The Guardian reveals best film of the 21st century and people are confused
The Guardian has revealed its choices for the 100 greatest films of the 21st Century, and people are a bit baffled by the results.
The long list was compiled by the newspaper’s four finest film critics - Peter Bradshaw, Cath Clarke, Andrew Pulver and Catherine Shoard - but there are some unusual inclusions (and omissions).
Paul Thomas Anderson’s Oscar-winning 2007 masterpiece There Will Be Blood rightfully tops the list, with Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave in second place, followed by Richard Linklater’s audacious Boyhood in third, a top three that no-one can argue with.
Bu leaving aside the fact that Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight places ridiculously low at 98, readers are upset for a variety of reasons, but mainly because Seth MacFarlane’s raucous 2012 comedy Ted has placed so highly.
The Guardian’s list of the best films of the 21st Century is exactly the list you’d expect from the Guardian. Except for Ted at 60. wtaf? https://t.co/JoN1Xh6nHI
— John Kelly (@johnke) September 13, 2019
This isn’t a joke, Ted really does place at 60 on the list - a full 38 places ahead of The Dark Knight, the only superhero movie to make the list in the era that comic book movies have dominated the box office.
While we wouldn’t go as far as calling the choices bad - there are plenty of very fine films on the list - there are some unusual omissions.
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Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Guillerm Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund’s City Of God, Alfonso Cuaraon’s Children Of Men, James Mangold’s Logan, and George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road are all missing.
Meanwhile, Team America: World Police is at number 10 where it’s described as “The most audacious slaughter of sacred cows seen on celluloid.” It’s six places ahead of The Act Of Killing.
Oh, and there’s an entire genre that isn’t properly represented.
Congratulations to the Guardian, whose 100 Best Films Of The 21st Century contains precisely one horror movie. One. We're living in the genre's Golden Age FFS and they manage one film: Get Out. Face palming so hard I barely have a face left to palm. What horrors would you put in?
— Simon Crook (@sicrook) September 13, 2019
Yeaaaah, one horror film really isn’t good enough. It Follows, The Witch, Berberian Sound Studio, 28 Days Later, Hereditary, The Babadook, and American Psycho are all worthy of a mention on any 21st century list - and there are around 1000 more obscure titles that pop up at film festivals, stuff like Lords Of Chaos, The Devil’s Candy, Mandy, Thelma, and Under The Shadow that could fight for places too.
But at least horror gets Get Out - the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn’t represented at all.
Not doing a ‘Where is XX!?’ rant, but it‘s interesting/alienating that the Top 100 films this century list in The Guardian only has one superhero film and indeed no Marvels. What other arts list would be so removed from the dominant and often acclaimed genre of the last 20 years?
— Jonathan Dean (@JonathanDean_) September 13, 2019
It’s maybe the weirdest element of the list - the MCU has changed cinema, and even if you’re not happy about its dominance, you can’t argue with the quality of movies like Iron Man, Thor: Ragnarok, and Avengers: Endgame.
Again, Ted is on the list.
Read more: Every Marvel Cinematic Universe movie ranked from worst to best
Still, perhaps that’s the point of lists like this, to inspire discussion and debate, and The Guardian has certainly succeeded there.
We mean, come on, TED?!
