New Delhi

Christopher Nolan's period drama Oppenheimer was arguably the best film of 2023. The director did not have any releases this year, barring the re-release of his iconic film Interstellar. The director, however, has picked his favourite film of 2024 and it is not Dune: Part Two. 

While speaking to Variety, Nolan stated that Ridley Scott's epic period action drama Gladiator II was his favourite film of the year. 

In a long note to Variety, Nolan stated, “Scott knows we’re not there for insights into Roman culture; we’re there to see our dark desires at a comfortable remove. But he’s far too experienced a director to get caught making parallels with our time. He lets the world of Gladiator II speak for itself, once again showing us who we are simply by inviting us to enjoy the crazy inflationary ride."

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“Like the best long-awaited sequels, “Gladiator II” must be a remake and sequel in one, and it’s a testament to Scott’s brilliance that he manages to balance the individual pathos of the original with the expansionist demands of the sequel’s central theme, bringing a lifetime of experience in controlling tone. Scott raises the game with the staging of his action — his incredible, hyper-observant, multi-camera mise-en-scène (so different to the original) masterfully wrestles the action into clear and jaw-dropping sequence after sequence. The effect is not just to entertain, but to drive us towards awareness of the movie’s themes. Few filmmakers have ever worked so invisibly on multiple levels,” Nolan added.

Nolan on Dune: Part Two

Nolan had earlier hailed another sequel that was released in 2024—Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi epic Dune: Part Two. Nolan had called the film a “miraculous job of adaptation.” Taking the second half and making an incredible conclusion to the story," said Nolan, adding, "What a remarkable piece of work."

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Nolan added, "If, to me, Dune was like Star Wars, then Dune 2 is The Empire Strikes Back, which is my favourite Star Wars film. I think it's just a great expansion of all that was introduced in the first one. What I was really struck by is the sense of immersion in that world," he continued.

Nolan shared, “It's a film that has so many unique images, so many things you've never seen before in this movie, time after time, and I was so struck by the detail of everything.”

Also read: King Charles 'liked' Oppenheimer: Christopher Nolan receives Knighthood, wife Emma is a Dame

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Nolan is working on the pre-production of his next, which stars Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Matt Damon, Charlize Theron, and Zendaya.

WION's review of Gladiator II

In her review of the film, WION's Shomini Sen wrote, "Many loved Gladiator for its scale and originality. 24 years down the line, there have been several similar stories made both for TV and the big screen. I do wish Gladiator II had given the revenge drama a slightly more unique spin than what they present because the actors are good, the scale is huge, and visually it's stunning with a great background score- but it's the tried and tested formulaic writing that wears the film down. " Read full review here