30 best movies of the 2000s, ranked: great films revealed
New millennium, new classic films with these best movies from the 2000s.
Welcome to our guide of the best movies of the 2000s. The 2000s were an interesting time for movies. Coming off the back of the '90s, which has a tonne of cool classics, the naughties decided to up the ante when it came to epic filmmaking.
And why not? The 2000s an era of trying new things like fancy flip phones, nu metal and DVDs - that's right, it was the decade where home movie watching increased massively in quality and, thanks to advancements in CGI, truly epic movie series like Lord of the Rings.
There was more to the decade than you might remember, including a festival's worth of classic films, many of which are also the best movies on Netflix right now.
You'll find the best 30 movies of the 2000s below, according to the ShortList team...
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30. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence
Effectively a joint effort between two powerhouses of the silver screen, Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick, A.I. more than lived up to expectations.
Kubrick developed the idea for almost 30 years until his death, before Spielberg took over, to finally bring the movie to fruition in 2001. A simultaneously touching and dark tale, it features a stunning performance by Haley Joel Osment as David, a robot with human emotions caught between two worlds.
29. Before Sunset
Before Sunset was the first part of a wonderful trilogy by director Richard Linklater. It's a semi improvised movie that focuses on Jesse and Seline who meet on a train and have an intense day together. They promise to meet up six months' later but it's actually nine years until they meet again. Its two sequels are equally profound - and it's all thanks to the two leads, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke.
28. This Is England
A powerful film exploring the rise of the far-right National Front in England in the early ‘80s, This is England is an uncompromising, but effective piece of storytelling.
It features a 13-year-old Thomas Turgoose. He had never acted before, but emerged a fully-formed talent. The film was an unexpected success, spawning a spin-off TV series following the characters through a decade
This is England explores a period of social history that England would rather forget, and is a defining film of its era.
27. Avatar
One of the biggest movies of all time (until Avengers Endgame came along), Avatar was a CGI revelation when it was first released. It wasn't for everyone, but there was enough Aliens-style action in the real-life segments and stunning effects in the other parts to please many.
26. Moon
Moon, from director Douglas Jones, has been added to our list for a whole range of reasons. It was 10 years since Moon first premiered last year, which meant there were a lot of anniversary screenings at cinemas, opinion pieces about the film and a big resurgence for love of the movie on social media. This science-fiction masterpiece is about Sam, the only person working at a lunar station with his robot, GERTY. He's coming to the end of his three-year work contract, but things start to go wrong just before he's meant to head home.