Current Events > I think Christopher Nolan has jumped the shark.

(+) Yeah! (+)

He did a few films that were all excellent, but his 2 latest films, i.e. Interstellar and Dunkirk, were both just good. I mean, I enjoyed them, but they were certainly weren't on the same level as Inception.

What do you think? He has jumped the shark, or am I just being too subjective?

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I don't think you know what that term means.
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I think youre something alright.

I think youre S..unhawk

Kitt posted...

I don't think you know what that term means.

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He's a hack that relies on out of sequence storytelling far too much. His newer films aren't any worse than his earlier ones, people are just getting bored of the gimmick.
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Sure I do. It's when there's a big drop-off in quality, and it usually stays that way for the rest of the TV series / video game series / person's career.

Why did you think I didn't know what it meant?

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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark
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Youre being too subjective lol
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Sunhawk posted...

Sure I do. It's when there's a big drop-off in quality, and it usually stays that way for the rest of the TV series / video game series / person's career.

Why did you think I didn't know what it meant?

Thats not actually what it means.
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Sunhawk posted...

Sure I do. It's when there's a big drop-off in quality, and it usually stays that way for the rest of the TV series / video game series / person's career.

Not necessarily. It's when something isn't as popular as it once was and it resorts to doing more outlandish things to try garner back the attention to itself.
This isn't the case with Nolan at all.
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The best example of jumping the shark is probably when The Fonze jumped over a shark in Happy Days.
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that wiki article itself is way too broad and justifies misusing the term. it is this:

Originally the phrase was used to describe an episode of a television comedy with a gimmick or unlikely occurrence desperately attempting to keep viewers' interest. Moments labeled as "jumping the shark" are considered indications that writers have exhausted their focus; that the show has strayed irretrievably from an older and better formula; or that the series as a whole is declining in quality

and it specifically calls back to when fonzie literally jumped a shark on happy days
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Kitt posted...

Sunhawk posted...

Sure I do. It's when there's a big drop-off in quality, and it usually stays that way for the rest of the TV series / video game series / person's career.

Not necessarily. It's when something isn't as popular as it once was and it resorts to doing more outlandish things to try garner back the attention to itself.
This isn't the case with Nolan at all.

You don't think Interstellar was an outlandish film? It had space travel, time travel, and AI life forms. When has Nolan done those things before?

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Also, with regards to popularity, very few would say New Simpsons is nearly as good as Old Simpsons, but plenty of people still apparently watch it. I don't know the exact viewing figures, but it's still seemingly popular. The quality has dropped a lot, though...like with Nolan, IMO.
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SpiralDrift posted...

He's a hack that relies on out of sequence storytelling far too much.

The only film truly out of sequence was Memento and that was a great film

You're trying to hard to hate, which proves he's great
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Sunhawk posted...

Kitt posted...

Sunhawk posted...

Sure I do. It's when there's a big drop-off in quality, and it usually stays that way for the rest of the TV series / video game series / person's career.

Not necessarily. It's when something isn't as popular as it once was and it resorts to doing more outlandish things to try garner back the attention to itself.
This isn't the case with Nolan at all.

You don't think Interstellar was an outlandish film? It had space travel, time travel, and AI life forms. When has Nolan done those things before?

His first big movie was about a vigilante superhero billionaire who could defeat 100 men at once in hand-to-hand combat and drove around in a tank that could drive as fast as cars, jump rooftops, and shoot missiles.
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Sometimes also it's not just desperation for ratings, but like they might have a popular character that they want to spotlight but don't know how to do it so they just make him jump over a shark, but it kills the character's mystique because it was so stupid and then ratings start to suffer.
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You know, I was surprised at Dunkirk. It really wasn't very entertaining to watch. I can't believe how boring they made WW2 seem, you know? This is one of the few times I'll say this, but Dunkirk tried to be too arthousey. I would've rather had shit blowing up, and people shooting at each other.

I can't believe I just wrote those last two sentences.

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Sunhawk posted...

Kitt posted...

Sunhawk posted...

Sure I do. It's when there's a big drop-off in quality, and it usually stays that way for the rest of the TV series / video game series / person's career.

Not necessarily. It's when something isn't as popular as it once was and it resorts to doing more outlandish things to try garner back the attention to itself.
This isn't the case with Nolan at all.

You don't think Interstellar was an outlandish film? It had space travel, time travel, and AI life forms. When has Nolan done those things before?

