Christopher Nolan makes no distinction between high and low cinema — at least, not when it comes to one multibillion-dollar franchise.
The “Oppenheimer” director, who has constructed some of the most ambitious blockbusters of recent years, astounded Wednesday’s “Late Show” audience by discussing his passion for the “Fast & Furious” movies.
Nolan has often sought to infuse pathos and sophistication into his work, even when making “Batman” films, but he told late night host Stephen Colbert that “I have no guilt” about being a “Fast” fan.
Colbert, meanwhile, hasn’t seen a single installment.
“You’ve never seen any of them?” Nolan asked incredulously on the “Late Show.”
“I watch those movies all the time,” he continued. “I love them. I’m amazed you’ve never seen one of them. ... It’s only the last few where a very specific art and mythology develop. I would start with ‘Tokyo Drift’ and just watch that as its own thing.”
The 2006 movie that Nolan mentioned isn’t actually a direct sequel to the first two films, which the “Inception” director hilariously forgot — to a rather warranted zinger from Colbert: “Did I just catch Chris Nolan not understanding something about time?”
Some might be surprised that the British American auteur, who exclusively wears suits while directing, called the “Fast” series a “tremendous action franchise.” Others may note that the films have at times included engrossing set pieces, despite their cartoonish plots.
Nolan himself hasn’t shied away from premises that may appear ridiculous on the surface, as he famously reinvigorated the “Batman” franchise to Oscar-winning success and made an impressively dramatic thriller about dueling magicians.
The “Fast” franchise began humbly in 2001, with the late Paul Walker starring as a police officer who falls in love with the street-racing world he’s tasked to investigate. The original film spawned a number of sequels — to a reported gross of more than $7 billion worldwide.
Nolan, whose latest film is currently up for 13 Academy Awards, has also discussed his “Fast” fandom in the past.
“I’ve got a very soft spot for ‘Tokyo Drift,’ actually,” he once said on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast. “And then the skill as the … iterations got crazier and bigger and crazier and bigger, they became something else — but something else kind of fun.”