Before Inception, this was Nolan's body of work...
- 2000: Memento
- 2002: Insomnia
- 2005: Batman Begins
- 2006: The Prestige
- 2008: The Dark Knight
We already knew he had something special, and then TDK obviously sent him into the stratosphere. But for me, seeing Inception for the first time, with a big group of friends, opening weekend, on a Saturday afternoon in IMAX, roughly 2/3 of the way through was when I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Nolan was an all-timer, and that from then on out he would be someone who's movies I anticipated more than maybe anyone else's. Specifically, it was at the moment the van with Cobb & co was falling off the bridge in super slow motion, and the mechanics of the various dream layers were on full display, that I was having my mind blown in a way I hadn't experienced since The Matrix. I remember sitting next to a friend, who was Michael Mann's former assistant - someone who had certainly seen some **** - and we both quietly gasped "Whoa"/"Holy ****" at the exact same time.
Afterwards, we all went and had dinner at Pitfire Pizza and couldn't stop talking about the movie, still not 100% sure what was what, trying to sort it all out, and just riding that high for hours. Then I think I went back and saw it alone either the next day or a couple days later, and was blown away all over again, once everything really clicked into place.
Personally, I'd say TDK and Inception were the best in-theater Nolan experiences, hands down. I may have come to love other movies of his more, but nothing will top seeing those two, in IMAX, opening weekend, and just how staggering they felt when they finally cut to black at the end and the credits came up.