The 2020s so far, as a decade, could be defined in any number of ways, arguably few of them positive. Still, at least the years from 2020 onwards have provided the world with a good many iconic films that will one day be considered classics, even if one of the decade’s defining events so far—the COVID-19 pandemic—impacted the film industry considerably. Productions were halted, films were delayed, and it wasn’t until 2022 that things started to feel a little more normal in the world of cinema.
And then came two wide-scale strikes in America during 2023, both from the Writers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild, disrupting things further. But to focus on what’s already happened, rather than what’s to come, 2022 and 2023 were both ultimately fruitful years (a little more so than 2024, arguably), and there were still some gems that got released during 2020 and 2021, while the pandemic was at its most disruptive. The decade as a whole might only be half over now, but it’s still worth exploring just what it’s had to offer film lovers so far. Some of the most noteworthy titles from the 2020s are ranked below, from great to greatest.
50
‘Wicked’ (2024)
Part 1 in a duology, 2024’s Wicked is an adaptation of the first half of the stage musical of the same name, which in turn was based on a book, which in turn took inspiration from 1939’s The Wizard of Oz, which was in turn based on a novel. There might be some other steps there. The main thing is, people like The Wizard of Oz and that overall world, as well as all the ways it’s been remixed and expanded upon, officially or otherwise.
And as a musical, Wicked is pretty great. It’s very long, stretching things out a little in the interest of making Wicked a two-parter, but when it works, it really works. The whole final act is especially great, with “Defying Gravity” obviously being the film’s peak, and most of the other musical numbers work fantastically, too.
49
‘The Apprentice’ (2024)
To call The Apprentice controversial would be an understatement, but also, it might not have done what it set out to do. There is a level of balance to it, as far as a biographical film about Donald Trump is concerned, because much of it feels honest and kind of neutral… to a point. Other scenes go very far in depicting Trump’s more monstrous qualities, but the film doesn’t entirely feel like an attack. If it were intended to be that way, the fact that it didn’t seem to impact the 2024 election might be a sign it failed.
But it’s also possible to see The Apprentice as something a little deeper than just an attack, even if it was very deliberately released not long before America ultimately voted Trump in as president for a second term. “Sympathetic” might not be the best word, owing to some of the more extreme scenes in this controversial 2020s film, but it is a keen exploration of Trump and the way his mind works, explaining how he became powerful, influential, and seemingly unstoppable. If you support the man, you’ll find this harrowing for some reasons, and if you don’t support him, you’ll find it harrowing for other reasons. It’s a provocative film all around, but also a thoroughly interesting, subversive, and difficult-to-shake one, regardless of how you might personally feel about the man at its center.
48
‘Superman’ (2025)
Making a Superman movie work in 2025 wouldn’t have been an easy undertaking, but James Gunn knows his way around the superhero genre, and he ultimately made it a new Superman movie fairly compelling here. It’s a movie that skips the well-worn origin story, picking up with heroes (Superman and others) already established, Lex Luthor powerful and angsty straight away, and Clark Kent/Superman + Lois Lane already being a thing.
It hits the ground running and stumbles a little as a result, but once Superman settles into a groove, it becomes reliably exciting, funny, and heartfelt. It’s certainly a crowd-pleaser, and a little less subversive than most of James Gunn’s other superhero movies, but it gets the balance right in the end, and is a mostly promising start for what’s intended to be a new run of DC movies.
47
‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ (2024)
A movie that partly takes place during the Napoleonic Wars, The Count of Monte Cristo is an appropriately epic movie that adapts an epic piece of literature. The original novel by Alexandre Dumas is exceptionally long, and so even three hours isn’t enough to capture everything, but 2024’s The Count of Monte Cristo does a good job at streamlining things and focusing on the most important stuff, all the while making a few bold changes to the source material.
It’s the kind of film that flies along, despite its length, and that also speaks to how timeless and gripping the original story is. But doing justice to that story, while also succeeding on a technical front? That’s worth celebrating, and The Count of Monte Cristo is, for the most part, an example of how to helm an adaptation of a grand story the right way.
46
‘Happening’ (2021)
Certainly not to be mixed up with a certain M. Night Shyamalan movie from 2008, 2021’s Happening is instead a matter-of-fact and emotionally raw drama about a young student in the 1960s who falls pregnant unexpectedly. Living in France at the time she does, abortions are illegal, and so exploring options for terminating the pregnancy proves an exceptionally difficult and risky task.
