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Written By: Dan Geer

To ring in the new decade, I thought it would be cool to take a look back at the last decade and briefly reflect on my favorite geek films of the last ten years. This list mostly consists of comic book, sci-fi and fantasy films, although one of them isn’t exactly any of those (you’ll know why it is included when you see what it is).

So, without further ado, here is my top 10 list of what I feel are the best geek films of the last decade (2000-2009).

10. Minority Report (2002)

I think this movie is really underappreciated. In my opinion, it is one of the greatest modern science-fiction dramas of the last 30 years. This film stays true to the spirit of Philip K. Dick’s short story, even though it was drastically changed in some areas, and is one of the most entertaining sci-fi chase films of the last decade.

It has a very interesting premise. If beings existed that, when their mental powers are combined, can see with supposed 100% accuracy a crime that will be committed in the future, is it ethical to arrest the person that will commit that crime before he/she even goes through with it? A very interesting premise indeed.

Tom Cruise was great in this film, as was Max von Sydow, and this is one film that should be seen by any fan of science-fiction. I personally think this is director Steven Spielberg’s greatest sci-fi film since Jurassic Park.

9. Fanboys (2008)

After so many production hiccups with The Weinstein Company interfering in the telling of this great dramedy, Fanboys was finally given a release in theaters and was released to the world on DVD this past year.

This movie touches me on a personal level because I was about the age of these characters when Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace was finally being released in theaters. Even though many were disappointed with the first Star Wars prequel (I was not one of those people), every geek across the globe understood that the premiere of that film was the most important event in the history of geekdom back in May 1999. Fanboys chronicles a story that reflects much of what it was like to be apart of the hype machine that was The Phantom Menace, and it does it so well. For geeks, it was a time unlike any other time in history.

This movie doesn’t paint geeks in a negative light either. These characters, while funny and perhaps a bit too obsessed with Star Wars, are the most endearing geeks ever to grace a movie screen. They were nerds, but nerds with a dignified goal of finding a way for their friend to see the newest Star Wars movie before he dies of cancer.

Did I mention the movie is also absolutely hilarious? If you’re a fan of anything Star Wars you will appreciate this movie on so many levels.

8. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Ah yes, the infamous Star Wars prequels. Love ’em or hate ’em, most everyone seems to agree that Revenge of the Sith was the best of them.

Even though I think The Empire Strikes Back is the “best” Star Wars film, Revenge of the Sith is my “favorite.” It clearly is the darkest of all six movies, and we finally got to see how the Clone Wars come to an end, how the Republic became the evil Empire and how the legendary Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader. I have been waiting to see this story since I was a kid, and in 2005 we finally got to see the final piece of the puzzle. People will probably argue the supposed flaws of the story or acting for years to come, but I loved how it all came to a close. I feel much of the story was actually quite cleverly constructed – especially the Emperor’s manipulation of Anakin Skywalker.

My only hope is that someday, after The Clone Wars animated series and the upcoming Star Wars live-action series come to a close, George Lucas will change his mind about making more Star Wars films and perhaps let some other director take over and make Knights of the Old Republic movies…

7. X2 (2003)

Most comic book geeks agree that X2 is one of the best movies based on a comic, despite how much this film, as well as the first X-Men movie, veered from the original source material.

What made this film so great was its balance of so many main characters – something that X-Men: The Last Stand did not do so well. While its main focus was on Wolverine, revealing more of his incredibly intriguing back story, we had such a lush array of stories with other mutants as well – especially Nightcrawler.

Director Bryan Singer was a master of making this sci-fi world seem absolutely real. Not only did it have great action sequences with mutants displaying really cool powers, but it also dealt with the idea of racial oppression and what to do about mutants whose powers have the potential to take over the world. X-Men and X2 were two of the first comic-book movies to really give us that “real world” feel to something that was completely unreal.

I can not wait to see what Bryan Singer has in store for X-Men: First Class.

6. Batman Begins (2005)

After Joel Schumacher created the debacle that was Batman & Robin back in 1997, it seemed like the Batman franchise was lost forever.

Then finally in 2005, Christopher Nolan took his place in the director’s chair and delivered a fresh reboot of the franchise that delved into Batman’s origins with the League of Shadows and how Bruce Wayne became the infamous Dark Knight.

It had scary and diabolical villians (represented by The Scarecrow and Ra’s Al Ghul respectively), a stellar cast and a memorable story. This film saved the franchise from disappearing forever. Batman finally was back to its dark roots, and comic book fans everywhere could rejoice in seeing a far less silly take on the caped crusader. This was absolutely my favorite movie of 2005.

5. Iron Man (2008)

To be honest, the previews for this film did not “wow” me a whole lot. It didn’t look bad, but I was not exactly that excited about this film either. Iron Man isn’t the most popular comic book, and I did not know much about the character. But to everyone’s surprise, this movie totally rocked.

