The Best Part of "Godzilla"

"One of the things you do as a writer and as a filmmaker is grasp for resonant symbols and imagery without necessarily fully understanding it yourself." — Christopher Nolan

"Godzilla" opened on Friday. It's the latest in what will be a long line of summer blockbusters the next four months. It was the biggest opening of the year, and it's a fine monster film. But the best part of that experience had nothing to do with the work by Gareth Edwards or anyone else responsible for bringing "Godzilla" back to life. The best part was what came before the film.

"Interstellar" — the latest film from Christopher Nolan — opens in November. It's full-length trailer debuted on Friday, running in front of "Godzilla." And it, more than anything that came after it, was what I loved most about my "Godzilla" movie-going experience.

Nolan is a rare talent and an excellent storyteller. He grapples with tough questions and subjects, often without giving a definitive answer. His quote about this, which opened this post, perfectly describes the brilliant and challenging way his films affect audiences.

I loved that Nolan took on the Batman franchise. Batman is my favorite superhero, and Nolan delivered an incredible, and incredibly thought-provoking take on that world. He also gave us, perhaps, the greatest superhero film of all time in "The Dark Knight." We could argue about that, but to me it's not only the greatest superhero film ever made, but one of the best films ever made.

Though I loved and appreciated his contribution to the comic book genre — and the way he managed to make films that transcended that genre — I am more excited that he's back to crafting original stories. His films are always incredible, and incredible puzzles.

This began with his first feature, "Memento," a movie that was shot in reverse. While that's not my favorite, I own all the rest of Nolan's films. I loved the feeling of fatigue and confusion that bleeds through "Insomnia," in addition to a fascinating performance from Robin Williams. Another of his films, "The Prestige," doesn't draw as many accolades, but is still a fascinating piece with incredible performances.

In between "Dark Knight" sequels, Nolan delivered "Inception," which was one of the best films the year it came out. It perfectly illustrated the way Nolan grapples with tough subjects, creates emotionally resonant characters, and doesn't tie things into a neat bow. In fact, there is great debate over how the film really ended. That's the mark of a talented and deep filmmaker.

From what we see of "Interstellar" in its trailer, we can expect more of the same this November. Nolan is a talented filmmaker that brings a different perspective to storytelling. It's exciting to see that he's back to plying that trade to a world of his own design.