The 8 Best Movies of the 2020s So Far, Ranked

The decade isn't done, but the canon is forming. Four of these tie at 9.4, so the order is pure chaos.

Number one is the longest trip home ever filmed, and I'd take it twice.

1. 8
   Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)9.0

   Cruise versus an evil AI. My money's on Cruise.

   Esai Morales plays the AI's very smug errand boy, and the title literally says Part One, so it stops mid-sentence. 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, $571.1 million worldwide.
2. 7
   Project Hail Mary (2026)9.1

   The decade's best buddy movie. One buddy is an alien.

   Ryan Gosling's science teacher wakes up in space with no memory and makes a friend who talks in music. $684.5 million worldwide, 8.2 on IMDb, and the tears sneak up on you.
3. 6
   Sinners (2025)9.2

   Ryan Coogler made a blues musical, then added vampires.

   Newcomer Miles Caton's guitar is the heartbeat, and one juke joint song pulls in musicians from the past and future. Critics rank it above 96% of notable movies, Metacritic 84.
4. 5
   One Battle After Another (2025)9.2

   Leo in a bathrobe beats Leo in a tux. Every time.

   Benicio del Toro plays a karate teacher so calm he makes the chaos funnier, and the whole 161-minute chase earned an A CinemaScore.
5. 4
   Dune: Part Two (2024)9.3

   A desert war epic with a secret comedy MVP.

   Javier Bardem's Stilgar becomes Paul's loudest hype man, the comic relief nobody expected in all that sand. 8.4 on IMDb from 799,641 votes, $714.8 million worldwide.
6. 3
   Top Gun: Maverick (2022)9.4

   Peak dad movie, and I mean that as a compliment.

   Miles Teller's mustache and piano bar singalong do serious supporting work, and Jon Hamm frowns like he's paid by the frown. 8.2 on IMDb from 909,700 votes.
7. 2
   Oppenheimer (2023)9.3

   The scariest movie of the decade has no monster in it.

   Cillian Murphy holds every frame, and the Trinity test sequence is pure dread. 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8.2 on IMDb, and grown-ups packed theaters for an R-rated history drama.
8. 1
   The Odyssey (2026)9.4

   Best blockbuster of the decade: one guy's very long commute home.

   Matt Damon's Odysseus takes the scenic route home, and the scenery keeps trying to drown him. Audiences rank it above 95% of notable movies. The decade's biggest swing landed.

$75.45 says you've got a take on number one and haven't actually seen it yet.

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Current mood: ready to fight about it