Best Film of the Decade?

The best film of the decade is…meh. How do you pick one movie as the best in a ten-year span? It is an impossible task, so I think it would be more fun to discuss the best films of the 2000’s by genre.

Superhero

The Superhero movie genre wasn’t new, but this decade saw more entries than ever before. Where the 90’s housed some of the worst superhero movies ever made, it was the opposite in this decade. In 2000, the first film that showed how well a comic could be adapted was 2000’s X-Men. Finally, after years of development, someone (Brian Singer and crew) figured out how to make the necessary changes to a classic comic book without compromising the core themes, and what made them great. X-Men lead to 2002’s Spider-Man and then we were off to the races. Two high-quality, very successful big-budget superhero movies allowed the genre to grow this decade. I think studios saw that big directors were not needed to make a great superhero movie, and the formula has proven to work pretty well.

X-Men and X2, and Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 are the best of the whimsical, flashy superhero stories. Yet, Spider-Man’s introspection lead to two phenomenal Batman movies that focused on deconstructing the hero. Unbreakable was a great example of this idea. A popular theme from the eighties in comic books was peeking behind the superhero’s mask. The “Watchmen” mini-series changed the comic book industry in the same way X-Men and Spider-Man changed the film genre. Yet, "Watchmen’s" ideas certainly influenced these two films as well as the two Batman films. Finally, Watchmen was adapted into a film which, ironically, borrowed from the films the source material influenced.

So, as this genre had it’s high points: Iron Man, The Incredibles, Sin City; it also suffered low points: X-Men 3, Spider-Man 3, Daredevil, Ghost Rider.

So, my best again are: X-Men and X2, Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Unbreakable, and Watchmen.

Romance

The Romance genre saw an ungodly amount of “romantic comedies,” most of which starring either or both Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. Aside from that, there were a handful of great love stories in the past decade. I tend to enjoy the movies that deconstruct and examine a relationship rather than a “will they? won’t they?” love story.

My favorite movie in this genre was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. This movie dismantles a relationship and slowly pieces it back together giving the audience a clear idea of the good and bad moments of love. Another film, I really responded to, The Constant Gardener was a perfect blend of romance and politics. I really liked the idea of a man who assumed things about his wife, and as he investigates her murder, falls in love with her again.

Other notable "romantic" movies I enjoyed: Slumdog Millionaire, Lust/Caution, Once, Brokeback Mountain, Adventureland, and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

Sci-Fi

There were a few decent Sci-Fi entries this decade and pardon me if I forgot one or two. I am writing this about a month from the release of Avatar. Will it be one of the best Sci-Fi films of the decade? I doubt it. Anyhow, I think Children of Men, Wall-E, and District 9 were the best films in this genre this decade. I would put Watchmen on this list as well, but I’ll keep it in the “Superhero” genre. District 9 was fantastic, original, and creative. I also really enjoyed the gritty, dystopian Children of Men. We sci-fi fans were given 2 new Star Wars prequels this decade. Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Attack of the Clones was just horrible in every way. The acting was bad, special effects over-used, and the story was confusing. On the other hand I enjoyed Revenge of the Sith. Yes, it is unnecessary, but it exists and I was entertained by it. If this were the only prequel, I think Star Wars fans would have been a lot more excited.

Another notable "Sci-Fi" movie was Francis Ford Coppola's Youth After Youth. It's very strange, dark and confusing, but I was engrossed by it. It's like a weirder and much better version of Benjamin Button.

This was a severely overlooked genre this year. But with the success of Star Trek, and the most likely success of Avatar, I hope Sci-fi will be the Superhero genre of the 2010’s.

I still have more genres to roll through. So stay tuned.