Ranking What Was Really The Best Film Of Every Year 1990-2021

Actually won: Slumdog Millionaire.

The Academy tends not to go for superhero movies in the major categories, and whilst that's never been too big an issue, it certainly was in 2008 when Christopher Nolan's seminal drama The Dark Knight was shut-out of the Best Picture race.

In a year that nominated the tedious Curious Case of Benjamin Button and saw Danny Boyle's entertaining but forgettable drama Slumdog Millionaire win the top award, The Dark Knight was inexplicably left out in the cold.

Not only does Nolan's vision make for a sublime crime caper with tones of heart, it's also one of the finest superhero movies ever made, employing a gritty realism to Batman's story few adaptions have matched before or since. From its performances to its twists, The Dark Knight would've taken the award if not for the Academy's bias.