20 Most Rewatchable Movies Of The 2000s

The noughties were a strange time for cinema. Digital technologies were superseding film, CG was taking the place of practical actors and effects, the Wayans were getting films greenlit on the reg, and everybody seemed to be watching the same things. The cinematic tradition that has evolved in the years since has created a gulf between slick, big-budget Hollywood features and an expansive experimental indie scene. But, despite the array of perspectives and approaches on offer today, sometimes we like to gaze back at the monoculture of yore.

The decade of flip phones, MP3s, ASBOs, and MSN gave us a raft of great movies with real staying power. From the family-friendly animation and wry script of Shrek 2 to the hardcore violence and stylised visuals of Sin City, every genre, form, and age-rating from the era has something worth watching again.

They're not always the best films of the decade, but then so many of the finest films made during this time – Requiem for a Dream, Irreversible, Garfield: The Movie – can be a trial, and not the kind of thing you necessarily want to chuck on for a spot of easy viewing. No, we’re looking specifically at those pictures, no matter their RT rating, which you don’t hesitate to slot in the DVD player, that you don’t click off on late-night TV, and which you plaster all over Letterboxd when your streamer of choice finally nabs them. 

Shrek 5 is nearly upon us, hoping to recapture the glory some  26 years after the original, and 17 after the last and most dismal sequel, Shrek Forever After. Some series start on a high and never recapture that glory, but for many there is a sophomore bump before the decline, and the Shrek franchise is no different. Yes, sharing the hallowed halls of Aliens, Terminator 2, and The Dark Knight, is Shrek 2.

With newlywed Shrek and Fiona (Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz), we travel to the kingdom of Far Far Away to meet Fiona’s parents, who are less than delighted to find their daughter not the fair princess they hoped for, but still an ogre – and now married to one. So, King Harold (John Cleese) hatches a plan to dispatch his new son-in-law and install Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) in his place.

A massive visual improvement on its predecessor, Shrek 2 successfully expands its universe and feels lived-in, earned, and authentic; something none of the other sequels can claim. It’s got Puss in Boots as an assassin, the Fairy Godmother as a maniacal antagonist, and more references, sight gags, and easter eggs than you can shake a magic wand at. And it’s one of the last children's animations that truly deserves the hackneyed descriptor of being as much fun for the adults as it is for the kids. Which is why those of us who grew up with it are still watching it today.