Nolan vs Shyamalan

Not even comparable.

Shyamalan had a couple of great movies, and the quality sank to the bottom. It seems he could come back, The Visit was a clever and very enjoyable movie, but that's all.

On the other hand, Nolan's movies range from good to great. Even at his worst, Nolan flies higher than the average Hollywood movie.

My knee-jerk answer is Shyamalan but it is actually probably close. I'll show my work:

Shyamalan's

-Sixth Sense: 9.5/10
-Unbreakable: 8.5/10 (would be a 9 but the very end was meh)
-Signs:7.5/10
-The Village: 8/10
-Lady in the Water: 7/10
-The Happening: 3.5/10
-The Last Airbender: 2/10
-After Earth: 3/10
-The Visit: 7.5/10
-Split: 9.5/10
-Glass: 7/10 (lost lots of points for assorted dumb parts. coulda been a 9)

Average score: 6.6

Nolan's

-Memento: 9/10
-Insomnia: 6/10
-Batman Begins: 7.5/10
-The Prestige: 8.5/10
-The Dark Knight: 8/10
-Inception: 9/10
-The Dark Knight Rises: 2.5/10
-Interstellar: 3.5/10
-Dunkirk: 4/10
-Tenet: 5.5/10

Average Score: 6.4

So, yep. I like Shyamalan more. His worst is the worst of the lot but I also like his best more than Nolan's best. Gap gets slightly wider if you include writing credits. Shyamalan wrote Devil which I give 8/10 and Nolan wrote Man of Steel which is 5/10 at best. Shy is also much better at characterization.

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Shyamalan for sure.

The Nolans.
https://youtu.be/XbAM2_6jKY0

Chris Nolan. Not even close.