A Reel Opinion: The Top 20 Best Films of the Millennium, 2000-2019 - Part 1

Twenty years have now passed since Y2K never bothered to show up and destroy us, which is a good thing, as the last 20 trips around the sun have provided us with some most-excellent films…and now is the time to look back and build a stack of the best of the best. 

The early part of the decade continued the trends from The Nineties, with character-driven films taking front and center. CGI was still in its infancy, there wasn’t a superhero in sight, and STAR WARS was just getting re-started with a second trilogy. The first few years saw big-budgeted films enter the Oscar race and win, and change was coming as the events of 9/11 would shake Hollywood into an early age of sensitivity. 

Even before the second-half of the last 20 years, those changes were happening rapidly. Superheroes were suddenly everywhere courtesy of Marvel and parent-company Disney, who also rebooted STAR WARS for a third trilogy. CGI was taking over, and yet the small art-house films were able to push the big-budget films out of the Oscar races. Hollywood began to be more inclusive for women and minorities, and a new thing called streaming was igniting debates over what is cinema and what isn’t. 

Despite all that, it all comes down to what we see on the screen, and here now is Reel Speak’s Top 20 Films of the Millennium, 2000 – 2019, Part 1 (20 through 11). 

20. THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)

Christopher Nolan established himself as one of the best filmmakers of the millennium, and it can be argued that his INCEPTION (2010), or THE PRESTIGE (2006) are his best works. But it’s hard to ignore the impact that his Batman sequel has had on the superhero genre. Grounded and not afraid to take a deep-dive into its characters, THE DARK KNIGHT showed that capes and masks can be taken seriously in cinema, that heavyweight actors could be attracted to them, and be good enough to take home Academy Awards. 

19. GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK (2005)

David Strathaim puts in the performance of a lifetime as famed broadcaster Edward R. Murrow in George Clooney’s look at the early days of television broadcasting. In the days where TV didn’t really know its place, Clooney poses many questions about the medium which are just as relevant now as they were in 1953. Not all are answered…and they shouldn’t be because there is no final answer. That’s what a great film does, and this is sure to inspire many discussions and lectures in Journalism 101 classes for years to come.

18. AVENGERS – ENDGAME (2019)

There is no doubt that Marvel has owned the box office and the collective consciousness of movie fans for the better part of the millennium. Their epic conclusion to their 11-year series wrapped up plots from over 20 movies with nearly a hundred characters, and sent audiences staggering and weeping out the door. An unprecedented achievement in all of cinema. 

17. THE LORD OF THE RINGS – THE TWO TOWERS (2002)

Peter Jacksons’ second film in his Oscar-winning THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy/adaptation has the disadvantage of not having its own beginning and ending, but it survives by having some of the most epic battle scenes in cinema history, eye-popping visuals and special effects, and a constant focus on character. 

16. THE SOCIAL NETWORK (2010)

David Fincher arguably is the most successful director of the millennium, with critical and commercial hits such as ZODIAC (2005), THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (2008), THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (2011), and GONE GIRL (2014)…and then he took his talent to upstart studio Netflix for their HOUSE OF CARDS series…which suddenly gave legitimacy to streaming services. Fincher’s best out of this era is THE SOCIAL NETWORK, which was scoffed at upon initial announcement, as the subject matter of the founding of Facebook seemed thin. Fincher, along with screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, found the heart and soul of it all, and turned it into a story of betrayal and broken friendships…the kind of Greek tragedy story that always works. 

15. THE DEPARTED (2006)

Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winner about a crooked cop and the undercover looking to out him was a thrilling, cat-and-mouse game which brought out career-best performances from Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson. Bloody, fun, with perfectly executed building of tension, THE DEPARTED has all of Scorsese’s trademarks made anew. 

14. THE MASTER (2011)

Paul Thomas Anderson pulled outstanding performances from Joaquin Phoenix and the late great Phillip Seymour Hoffman in this introspective look at a lost man not knowing what to do with himself after coming home from WWII. Structured to mirror the relationship between a canine and his master, the film works as one long metaphor, and reveals more and more with each viewing. Deep and layered and brilliant. 

13. GANGS OF NEW YORK (2005)

Martin Scorsese has spent so much celluloid on organized crime, that it would only make sense for him to go back to where it all began. His Civil War-era tale of revenge in a savage New York City had terrific production design and outstanding performances from Daniel Day-Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio. A strong slice of American history that works on a grand and intimate scale. 

12. TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY (2011)

In an age where spy films are headlined by young baby-faces with noisy CGI everywhere, this adaptation of the famed spy novel by John le Carre was a unique entry into the genre; where fistfights and car chases are replaced by the maturity, patience, and thinking-power of seasoned spies. It works with layer upon layer of mystery, and Gary Oldman re-establishes himself as one of this generation’s finest actors. 

11. THE LORD OF THE RINGS – THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (2001)

At the time, it was one of the riskiest endeavors ever taken on by a major studio; to bring J.R.R. Tolkien’s massive fantasy from the page to the big screen. Often deemed unfilmable, the first entry to the trilogy succeeded on dazzling visuals, breathtaking locations, and a whole lot of heart and emotion. Director Peter Jackson assembled a perfect cast, and his screenwriting partners Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens did outstanding work in adapting the original text for the screen that was concise and faithful. An Oscar-contender and box office monster, FELLOWSHIP re-wrote the book on blockbuster filmmaking. 

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Read the Top 10 HERE