Sci-Fi is nothing new to him. Inception is just as, if not, more absurd than Interstellar. And Dunkirk is way less absurd and more grounded than both of them. These movies clearly weren't made specifically as a desperate attempt to win back an audience on his films.
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So many Nolan shills in this topic. ;_;

Loaded question: how much are you lot being paid to big him up?

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I havent seen Dunkirk, and didnt really like Inception. Interstellar, I agree, was good but not great (with some great mornts though).

Im not a shill, I just dont think hes jumped the shark. He may be past his prime, blockbuster-wise, but I think critically some of the stuff he did with Dunkirk was really lauded.
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Sunhawk posted...

So many Nolan shills in this topic. ;_;

Loaded question: how much are you lot being paid to big him up?

I don't really like his films like that. I'm just pointing out that you used that phrase wrong.
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Interstellar is his best movie.
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Sunhawk posted...

You know, I was surprised at Dunkirk. It really wasn't very entertaining to watch. I can't believe how boring they made WW2 seem, you know? This is one of the few times I'll say this, but Dunkirk tried to be too arthousey. I would've rather had shit blowing up, and people shooting at each other.

I can't believe I just wrote those last two sentences.

ive only seen dunkirk in theatres, but it was one of the most nerve-wracking movies ive ever seen. super stressful.

to me it is one of the most visceral movies about war and it stands out compared to most by-the-books war movies.

but it is not my favorite. and i doubt its a movie that many will keep coming back to again and again like full metal jacket or saving private ryan.

still loved the theatre experience of this movie tho.
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Kitt posted...

Sunhawk posted...

So many Nolan shills in this topic. ;_;

Loaded question: how much are you lot being paid to big him up?

I don't really like his films like that. I'm just pointing out that you used that phrase wrong.

I didn't use the phrase wrong. Stop annoying me.

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Nolan jumped the shark after The Dark Knight.
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Interstellar and Dunkirk were both much better than The Dark Knight Rises and Inception.

His last truly amazing film was The Prestige.
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I've never seen The Prestige, but I thought it looked like garbage. Just a bunch of Brits acting like jerks.
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Inception was really stupid. I don't know how it got so huge.
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Sunhawk posted...

I've never seen The Prestige, but I thought it looked like garbage. Just a bunch of Brits acting like jerks.

the prestige is good.

and dont be so judgmental dawg
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SpiralDrift posted...

Inception was really stupid. I don't know how it got so huge.

I thought it was great. Some problems, but nothing too serious. Even if you hated the plot, characters, and ideas, the action was still excellent. I remember seeing it at the cinema, and thinking how brilliant the action was.

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Sunhawk posted...

Kitt posted...

Sunhawk posted...

So many Nolan shills in this topic. ;_;

Loaded question: how much are you lot being paid to big him up?

I don't really like his films like that. I'm just pointing out that you used that phrase wrong.

I didn't use the phrase wrong. Stop annoying me.

Whatever helps you sleep at night.
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Sunhawk posted...

I've never seen The Prestige, but I thought it looked like garbage. Just a bunch of Brits acting like jerks.

It's a great film.

If it were just about people acting like jerks you should really enjoy it as you'd be able to relate to it better than most.
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Squall28 posted...

Interstellar is his best movie.

I think so too. First time I saw it no, but now definitely
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Interstellar and Dunkirk are both better than Inception.
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2012 topic
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For Nolan to truly jump the shark, his next film would need to be something like an Adam Sandler comedy. Something so outlandish and unlike him in the hopes that the gimmick would get butts into seats just for the shock effect.
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What is a zanzenburger, anyway?
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1. The Dark Knight
2. Memento
3. Batman Begins
4. Dunkirk
5. Interstellar
6. The Dark Knight Rises
7. Inception
8. Insomnia
9. The Prestige
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ledbowman posted...

1. The Dark Knight
2. Memento
3. Batman Begins
4. Dunkirk
5. Interstellar
6. The Dark Knight Rises
7. Inception
8. Insomnia
9. The Prestige

Terrible rankings IMO.

Should be:

1. The Prestige
2. Batman Begins
3. Moment
4. Interstellar
5. The Dark Knight
6. Dunkirk
7. Inception
8. Insomnia
9. The Dark Knight Rises (which, to be honest, shows that he was very lucky to have the success with Batman that he'd already had)
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