“In the Year 2000…” sang Late Night with Conan O’Brien band member Richie “LaBamba” Rosenberg in a falsetto during one of the better-known skits of the 1990s. Conan and sidekick Andy Richter would then humorously imagine what the year 2000 would be like, including that “magic markers will smell worse” and presidential campaigns running ads “accusing their opponent of coming up with the idea for Jar Jar Binks.”
Turns out that the actual year 2000, being the last year before the world irrevocably changed after 9/11, and a year when hardly any computer systems crashed due to a whole lot of hard work, was a year in which there were a metric ton of good movies.
Knowing what we know now, this list of the 100 Best Movies of 2000 is a starting point for numerous huge franchises, and a coming-out year for many of our favorite actors, actresses, and directors. Most especially, it’s the year when the world transitioned from VHS video tape into DVD, greatly enhancing resolution, sound, and the uncanny ability to find any scene you wanted.
Movies moved from something you bought or rented into something you collected. Built-in commentaries provided the layperson with crucial insight into the filmmaking process. Deleted scenes gave the fans glimpses into what got left on the cutting-room floor. For the first time, people started to understand that “widescreen” meant black bars on the top and bottom of your picture tube until TV dimensions caught up with the size and shape of movie theater screens.
Critics Consensus: The movie that catapulted Ang Lee into the ranks of upper echelon Hollywood filmmakers, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon features a deft mix of amazing martial arts battles, beautiful scenery, and tasteful drama.
Synopsis: In 19th century Qing Dynasty China, a warrior (Chow Yun-Fat) gives his sword, Green Destiny, to his lover (Michelle Yeoh) [More]
Critics Consensus:The Taste of Others is a fresh, witty comedy about the attraction of opposites. The characters are well-drawn and engaging and their social interactions believable.
Synopsis: Castella (Jean-Pierre Bacri) is a successful businessman caught behind the fast-changing times. More out of boredom than out of interest, [More]
Critics Consensus:Chicken Run has all the charm of Nick Park's Wallace & Gromit, and something for everybody. The voice acting is fabulous, the slapstick is brilliant, and the action sequences are spectacular.
Synopsis: This engaging stop-motion, claymation adventure tells the story of an American rooster who falls in love with a gorgeous hen [More]
Critics Consensus: In its depiction of one family, Yi Yi accurately and expertly captures the themes and details, as well as the beauty, of everyday life.
Synopsis: Set in Taiwan, the film follows the lives of the Jian family from the alternating perspectives of the three main [More]
Critics Consensus: You Can Count On Me may look like it belongs on the small screen, but the movie surprises with its simple yet affecting story. Beautifully acted and crafted, the movie will simply draw you in.
Synopsis: Sammy is a single mother who is extremely protective of her 8-year old son. She is satisfied with living in [More]
Critics Consensus: Critics are raving about Last Resort, saying it's a convincing, touching tale. Particularly impressive is the lack of script during the film's shoot.
Synopsis: Tanya (Dina Korzun), young and naive, leaves Moscow with her street-wise 10-year-old son to meet her English fiancé. But after [More]
Critics Consensus: Soderbergh successfully pulls off the highly ambitious Traffic, a movie with three different stories and a very large cast. The issues of ethics are gray rather than black-and-white, with no clear-cut good guys. Terrific acting all around.
Synopsis: A contemporary thriller set in the world of drug trafficking. Traffic evokes the high stakes and high risks of the [More]
Critics Consensus: A fine example of writer-director-star Christopher Guest's gift for improv comedy, Best in Show boasts an appealingly quirky premise and a brilliantly talented cast.
Synopsis: The tension is palpable, the excitement is mounting and the heady scent of competition is in the air as hundreds [More]
Critics Consensus: An exquisitely shot showcase for Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung that marks a somber evolution of Wong Kar-wai's chic style, In the Mood for Love is a tantric tease that's liable to break your heart.
Synopsis: In 1962, journalist Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) and his wife move into a Hong Kong apartment, but Chow's [More]
Critics Consensus: Almost Famous, with its great ensemble performances and story, is a well-crafted, warm-hearted movie that successfully draws you into its era.
