The Best Films of the 2010 Decade Summarised with One Word Each

We've not only reached the end of a great year of film, but we've also reached the end of an astonishing decade of film, the first calendar decade I have lived through the entirety of - the 2010s. There has been a plethora of fantastic filmmaking over the last ten years and I thought I'd take this chance to look back on the best that I've seen in this time. As I'm sure you can imagine, a simple top ten is not nearly enough. So, here is my top FORTY films of the 2010 Decade.

Because we've got so many to make our way through, I thought I'd challenge myself and summarise what I like about each film with a single word. I have talked about many of these before, but there are some I haven't. Also, it was a pain to put this list together and I have never had it in a form that I am completely satisfied with, so it's more of just as a rundown of some of my personal favourite films of this decade in rough order of least best to the very best. Let's see what happens!

Tier 4: The Really Flippin' Good Movies 

40. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017, Jon Watts) - Neat 
39. Attack the Block (2011, Joe Cornish) - Madcap
38. Apollo 11 (2019, Todd Douglas Miller) - Extraordinary 
37. The Social Network (2010, David Fincher) - Insightful
36. The King's Speech (2010, Tom Hooper) - Charming 
35. Yesterday (2019, Danny Boyle) - Joyful 
34. War Horse (2011, Steven Spielberg) - Touching
33. A Monster Calls (2016, J.A. Bayona) - Riveting
32. Dunkirk (2017, Christopher Nolan) - Thrilling
31. Doctor Strange (2016, Scott Derrickson) - Fascinating

Tier 3: The Excellent Movies 

30. Tangled (2010, Nathan Greno / Byron Howard) - Refreshing
29. Inside Out (2015, Pete Doctor) - Beautiful
28. The Lego Batman Movie (2017, Chris McKay) - Bonkers
27. The Lego Movie 2 (2019, Mike Mitchell) - Clever
26. Captain America: Civil War (2016, Joe and Anthony Russo) - Gripping
25. Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010, Edgar Wright) - Exciting
24. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019, Jon Watts) - Consistent
23. Jojo Rabbit (2019, Taika Waititi) - Sweet
22. Arthur Christmas (2011, Sarah Smith) - Cheerful
21. The Lego Movie (2014, Phil Lord / Chris Miller) - Magical

Tier 2: The Extremely Excellent Movies  

20. Inception (2010, Christopher Nolan) - Thought-Provoking
19. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014, James Gunn) - Unique
18. The World's End (2013, Edgar Wright) - Chaotic
17. A Quiet Place (2018, John Krasinski) - Tense
16. Toy Story 3 (2010, Lee Unkrich) - Satisfying
15. Knives Out (2019, Rian Johnson) - Prime
14. 1917 (2019, Sam Mendes) - Breathtaking
13. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018, Peter Ramsey / Bob Persichetti) - Dazzling
12. How to Train Your Dragon (2010, Chris Sanders / Dean DeBlois) - Wondrous
11. Zootropolis (2016, Rich Moore / Jared Bush / Byron Howard) - Thoughtful

Tier 1: The Masterful and Utterly Brilliant Movies
 
10. La La Land (2016, Damien Chazelle) - Fabulous 
9. Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016, Taika Waititi) - Endearing
8. Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015, Matthew Vaughn) - Awesome
7. Avengers: Endgame (2019, Joe and Anthony Russo) - Spectacular
6. Thor Ragnarok (2017, Taika Waititi) - Wild 
5. Wreck-it Ralph (2012, Rich Moore) - Inventive
4. The Martian (2015, Ridley Scott) - Engrossing
3. Paddington (2014, Paul King) - Amiable
2. Avengers: Infinity War (2018, Joe and Anthony Russo) - Marvellous
1. Paddington 2 (2017, Paul King) - Pure