The 8 Best Movies of the 2000s, Ranked

The 2000s had superheroes, wizards and way too many cargo shorts. The movies that scored highest on movie.guru are something else entirely.

Number one beat a hobbit epic with 2.2 million IMDb votes. Hobbit fans, stretch first.

1. 8
   Before Sunset (2004)9.4

   Shortest movie here, biggest gut punch per minute.

   It opens at a Paris bookstore, then turns one long walk into the most honest conversation of the decade. 8.1 on IMDb from 320,667 votes.
2. 7
   Memento (2000)9.5

   Nolan's breakout is still his tightest movie.

   113 minutes, no wasted scenes, and a mystery you have to put together yourself. $43.3 million worldwide and an 83 on Metacritic.
3. 6
   Apocalypse Now Redux (2001)9.3

   Technically a recut of an older classic. It still counts.

   Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam epic, rebuilt with scenes he cut the first time. Martin Sheen carries it upriver into the dark. 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, 92 on Metacritic.
4. 5
   The Lives of Others (2006)9.5

   No chases, no shootouts, and it's the tensest movie here.

   Sebastian Koch and Martina Gedeck play artists who don't know every word is being recorded. Critics rank it above 94% of notable movies.
5. 4
   The Pianist (2002)9.5

   No speeches, no swelling music, and it hits harder for it.

   A true story of one musician hiding through the Nazi occupation of Warsaw, with Adrien Brody in nearly every frame. Critics rank it above 95% of notable movies.
6. 3
   No Country for Old Men (2007)9.3

   The Coens' best movie. Yes, over Fargo.

   Josh Brolin finds a bag of money in the desert, and Javier Bardem comes to collect. A 92 on Metacritic, made for a reported $25 million.
7. 2
   The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)9.4

   The biggest finale of the decade, and it actually lands.

   Peter Jackson wraps the whole trilogy without dropping a thread, and Howard Shore's score carries the rest. 9.0 on IMDb from 2.2 million votes, $1.14 billion worldwide.
8. 1
   Pan's Labyrinth (2006)9.5

   A dark fairy tale outranks the hobbits, and deserves to.

   Guillermo del Toro builds the faun, the Pale Man and a whole underworld with mostly practical effects. 98 on Metacritic, $86.2 million worldwide.

$188 says you watch number one this weekend and start eyeing your walls for chalk doors.

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