan’s longstanding appreciation for Ridley Scott

Nolan also took the opportunity to speak about Scott’s career more broadly, saying that the Alien and director has never received the credit he deserves, and referencing Scott’s early work in advertising. “Visual innovations he and fellow directors from the British adland of the 1970s brought to cinema were often dismissed as superficial,” Nolan said, explaining that what critics missed at the time was that “the lavish photography and meticulous design brought new depth to the visual language of movies.”

This isn’t the first time that the Oppenheimer director has publicly praised Scott. He’s previously credited the Gladiator director with inspiring him to become a filmmaker, saying that the singularity of vision he saw woven through the director’s vast body of work made him realise his true calling.