Top 100 Films of the Decade

A lot of the "top films of the decade" lists floating around right now begin with a disclaimer suggesting the last 10 years has been a relatively mediocre time for cinema.

That may be true for fans of gritty dramas and small indie art films, but for fans of big budget special-effects driven science-fiction and fantasy adventures, there has never been a better time to go to the movies.

This was the decade that brought us The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Harry Potter franchise.  It is the decade that finally introduced Spider-man to the big screen, and turned X-Men like Wolverine into household names. We saw the rebirth of Star Trek and James Bond and an animated robot named Wall-E steal the hearts of millions in a largely silent animated film.

The aughts also saw a comedy renaissance led by Todd Phillips's Old School and followed by a slew of Judd Apatow-produced instant classics.

Meanwhile, films like Hostel and Saw invented a whole new genre of horror cinema.

And hey, if gritty dramas are what you want, how about Martin Scorsese's The Departed, Spike Lee's 25^th Hour, or 2007's one-two punch of There Will be Blood and No Country for Old Men? Dramatic cinema doesn't get much better than that.

In the year 2000, Gladiator's heroic Maximus asked us, "Are you not entertained?" A decade later we can safely answer, "We are indeed."

The Top 100 Films of the 2000s

100. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

99. Orange County (2002)

98. Twilight (2008)

97. Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)

96. 13 Going on 30 (2004)

95. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

94. Requiem for a Dream (2000)

93. Saw (2004)

92. American Splendor (2003)

91. Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001)

90. Road to Perdition (2002)

89. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

88. Far from Heaven (2002)

87. The Bourne Identity (2002)

86. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

85. Ghost World (2001)

84. The Fast and the Furious (2001)

83. Traffic (2000)

82. Sex and the City (2008)

81. Last Days (2005)

80. Spider-Man (2002)

79. Almost Famous (2000)

78. INLAND EMPIRE (2006)

77. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

76. Serenity (2005)

75. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

74. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

73. X-Men (2000)

72. Batman Begins (2005)

71. The Incredibles (2004)

70. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2003)

69. Hot Fuzz (2007)

68. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

67. Bring It On (2000)

66. The Village (2004)

65. Hostel (2005)

64. Memento (2000)

63. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

62. Brokeback Mountain (2005)

61. One Week (2008)

60. Casino Royale (2006)

59. Signs (2002)

58. Daredevil (2002)

57. Catch Me If You Can (2002)

56. Star Wars: Episode III -  Revenge of the Sith (2005)

55. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

54. Minority Report (2002)

53. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

52. No Country for Old Men (2007)

51. Grindhouse (2007)

50. Spider-Man 3 (2007)

49. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

48. The School of Rock (2003)

47. Waking Life (2001)

46. Snatch (2000)

45. The Grudge (2004)

44. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

43. Wedding Crashers (2005)

42. WALL-E (2008)

41. The Beach (2000)

40. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

39. Mulholland Dr. (2001)

38. There Will Be Blood (2007)

37. V for Vendetta (2005)

36. High Fidelity (2000)

35. Jackass: The Movie (2002)

34. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

33. Munich (2005)

32. Jackass Number Two (2006)

31. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

30. Gladiator (2000)

29. Superbad (2007)

28. Star Trek (2009)

27. Iron Man (2008)

26. 300 (2006)

25. Josie and the Pussycats (2001)

24. Sin City (2005)

23. Secretary (2002)

22. The Descent (2005)

21. The Rules of Attraction (2002)

20. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

19. X2 (2003)

18. Wonder Boys (2000)

17. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

16. The Departed (2006)

15. Moulin Rouge! (2001)

14. Donnie Darko (2001)

13. Knocked Up (2007)

12. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

11. Unbreakable (2000)

10. Wanted (2008)

9. The Dark Knight (2008)

8. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

7. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

6. Old School (2003)

5. 25th Hour (2002)

4. Adaptation. (2002)

3. I'm Not There. (2007)

2. Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Comments (5)

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Brendan Blom

December 30, 2009

Votes: +1

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Close one

I was going to write a very angry comment, but then I noticed that your #76 is actually "Serenity," not "Serendipity," as I first thought. Phew!

Must also say I'm surprised not to see "Children of Men" or "Pan's Labyrinth" on there. And lament the inclusion of (I think) only two foreign films on the list. ("Pretentious? Moi?!")

kevinjohns

December 30, 2009

Votes: -1

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I actually decided to stay clear of documentary and foriegn films.

There weren't enough of em to really get a good representation, so I left them off completely (but I liked Crouching Tiger and Amelie too much not to include those two).

(On a side note, I also left off ALL of the Woody Allen's films from the last decade, even though I love most of them, because it just seemed like too much mental effort to sort through them. Besides, in my mind Allen films exist in their own little universe separate from the rest of pop culture.)

I never got a chance to see Pan's Labyrinth, so that explains its exclusion.

Children of Men, on the other hand, is one of the most overrated movies of the last decade! I know everyone is gaga over it, and, for the life of me, I don't know why. What is so great about it? That one action sequence at the end? That film did nothing for me!

Oh, and Serendipity was totally #101.

Steve

January 05, 2010

Votes: +0

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Wanted?!!

Isn't that the movie where a sewing machine decides who lives and dies?

On the other hand, thanks for leaving Crash, Juno and anything by Clint Eastwood off the list.

Adam

April 29, 2010

Votes: +0

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...

Star Wars Episode 2? Are you kidding me?

kevinjohns

April 29, 2010

Votes: +0

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Seems pretty funny have Episode 2 on there...

...now that Mr. Plinkett and Redlettermedia have done such an amazing job of spelling out just how horrible a movie it is, eh?

But, you know what? Back at the time that those horrible prequels were coming out, it was fun, regardless of how bad they were! I remember being really excited about seeing the trailer for Attack of the Clones, with the Darth Vader breathing and all that.

Yeah, the movies are horrible, but the experience at the time was great!

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