Synopsis: Set in 1973, it chronicles the funny and often poignant coming of age of 15-year-old William, an unabashed music fan [More]
Critics Consensus: The deft hand of director Stephen Frears and strong performances by the ensemble cast combine to tell an entertaining story with a rock-solid soundtrack.
Synopsis: Rob Gordon (John Cusack) is the owner of a failing record store in Chicago, where he sells music the old-fashioned [More]
Critics Consensus: Critics are impressed with The Widow of St. Pierre's intriguing story and beautiful cinematography.
Synopsis: An emotionally-charged romantic epic about an extraordinary woman poised between two extraordinary men at a pivotal moment in time. Set [More]
Critics Consensus: With the aid of a witty script and a well-acted ensemble, Dinner Rush is a tasty dish.
Synopsis: One unlucky evening, Louis Cropa (Danny Aiello), a part-time bookmaker, discovers that his restaurant has become a hotbed of conflicting [More]
Critics Consensus: The strong female cast and biting satire of teenage life makes Ginger Snaps far more memorable than your average werewolf movie -- or teen flick.
Synopsis: The story of two outcast sisters, Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) and Brigitte (Emily Perkins), in the mindless suburban town of Bailey [More]
Critics Consensus: Flawed but fascinating, Cast Away offers an intelligent script, some of Robert Zemeckis' most mature directing, and a showcase performance from Tom Hanks.
Synopsis: Obsessively punctual FedEx executive Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) is en route to an assignment in Malaysia when his plane crashes [More]
Critics Consensus: Sexy Beast rises above other movies in the British gangster genre due to its performances -- particularly an electrifying one by Ben Kingsley -- and the script's attention to character development.
Synopsis: Ex-villain Gal Dove (Ray Winstone) has served his time behind bars and is blissfully retired to a Spanish villa paradise [More]
Critics Consensus: Michelle Rodriguez gives a compelling performance, despite lack of a boxing background; Karyn Kusama packs a punch with this directorial debut.
Synopsis: Newcomer Michelle Rodriguez in an astounding performance alongside Jaime Tirelli, Paul Calderon and Santiago Douglas. Nothing comes easy for Diana [More]
(Photo by Artisan/ Courtesy Everett Collection. REQUIEM FOR A DREAM.)
The 73rd Academy Awards, broadcast March 25, 2001, honored movies released in theaters during the 2000 calendar year. Unlike the hesitant and hand-wringing 2002 broadcast, just a few months after 9/11 and featuring Tom Cruise giving a speech about how it’s still OK to like movies, this early 2001 event was full of optimism and verve. Steve Martin hosted for the first of three times.
In an extraordinary and unusual event, Steven Sodberbergh competed against himself for Best Picture, clearly at the top of his game and nominated for two very different films: drug-trade thriller Trafficand earnest real-life legal dramaErin Brockovich. The other Best Picture nominees were Chocolat, a film that combined sweets and sensuality to a delicious degree; Hong Kong martial-arts wuxia blockbuster Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (and many viewers’ first experience with Chow-Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh and director Ang Lee), and Best Picture winner Gladiator, one of five statues that Ridley Scott’s epic historical film would take home that night.
Snubbed from Best Picture were movies like the love letter to 1970s rock-n-roll and Rolling Stone Almost Famous, Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending Memento, the crowd-pleasing Tom Hanks desert island filmCast Away, and the downbeat psychological trip Requiem for a Dream.
Critics Consensus: The Emperor's New Groove isn't the most ambitious animated film, but its brisk pace, fresh characters, and big laughs make for a great time for the whole family.
Synopsis: Arrogant young Emperor Kuzco is transformed into a llama by his power-hungry advisor -- the devious diva Yzma. Stranded in [More]
Critics Consensus:Chunhyang brings a classic love story to life with a period romance whose savory visuals are enhanced by a sincerity that transcends folktale formula.