Robert Downey Jr. made a huge comeback with this movie. His portrayal of Tony Stark was witty, funny, and yet somehow quite charming. The action was top-notch, and the story was better than most comic book movies. Iron Man was one of my favorite movies of ’08, and I actually enjoyed it much more than any of the Spider-Man films. It was just plain fun.

Iron Man 2, here we come!

4. Star Trek (2009)

Leave it to a Star Wars fan to make a great Star Trek film. Director J.J. Abrams did an incredible job at bringing this famous franchise back in a big way.

I actually enjoyed quite a few of the original Trek films, especially The Wrath of Khan, The Undiscovered Country, and First Contact. But this new Trek film really conquered all of those by introducing a little Star Wars-esque action entertainment into the intellectual universe that is Star Trek. Let’s face it, those old films got kind of boring in some areas.

The best thing about this “reboot” is that by introducing this alternate timeline in which events changed from how they originally were, we now can explore the Star Trek universe from a whole new angle without disrupting what came before. Mad props to writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman for doing this.

Also, having Leonard Nimoy reprise his role as old Spock was shear genius. It connects the old with the new, making this film feel like it exists in the same universe with the films that came before it.

Thanks to this film, this franchise has new life breathed into it again. The sequel possibilities are endless.

3. District 9 (2009)

This popular sci-fi film came out of nowhere. Sure, us film junkies on the internet knew about this movie months before everyone else, and the trailers looked cool. But I really do not think anyone could have predicted just how great this movie was going to be and how popular it would become.

For a budget of approximately $30 million, this movie accomplished so much. There was a compelling story that, after watching the film, felt like a real one that had to be told. The world that director Neill Blomkamp and producer Peter Jackson created felt so real, that I really believed for a moment that the events of this film were actually happening in the city of Johannesburg, Africa and that Wikus van de Merwe was really [spoiler] turning into a prawn. [end spoiler] Man I felt bad for the guy!

Actor Sharlto Copley apparently did not do much acting before his role as Wikus, except for his role as a sniper in Alive in Joburg, Blomkamp’s short film that inspired District 9. For that he deserves an Oscar for Best Actor since his performance was so believable. I really felt connected to his character on an emotional level, and that is saying a lot for someone who hasn’t really acted in a film before.

2. The Dark Knight (2008)

Batman Begins was a huge breath of fresh air after the abomination that was Batman & Robin. A new Batman film franchise was born and we were left to wonder how any sequel could possibly live up to its name.

The answer to that was The Dark Knight.

It was darker and edgier. It felt even more like the story of Batman was taking place right here in the real world, and the film utilized the detective aspect of Batman much more as he riddled his way through the Joker’s hideously maniacal shenanigans.

Of course, what made this film stand out more than the story or any of the other actors’ performances was Heath Ledger’s legendary portrayal of the Joker. He was funny, yet scary and sadistic. He was absolutely out of his mind, and that’s what made him so great. It is such a shame that we won’t see more of it.

After this wild ride of a Batman film, we are all wondering what director Christopher Nolan can possibly do to make a third film worthy of this one. I really don’t think it is possible, but if anyone is capable of making another great Batman film, it’s Nolan.

1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)

It all began when director Peter Jackson and his team approached New Line Cinema as a last resort with their two-film pitch of The Lord of the Rings and Bob Shaye (New Line’s head honcho) said something to the effect of, “Isn’t this a trilogy? This should be three films.” As Christopher Lee, who played Saruman, once said, “Well, thank God for that decision.”

When I sat down to write this Top 10 list, I knew right away that this trilogy would be number one. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one film in my mind, as all three films were filmed back to back and you cannot complete the story unless you watch all three. Not only that, but all three films were absolutely great. No movie this past decade has surpassed the experience of seeing these films for the first time. There was never anything like it before, nor has there really been anything like it since.

When I first saw The Fellowship of the Ring, I could not believe what I was seeing. I had never read the books at that time back in December 2001, but I knew what I saw was magical. Like the original Star Wars, the world witnessed something huge that would change the world of movies forever. That magic continued for two more years after that with The Two Towers and The Return of the King, the first fantasy epic to win the Best Picture Academy Award.

The characters were perfect, the story was classic, the battles were incredibly epic and Howard Shore’s music score was some of the best and most memorable music ever to accompany a film. Whether it’d be Hobbiton, Rivendale, Moria, Rohan, Gondor, etc. – every location we traveled to took our breath away. What was thought to be impossible in the world of film was achieved, and Middle Earth became a real place in all of our hearts.

Notable Mentions (in no particular order):

Spider-Man (2002)
Spider-Man 2
(2004)
Avatar
(2009) (no, I didn’t think it was as great as everyone else seems to think it is, although the visuals were spectacular)
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
(2002)
War of the Worlds (2005)
300 (2007)
X-Men (2000)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008)
Harry Potter 1-6 (2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009)
Transformers (2007)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)
The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008)

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