Quentin Tarantino has never had trouble saying what he thinks, even when it ruffles feathers. His movies are famous for walking the line between genius and madness, and he has built his career by being impossible to ignore. His latest project outside the camera isn’t a new film but a very Tarantino thing to do: ranking the best movies of the 21st century and explaining why his taste is, in his view, beyond dispute.
The list came out over two parts, first unveiled during his chat on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast. The first half already raised eyebrows by mixing a Spielberg musical like West Side Story with horror oddities such as The Devil’s Rejects and Cabin Fever. Part two doesn’t get any less eccentric. Tarantino names Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down as the greatest film of the 21st century, calling it a masterwork.
“I liked it when I first saw it, but I actually think it was so intense that it stopped working for me, and I didn’t carry it with me the way that I should’ve,” he said. “Since then, I’ve seen it a couple of times, not a bunch of times, but I think it’s a masterwork… It’s the only movie that actually goes completely for an Apocalypse Now sense of purpose and visual effect and feeling, and I think it achieves it.”
One of his more surprising inclusions is Toy Story 3, which he calls “the greatest end of a trilogy” and an emotional wrecking ball. “It’s just remarkable. It’s almost a perfect movie. And we don’t even get to talk about the great comedy bits, which are never-ending,” Tarantino said. “I think people never nail the third film of a trilogy… This is the greatest end of a trilogy.” Yes, the guy who made Pulp Fiction gets sentimental over talking toys.
Things get heated when Tarantino discusses Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood. The director praises the movie’s craftsmanship but then unleashes on one of its stars. “There Will Be Blood would stand a good chance at being 1 or 2 if it didn’t have a big, giant flaw in it… Paul Dano,” Tarantino said. “[Dano] is weak sauce, man. He is the weak sister… The weakest f***ing actor in SAG.” That take alone was enough to light up film Twitter.
The rest of the list swings from high-minded drama to pure popcorn chaos. He includes Dunkirk, Lost in Translation, Zodiac, and Mad Max: Fury Road, noting he’d prefer if Mel Gibson had played Max. He also praises Edgar Wright’s horror comedy Shaun of the Dead and Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris. He even reveals he “can’t stand Owen Wilson,” which feels on-brand at this point.
Here’s Tarantino’s full rundown of the 20 best movies of the 21st century:
1. Black Hawk Down (2001) — Ridley Scott
2. Toy Story 3 (2010) — Lee Unkrich
3. Lost in Translation (2003) — Sofia Coppola
4. Dunkirk (2017) — Christopher Nolan
5. There Will Be Blood (2007) — Paul Thomas Anderson
6. Zodiac (2007) — David Fincher
7. Unstoppable (2010) — Tony Scott
8. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) — George Miller
9. Shaun of the Dead (2004) — Edgar Wright
10. Midnight in Paris (2011) — Woody Allen
11. Battle Royale (2000) — Kinji Fukasaku
12. Big Bad Wolves (2013) — Aharon Keshales & Navot Papushado
13. Jackass: The Movie (2002) — Jeff Tremaine
14. School of Rock (2003) — Richard Linklater
15. The Passion of the Christ (2004) — Mel Gibson
16. The Devil’s Rejects (2005) — Rob Zombie
17. Chocolate (2008) — Prachya Pinkaew
18. Moneyball (2011) — Bennett Miller
19. Cabin Fever (2003) — Eli Roth
20. West Side Story (2021) — Steven Spielberg
While critics debate his rankings, Tarantino is busy doing what he does best—tweaking his own work. His long-rumored project Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair has finally hit theaters. The edited version unites Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 into one 291-minute feature with a new anime sequence. The result, according to Rotten Tomatoes, is a rare perfect score from both critics and viewers.
The original films came out in 2003 and 2004 and were hits but not untouchable. Vol. 1 scored 85% with critics and 81% with audiences. Vol. 2 landed 84% and 89%. Now edited as a single story, Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair has been hailed as one of the few films to hit 100% on both the Tomatometer and Popcornmeter.
“Quentin Tarantino’s KILL BILL: THE WHOLE BLOODY AFFAIR unites Volume 1 and Volume 2 into a single, unrated epic–presented exactly as he intended, complete with a new, never-before-seen anime sequence. Uma Thurman stars as The Bride, left for dead after her former boss and lover Bill ambushes her wedding rehearsal, shooting her in the head and stealing her unborn child. To exact her vengeance, she must first hunt down the four remaining members of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad before confronting Bill himself. With its operatic scope, relentless action, and iconic style, THE WHOLE BLOODY AFFAIR stands as one of cinema’s definitive revenge sagas–rarely shown in its complete form, and now presented with a classic intermission.”
Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair is now playing in select theaters, giving fans the chance to see the Bride’s story exactly the way Tarantino always wanted.
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English (US) · 