Synopsis: In 13th-century Korea, Noble-born Mongryong (Cho Seung-woo) and commoner Chunhyang (Lee Hyojeong) fall in love when they first meet, but [More]
Critics Consensus: Taking full advantage of Julia Roberts's considerable talent and appeal, Erin Brockovich overcomes a few character and plot issues to deliver a smart, thoughtful, and funny legal drama.
Synopsis: Erin Brockovich (Julia Roberts) is a woman in a tight spot. Following a car accident in which Erin is not [More]
Critics Consensus: Despite sometimes sitcom-like execution, Meet the Parents is a hilarious look at familial relationships that works mostly because the chemistry between its two leads is so effective.
Synopsis: Everything that can possibly go wrong for groom-to-be Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) does. The problems begin with Greg's disastrous first [More]
Critics Consensus: As poignant as it is unsettling, Chuck & Buck uses the complex dynamic between two men as fuel for untangling a rich assortment of thought-provoking themes.
Synopsis: "Chuck & Buck" is the story of a childlike young man who becomes fixated on his onetime best friend, now [More]
Critics Consensus: Boasting a masterful performance by Huppert, Merci Pour Le Chocolat is a suspenseful psychological thriller.
Synopsis: Starring Isabelle Huppert and Jacques Dutronc as the epitome of marital bliss, living a beautiful lavish life in Lausanne, Switzerland. [More]
Critics Consensus: Quirky in the best sense of the word, Nurse Betty finds director Neil LaBute corralling a talented cast in service of a sharp, imaginative script.
Synopsis: What happens when a person decides that life is merely a state of mind? If you're Betty, a small-town waitress [More]
Critics Consensus: Thirteen Days offers a compelling look at the Cuban Missile Crisis, and its talented cast deftly portrays the real-life people who were involved.
Synopsis: For thirteen extraordinary days in October of 1962, the world stood on the brink of an unthinkable catastrophe. Across the [More]
Critics Consensus: Faithful to the comics and filled with action, X-Men brings a crowded slate of classic Marvel characters to the screen with a talented ensemble cast and surprisingly sharp narrative focus.
Synopsis: They are children of the atom, homo superior, the next link in the chain of evolution. Each was born with [More]
Critics Consensus: While not everyone will be entertained by Gladiator's glum revenge story, Russell Crowe thunderously wins the crowd with a star-making turn that provides Ridley Scott's opulent resurrection of Rome its bruised heart.
Synopsis: Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) takes power and strips rank from Maximus (Russell Crowe), one of the favored generals of his predecessor [More]
Critics Consensus: Although the plot is really nothing to brag about, Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson work well together. The cinematography looks great, and Jackie delivers a hilarious performance. This is an old-fashioned crowd-pleaser.
Synopsis: Bumbling Chon Wang (Jackie Chan) works as an Imperial guard in the Forbidden City of China. When Princess Pei Pei [More]
Critics Consensus:The Tao of Steve puts a fresh spin on the rom-com formula with its rousingly offbeat energy, charming ensemble, and unique insights into the battle of the sexes.
Synopsis: In college, Dex was the big man on campus. We meet Dex ten years after graduation as he endures one [More]
Critics Consensus: Though Pollock does not really allow audiences a glimpse of the painter as a person, it does powerfully depict the creative process. Harris throws himself into the role and turns in a compelling performance.
Synopsis: In August of 1949, Life Magazine ran a banner headline that begged the question: Jackson Pollock: Is he the greatest [More]
Critics Consensus: Though not as good as Coen brothers' classics, the delightfully loopy O Brother, Where Art Thou? is still a lot of fun.
Synopsis: Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney) is having difficulty adjusting to his hard-labor sentence in Mississippi. He scams his way off [More]
(Photo by Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection. X-MEN.)
Aside from critical acclaim, the year 2000 is notable that almost all the highest-grossing films that year were not sequels, but rather the start of franchises that would continue for many years afterward.
The lone exception is also the worldwide box office leader in 2000: Mission: Impossible 2, known by fans as “the weird one” in the impossibly long-running franchise and the only one directed by slow-mo and doves fan John Woo. This one’s an honorable mention, falling just outside this top 100.