It’s one of those movies that explores an issue within a period setting, but, being made when it was, it also comments on how such a thing is still an issue in the present day. Maybe that’s all that needs to be said about Happening, which might divide viewers because the topic of abortion is, well, divisive. But the film’s admirable for showing a very human struggle with a degree of realism that makes it continually easy to forget you’re watching actors simply reciting lines.
45
‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ (2022)
A pleasant surprise, considering it was a sequel to a film that was, at best, just okay, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is up there among the very best animated movies of the decade so far. It’s a family-friendly movie, but not one solely for kids, given there’s some humor and thematic stuff here that might go over the heads of younger viewers (especially the way it confronts mortality).
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is also great because it looks, you know, great, with bold colors, impressively fluid animation, and a distinctly stylized art style all serving to make the thing as a whole pop. It’s a film with a great deal more to offer than one would’ve expected from a sequel to Puss in Boots, and any return the titular character could make (be it another spin-off movie or a role in a new Shrek film) is likely to be highly anticipated.
44
‘Hundreds of Beavers’ (2022)
There were a good many movies that came out in 2022, given that was the year when things seemed to properly bounce back a little from pandemic-related restrictions. One film that might’ve got a bit lost in the crowd was Hundreds of Beavers, which can count itself as one of the more underrated of 2022, although some would say it shouldn’t be considered a 2022 release, since that’s when it was first screened. Instead, 2024 was when it got a wider VOD release, and positive word of mouth started making it a little more well-known.
Anyway, that’s all rambling. The important thing is that Hundreds of Beavers is one of the most creative films in recent memory, playing out like a live-action cartoon, a video game movie not based on any particular video game, and a slapstick silent comedy, all at once. It has an almost obscene number of hilarious jokes packed into it, and it provides non-stop entertainment from the first scene until the last. It’s weird, stupid, clever, broad, and action-packed, all at once.
43
‘Flow’ (2024)
Flow, like Hundreds of Beavers, is essentially a silent movie, having no dialogue beyond the sounds its various animal characters make to each other. This is understandable, considering there are no human characters in the entire film, with the plot instead focusing on a group of various animals who try to survive a flood by boarding a boat, sailing it to a destination that will hopefully provide safety and/or salvation.
It’s engaging, even without too much of a narrative, and Flow makes you interpret things on your own without ever doing so in a way that proves frustrating or overly vague. You can read into things if you want, or just try to enjoy the journey, marveling at how great the entire thing looks and sounds. It would have “animated cult classic” written all over it, if it didn’t actually do extremely well when it was released, ultimately (and deservedly) winning Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards.
42
‘Better Man’ (2024)
Anyone burned out on music biopics might be tempted to stay away from Better Man, since it’s all about Robbie Williams, and his music and whole style aren’t for everyone. And there is a rise and fall (and then rise again) narrative here, with the story covering many years in Williams’ life, but that’s where the expected stuff ends. Better Man explodes, and becomes interesting, because of some of the stranger choices it makes, as far as biopics go.
Principally, Better Man depicts Robbie Williams as a chimpanzee throughout the entire film, suggesting the way Williams sees himself while also allowing Better Man to stun on a special effects/technical front. It’s also a rather bombastic and stylish musical, alongside being a biopic, and it all comes together shockingly well. Better Man did not do well financially, but hopefully it will endure as something of a cult classic, and, in time, become one of those “why didn’t anybody see this at the time?” kind of movies.
41
‘Sinners’ (2025)
Taking inspiration from various interesting sources, all the while still feeling remarkably original, Sinners could well be the best thing Ryan Coogler has directed to date, which is saying a lot when his filmography includes Creed, Black Panther, and Fruitvale Station. This is a film set in the 1930s that is, at least in part, about surviving a horde of vampires, but it’s also so much more than just a horror flick.
There’s a blend of heart, humor, action, suspense, and horror here that all feels effortless, and the characters followed throughout are all very engaging. Sinners takes its time early on, but that’s for the better. Its pacing and emphasis on character development make it one of those rare horror-related movies where you genuinely care for the people in a horrific situation; they’re far from the usual fodder for the villains to bite, slash, or murder their way through.
