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The Top 10 Best Films Of The 2020s (Thus Far)
By Sal LoCicero | August 11, 2025
We are already at the midpoint of the decade, and it has been…eventful (to put it as lightly as humanly possible). Between a nationwide pandemic, an actor-writers strike, and AI takeovers, the 2020s will no doubt be forever revisited in the History books - for more reasons than one can truly count - and yet we still have four more years to go.
Movie theaters have seen a slow, but pivotal comeback, James Cameron is BACK, Tom Cruise has still got film twitter (and movie fanatics) glazing all over him with his action packed summer blockbusters and death-threatening stunts, Barbenheimer became a global phenomenon, Francis Ford Coppola returned to Hollywood after 13 years of making vino, and Joker: Folie à Deux was a significant failure in every conceivable way.
With that said, the 2020s have had a fair share of both hits and misses, but today, we are here to present the top ten best films of the 2020s thus far.
10. John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)
'John Wick: Chapter 4' is easily the best action film that has hit the big silver screen this decade. From the opening scene alone, you feel as if you have entered into a cinematic arena that hasn’t felt this bombastic since ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (2015). Keanu Reeves kicks ass, Chad Stahelski writes and directs the shit out of this feature.
Every sequence outdoes itself in ways unknowingly possible. It earns its 2 hour and 49 minute runtime, because you barely feel its length when the action is this mind blowing. ‘Chapter 4’ not only delivers on its nonstop action, but expands on the worldbuilding that was introduced more in ‘John Wick Chapter 2’ (2017).
9. Poor Things (2023)
Yorgos Lanthimos is one of the most niche filmmakers working in the industry today. His work is either hit or miss for audiences. However, ‘Poor Things’ was his magnum opus. Emma Stone gave a wild performance that won her a second Oscar for Best Actress. The cinematography is beyond dreamlike. Its story is as thought-provoking as it is disturbing, and yet it is also hilariously vulgar.
‘Poor Things’ mixes the unique creativity of Tim Burton and Guilermo del Toro and drains it in acid (and pornography). It should NOT work, but somehow - and someway - it does.
8. Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (2023)
The superhero genre has been in turmoil this decade, superhero fatigue has grown, and studios can’t seem to please audiences with their comic-book characters like they used to. ‘Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse’ may be one of the genre's only hopes. In 2018, audiences around the world were introduced to Miles Morales in his first solo film, ‘Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse’, which also took home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2019.
‘Across The Spider-Verse’ continues Miles’ story in the most highly imaginative and riveting way. The animation is like watching history in the making, it has never been used to such an advantage like it has here. The storytelling expands on where it left off in the previous film, and by the end, you’ll be eager for more.
7. The Mitchell's vs The Machines (2021)
Originally scheduled to release in the early months of 2020 - and then was bought by Netflix, ‘The Mitchell’s vs The Machines’ is a masterful (and severely) underrated animated gem. Katie Mitchell is an aspiring filmmaker who can’t really get along with her family, nor does her family (most notably, her father) truly understand her. Her father decides to take the family on a road trip before Katie goes away for college. In doing so, machines begin to take over the world, and eventually, it is up to the Mitchell family to save the world.
‘The Mitchell’s vs The Machines’ is an animated feature that should be in the same conversation as films like ‘Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse’, and ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ - on a storytelling level. It is absolutely hilarious, thought-provoking in its commentary about family and technology, and extremely heartfelt. This is an overlooked film that must be seen by more people.
6. Hundreds of Beavers (2024)
Mike Cheslik’s comedic masterpiece ‘Hundreds of Beavers’ first premiered at Fantastic Fest in 2022, and was raved by critics who got to see it. Two years later, it was released in limited theaters, and if you were lucky enough to attend a special screening with a Q&A from the writer-director, then you were in for one of the most wacky and truly memorable movie screenings of all time.
This movie is an ode to classic cartoons and silent films, mainly the work of Buster Keaton, and Mike Cheslik delivered. There is barely any dialogue in this 1 hour and 48 minute film, and yet it brings so much to the table. As the movie continues, the stakes get bigger and even more zanier, and you can’t help but enjoy the hell out of it. The third act feels as if you are watching a Quentin Tarantino film minus the blood. This is most definitely one of - if not - the best original comedy to come out in recent memory.
5. The Holdovers (2023)
“They just don’t make ‘em like this anymore” is the quote that had been used numerous times to describe 2023’s ‘The Holdovers’, and quite frankly, it was true. ‘The Holdovers’ is a movie that takes you back to the 1970s, during the holiday season.
Watching this film brings viewers a specific feeling that they haven’t felt in quite a long time, and that feeling is warmth. This movie is already being regarded as a holiday classic, and rightfully so. Alexander Payne directs this movie so perfectly. The performances are wonderful from Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph.
4. Beau Is Afraid (2023)
Ari Aster’s third feature was wildly polarizing for everyone who saw it - and that may just be putting it lightly. From delivering the modern horror masterpiece that is ‘Hereditary’ (2018) to the three hour long “Kafkaesque” nightmare comedy that audiences were, then, declaring a “career-killer”.
Ari Aster’s Beau is Afraid is a movie whose existence is a miracle to begin with, due to the fact that no studio - or human being - in their right mind would ever in a million, trillion years fund and/or greenlight this project. It should not have happened, but somehow it did, and I, for one, could not be more thankful. This is an epic that will no doubt test the viewers patience, however it is an experience that whether you love or hate it, you will never forget it. Joaquin Phoenix is phenomenal as Beau Wasserman, and Ari Aster proves here that he is a fearless artist.
3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
After having been fired by Disney over past offensive tweets, Marvel Studios rehired James Gunn to complete his trilogy, and the results could not have been better.
The third and final entry in the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ trilogy may have been the best entry not only in the trilogy, but in the MCU as a whole. It was by far the darkest and most disturbing film since ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ (2014), while also being the most bonkers and hilarious since ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ (2017), as well as the most emotional since ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019). James Gunn delivered his best film, and gave both fans and audiences alike one of the most satisfying conclusions in a comic-book movie of all time.
2. Tenet (2020)
Christopher Nolan’s immensely underrated science-fiction masterpiece was destined to garner a cult following, not only because a nationwide pandemic that was momentarily called COVID-19 took over, but due to its highly complex narrative structure and plot.
Christopher Nolan took five years to develop the script for ‘Tenet’ and the end result was a feature that over time will be considered his magnum opus. Nolan writes and directs the hell out of this, and it is a puzzle that you continue to unlock within every rewatch. One day, the general public will understand it, but right now let them continue to feel it.
1. Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
It is deeply saddening that in our current day-in-age, a James Cameron feature would be controversial - or even shocking - to be held at the number one spot in a best of the decade list, but here we are. ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ is a marvelous and mind blowing cinematic achievement.
James Cameron is a master at his highest craft. Re-entering into the fictional world of Pandora has never been better, and the story and themes are thought-provoking, and are even more effective here than ever before (maybe until ‘Fire and Ash’ hit theaters). This is what a cinematic epic looks like - and IS - and it has been a very long time since we’ve gotten one in such a grandiose scale as this.
What are your thoughts?
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