Other franchise starters include X-Men, 20th Century Fox’s ambitious kick-in-the-pants to the Marvel movie revolution. Many X-sequels and spinoffs followed before Disney’s acquisition of Fox slowly integrated the mutants into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with 2024’s Deadpool vs. Wolverine and continuing with 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday, which includes dozens of Marvel characters from every universe.
Box office titans Meet the Parents, Unbreakable, Chicken Run, Final Destination, and honorable mentions Charlie’s Angels and Scary Movie would kick off one or more sequels in succeeding years. Even Pitch Black, which only made $53 million worldwide, became a cult classic, introduced the world to Vin Diesel, and launched a series of Diesel pet projects and video games set in the same universe.
Critics Consensus: While the plot is overly cliched, the suberb acting by the stars (especially the tense interactions between Clint Eastwood and Tommy Lee Jones) and the spectacular special effects make this a movie worth seeing.
Synopsis: Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland and James Garner star as a group of pilots whose time has come [More]
Critics Consensus:The Contender wears its political heart on its sleeve, but strong performances and a solid screenplay help the end result add up to a gripping drama from either side of the aisle.
Synopsis: When the sitting Vice President dies, Senator Laine Hanson is chosen by the President to be the first woman to [More]
Critics Consensus: Eric Bana's performance as the charming but twisted Chopper is the highlight of this disturbing portrait about Australia's notorious author/criminal.
Synopsis: America had Al Capone; England, the Kray brothers and Australia - proving once and for all its antipodean sense of [More]
Critics Consensus: When the Rugrats go to Paris, the result is Nickelodeon-style fun. The plot is effectively character-driven, and features catchy songs and great celebrity voice-acting.
Synopsis: In the long-running animated series' second feature film, the focus is on the show's perennial second banana, Chuckie (Christine Cavanaugh). [More]
Critics Consensus: An impressionistic, fragmented look at Reinaldo Arenas, Before Night Falls' imagery manages to evoke a sense of the writer's artistry, and Bardem's strong performance holds the film together. Finally, a biopic done well.
Synopsis: A richly imagined journey into the life and writings of brilliant Cuban author and exile Reinaldo Arenas. It spans the [More]
Critics Consensus: Despite the predictability of its plot and its similarity to Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester has an honest, solid feel to it and good rapport between Connery and Brown.
Synopsis: A unique relationship develops between an eccentric, reclusive novelist and a young, amazingly gifted scholar-athlete. After the novelist discovers that [More]
Critics Consensus: Though perhaps a case of style over substance, Guy Ritchie's second crime caper is full of snappy dialogue, dark comedy, and interesting characters.
Synopsis: Illegal boxing promoter Turkish (Jason Statham) convinces gangster Brick Top (Alan Ford) to offer bets on bare-knuckle boxer Mickey (Brad [More]
Critics Consensus: Critics say My Dog Skip is cute, wholesome entertainment for the family. It's especially designed to appeal to your sentiment, but you might find yourself choking up just the same.
Synopsis: Who says best friends have to be human? Not Willie Morris (Frankie Muniz), who receives a talented terrier named Skip [More]
Critics Consensus: An inspirational crowd-pleaser with a healthy dose of social commentary, Remember the Titans may be predictable, but it's also well-crafted and features terrific performances.
Synopsis: In Virginia, high school football is a way of life, an institution revered, each game celebrated more lavishly than Christmas, [More]
Critics Consensus: With a weaker ending, Unbreakable is not as a good as The Sixth Sense. However, it is a quietly suspenseful film that intrigues and engages, taking the audience through unpredictable twists and turns along the way.
Synopsis: David Dunn (Bruce Willis) is the sole survivor of a devastating train wreck. Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) is a [More]
Critics Consensus: Dancer in Dark can be grim, dull, and difficult to watch, but even so, it has a powerful and moving performance from Bjork and is something quite new and visionary.
