3. The Dark Knight
In 2005, less than a decade after Batman & Robin nearly destroyed the Caped Crusader's onscreen reputation, Christopher Nolan brilliantly reinvigorated one of the great superheroes with the surprisingly eloquent and serious-minded Batman Begins. With unprecedented hype following throughout the entire production of its sequel, Nolan surpassed himself with the most influential, and arguably the best, superhero film of all time with 2008's The Dark Knight. Although most of the lasting memories of The Dark Knight come from Heath Ledger's iconic performance as The Joker, the entire film is near blockbuster perfection. Gigantic set-pieces, a pulsing score, and one of the best screenplays of any film of the last decade add together to make an almost unprecedented cinematic experience. Not only does The Dark Knight work as one of the most well-crafted spectacles of any recent film, it has the acting, thematic material, and atmosphere of an arthouse film. The synthesis of the two styles makes The Dark Knight an imminently watchable piece of cinema that makes us think and feel more than all but a few modern movies.