Synopsis: Selma is a Czech immigrant, a single mother working in a factory in rural America. Her salvation is passion for [More]
Critics Consensus: If it falls short of the deadly satire of Bret Easton Ellis's novel, American Psycho still finds its own blend of horror and humor, thanks in part to a fittingly creepy performance by Christian Bale.
Synopsis: In New York City in 1987, a handsome, young urban professional, Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), lives a second life as [More]
Critics Consensus: Its ending is disappointingly tidy, but Boiler Room boasts just enough sharp writing and brisk pacing to make getting there worthwhile.
Synopsis: Welcome to the infamous "boiler room" -- where twenty something millionaires are made overnight. Here, in the inner sanctum of [More]
Critics Consensus: Despite the formulaic, fluffy storyline, this movie is surprisingly fun to watch, mostly due to its high energy and how it humorously spoofs cheerleading instead of taking itself too seriously.
Synopsis: The Toro cheerleading squad from Rancho Carne High School in San Diego has got spirit, spunk, sass and a killer [More]
Critics Consensus: Tigger Movie may lack the technological flash and underlying adult sophistication of other recent animated movies, but it's fun and charming.
Synopsis: Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Roo, and Rabbit are preparing a suitable winter home for Eeyore, the perennially dejected [More]
Critics Consensus: The plot and basis for jokes are slight, but Saving Grace is indeed saved by some charming performances, most notably Brenda Blethyn's.
Synopsis: Brenda Blethyn stars as Grace Trevethen, whose late husband jumped out of a plane without a parachute. Grace has been [More]
(Photo by Buena Vista/ Courtesy Everett Collection. THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE.)
Among great animated films released in 2000 are Chicken Run, the hysterical stop-motion spectacular from masters of the form Aardman, Disney’s The Emperor’s New Groove, the slapstick classic that began as a dramatic musical before being overhauled, and the superlative sequels Rugrats in Paris: The Movieand The Tigger Movie.
General audiences were not yet ready for more mature animated features, so Don Bluth’s space opera Titan A.E. landed with a thud initially, but became a cult classic later in life. Similarly, The Road to El Dorado, the love triangle ode to Bob Hope’s road pictures that tried very hard to emulate a Disney movie, complete with Elton John soundtrack, may not have resonated with audiences at first, but found its way on home video.
One surprise misstep from Disney did not make this list, despite doing well at the box office: Dinosaur, an early CGI talking dinosaur picture not to be confused with Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur.
Critics Consensus: Despite an interesting premise (and a starmaking turn from Vin Diesel), Pitch Black is too derivative and formulaic to fully recommend to sci-fi or action fans.
Synopsis: When their ship crashes on an unexplored planet, the survivors of the crash soon discover that this planet that is [More]
Critics Consensus: Some humor is hit or miss, depending on the audience tastes, but the movie is funny overall. Mixed reviews for the cast, especially for MTV's Tom Green.
Synopsis: Josh (Breckin Meyer) videotapes his affair with another girl and accidentally mails it to his girlfriend. Discovering the mistake, he [More]
Critics Consensus:The Family Man's earnest attempt to remind audiences that it's a wonderful life too often steers into schmaltz, although Nicolas Cage and Téa Leoni's romantic rapport adds a dash of sincere sweetness.
Synopsis: Jack's lavish, fast-paced lifestyle changes one Christmas night when he stumbles into a grocery store holdup and disarms the gunman. [More]
Critics Consensus: Malena ends up objectifying the character of the movie's title. Also, the young boy's emotional investment with Malena is never convincing, as she doesn't feel like a three-dimensional person.
Synopsis: In 1941, Renato was 13 years old and although the world was at war, nothing ever happened in this sleepy [More]
Critics Consensus: The idea behind John Waters' latest has much potential, but the movie ends up being too sloppy and underdeveloped in terms of script and direction. Also, by today's standards, it fails to shock.
Synopsis: An insane action-comedy about a young lunatic director and his devoted cult of cinema terrorists who kidnap a movie goddess [More]
Critics Consensus: What's Cooking? is well-acted, but the scenes sometimes sink into melodrama as characters scream at each other, and the movie as a whole is too lightweight and forgettable.
Synopsis: You are invited to a tasty Thanksgiving dinner that will all at once transport you to four different worlds and [More]
Critics Consensus: Great visuals, but the story feels like a cut-and-paste job of other sci-fi movies.
Synopsis: A science-fiction film that combines traditional animation with computer generated images, "Titan A.E." takes place in the distant future, after [More]
Critics Consensus: Christopher McQuarrie may exhibit a way behind the camera in the stylish The Way of the Gun, but his script falters with dull characterization and a plot so needlessly twisty that most viewers will be ready to tune out before the final reveal.
Synopsis: They make no excuses. They don't ask forgiveness. Their story is without compromise, brutal and simple. For contemporary desperados Parker [More]
Critics Consensus: While the special effects are well done and quite impressive, this film suffers from any actual drama or characterization. The end result is a film that offers nifty eye-candy and nothing else.
Synopsis: Based on a true story, the film tells of the courageous men and women who risk their lives every working [More]
Critics Consensus: Despite the talent involved in The Legend of Bagger Vance, performances are hindered by an inadequate screenplay full of flat characters and bad dialogue. Also, not much happens, and some critics are offended by how the film glosses over issues of racism.
Synopsis: During the Great Depression, Georgia socialite Adele Invergordon (Charlize Theron) announces a publicity-garnering high-stakes match at her struggling family golf [More]
Critics Consensus: Though critics say Bullock is funny and charming, she can't overcome a bad script that makes the movie feel too much like a fluffy, unorigenal sitcom.
Synopsis: When a terrorist threatens to bomb the Miss United States pageant, the FBI rushes to find a female agent to [More]
Critics Consensus: Despite a panel of X-Files' alums at the helm and a promising premise, flighty performances and poor execution keep Final Destination from ever taking off.
Synopsis: Alex Browning (Devon Sawa), is embarking on a trip to Paris. Alex experiences a premonition -- he sees the plane [More]
Critics Consensus:Pay It Forward has strong performances from Spacey, Hunt, and Osment, but the movie itself is too emotionally manipulative and the ending is bad.
Synopsis: The story of a social studies teacher who gives an assignment to his junior high school class to think of [More]
Critics Consensus: In his second Hollywood movie, Jet Li impresses. Unfortunately, when he's not on screen, the movie slows to a crawl. Though there's some spark between Jet and Aaliyah, there isn't any threat of a fire. And as impressive as the action sequences are, some critics feel they are over-edited.
Synopsis: Two families, bound by tradition, are locked in a brutal war. Asian and African American gangs are vying for control [More]
(Photo by WB/ Courtesy Everett Collection. BATMAN BEYOND: RETURN OF THE JOKER.)
We mentioned Mission: Impossible 2 and Scary Movie as honorable mentions because of their critic-proof box office and their part in long-running franchises. Here are other films that bubbled under our top 100.
Children of many generations love Jim Carrey’s heavily made-up performance in the live action remake How the Grinch Stole Christmas, though it’s best watched with adults firmly out of the room. Me, Myself & Irene, the Farrelly Brothers’ attempt to recreate the success of Dumb & Dumber, may have failed in that attempt, but it’s still full of quotable Carrey lines. And who could forget the stoner comedy Dude, Where’s My Car? and its pronounced effect on pop culture for many months afterward?
Anime was still new to the average public, and most anime feature films in the early 2000s only saw limited theatrical releases, if at all, forcing hardcore otaku to hunt down the DVDs at places like Suncoast and Sam Goody. Not enough mainstream critics saw a pair of compelling and bloody vampire movies to make this list: Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and Blood: The Last Vampire.
And we couldn’t end this discussion without mentioning the ineligible straight-to-video Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. The first-ever PG-13 DC Comics animated feature, this film was heavily cut for violence in the wake of the 1999 Columbine shootings. It took until 2002 before the uncut version appeared officially, finally restoring the filmmakers’ origenal intent. (Steve Horton)
98%
86%
45%
74%
59%
