Sometimes you want a movie that’s not too old and not too new – a Goldilocks of cinematic history, if you will. Fortunately for Netflix subscribers, the streaming service is jam-packed with some of the best movies from early-aughts, from blockbuster action to crowd-pleasing comedies, and even a few Oscar winners. For the purposes of this list, we’ll be looking at movies that came out between the years of 2000 and 2009. And boy, the first decade of the new millennium sure had some killer films, from the birth of superhero dominance at the box office to the rise of beloved filmmakers like Todd Phillips, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Guy Ritchie.
Check out our picks for the Best 2000s Movies on Netflix below, and if you’re looking for more streaming recommendations, be sure to check out The Best Movies on Netflix and The Best TV Shows on Netflix.
Wedding Crashers (2005)
Run Time: 1 hr 59 min | Genre: Comedy Romantic | Director: David Dobkin
Cast: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Christopher Walken
Owen Wilson (Loki) and Vince Vaughn star in the wonderfully raunchy romantic comedy Wedding Crashers. Director David Dobkin (Into the Badlands) captures the excitement and frenzy of wedding weekends in the surprisingly charming movie about brotherhood and vulnerability, based on the script from Steve Faber and Bob Fisher (We’re The Millers). Highlighted by hilarious dialogue and quotable quips, Wedding Crashers also features Rachel McAdams (Doctor Strange) and Isla Fisher (Wolf Like Me) as the love interests, as well as unforgettable hijinks from Jane Seymour’s cougar named Kitty and Bradley Cooper (Guardians of the Galaxy). – Yael Tygiel
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Made of Honor (2008)
Run Time: 1 hr 41 min | Genre: Romance Comedy | Director: Paul Weiland
Cast: Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, Kevin McKidd
Made of Honor stars Patrick Dempsey as the commitment-phobic Tom, platonic friend to Hannah (Michelle Monaghan), who has just met her future husband (Kevin McKidd). Directed by Paul Weiland, Made of Honor has all the classic rom-com tropes intermingling with prime toxic masculinity of the early aughts era. Toying with societal expectations of gender roles and the age-old question of friendship across genders, Made of Honor doesn’t make any sort of grand statements aside from reminding audiences to shoot their shot before it is too late and that Scotland is wet. – Yael Tygiel
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Along Came Polly (2004)
Run Time: 1 hr 30 min | Genre: Comedy Romantic | Director: John Hamburg
Cast: Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Debra Messing, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alec Baldwin
Written and directed by John Hamburg,Along Came Polly continues Ben Stiller’s train of fun-averse leading men who need a free-spirited woman to loosen them up. Opposite Stiller’s stick in the mud Reuben is Jennifer Aniston as Polly, a bohemian woman from his youth whose interest sparks an adjustment, freeing Reuben of his rigid ways. With great actors like Stiller, Aniston, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, Along Came Polly has the makings of an amusing and easy-viewing comedy. Although the central couple lacked some chemistry, the cute, standard premise and gratuitous humor in Along Came Polly serve as an easy reminder that living is worth the risk. – Yael Tygiel
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I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007)
Run Time: 1 hr 55 min | Genre: Comedy Buddy Romance | Director: Dennis Dugan
Cast: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry comes from Adam Sandler and frequent collaborators director Dennis Dugan (Grown Ups) and co-star Kevin James. In Chuck and Larry, Sandler and James play a couple of straight Brooklyn firefighters who, after a near-death experience, marry each other, pretending to be gay, in order to receive domestic partner benefits. The adorable awkwardness and slapstick humor make up for the clumsy attempt at a message about friendship, love, and acceptance. Considered progressive at the time, Chuck and Larry has a hidden charm, deeply muddled by their flawed attempt at approaching gay rights through stereotypes and homophobia. Still, the wobbly execution ultimately reveals a sweet movie that is both crude and caring. – Yael Tygiel
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Pineapple Express (2008)
Run Time: 1 hr 52 min | Genre: Comedy Action | Director: David Gordon Green
Cast: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Gary Cole, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson
Directed by David Gordon Green from a screenplay written by Judd Apatow,Evan Goldberg, and star Seth Rogen, Pineapple Express is a laid-back buddy comedy that blossomed from a stoner fantasy. Co-starring James Franco as Rogan’s friendly airheaded pot dealer, Pineapple Express follows the duo on a rambunctious adventure through low-brow laughs and loose-knit action. Bridging genres, Pineapple Express keeps on track with a steady tempo even through contradictory tones, as the second half of the film features jarring violence and stunts. Pineapple Express truly stands out with Franco’s performance, the cinematography, and amusingly unexpected dialogue and riffs. – Yael Tygiel
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Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Run Time: 2 hrs 14 min | Genre: Drama Western Queer | Director: Ang Lee
Cast: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Michelle Williams
From Oscar-winning director Ang Lee(Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Brokeback Mountain follows a couple of cowboys who develop a heart-wrenching relationship. Set over the course of 20 years, Brokeback Mountain stars Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Spider-Man: Far From Home)as the ranch hands who begin a complex affair, which grows from sporadic passionate encounters to a moving and tragic love story. Expressed through a powerful and beautifully shot film, Brokeback Mountain produces compassionate observations on love and life highlighted by the naturally gorgeous wilderness, leaving the audience with a lasting impression of the unforgettably dynamic characters. – Yael Tygiel
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Resident Evil (2002)
Run Time: 1 hr 40 min | Genre: Sci-fi Horror Action | Director: Paul W. S. Anderson
Cast: Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Ryan McCluskey, Indra Ové
Inspired by the video game, Resident Evil stars Milla Jovovich(The Fifth Element) in the impressive action flick. Written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson,Resident Evil follows Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez(The Fate of the Furious), leaders of a badass special military team tasked with stopping a deadly virus from escaping a secret lab and turning the entire planet’s population into an evil undead force. A remarkable merger of action, science-fiction, and horror, Resident Evil succeeds as the launch of a franchise due to being grounded in tension and action, allowing Jovovich and Rodriguez to shine. – Yael Tygiel
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Knight’s Tale (2001)
Run Time: 2 hrs 12 min | Genre: Romance Action Comedy | Director: Brian Helgeland
Cast: Heath Ledger, Mark Addy, Rufus Sewell, Shannyn Sossamon, Paul Bettany
An underrated film written and directed by Brian Helgeland, A Knight’s Tale features an unexpectedly impressive cast, including Mark Addy (Game of Thrones), Paul Bettany (WandaVision), and Alan Tudyk. With a cute and romantic plot reminiscent of Robin Hood, A Knight’s Tale follows a charming and attractive young peasant attempting to rise through the social ranks, better his future by becoming a knight, and win the heart of a princess. In addition to the two actors on the rise at the center of the beautiful love story, the young squire is played by the lateHeath Ledger (The Dark Knight), and Shannyn Sossamon stars as his love interest, Jocelyn. Even better? A Knight’s Tale also comes with a kickass soundtrack. – Yael Tygiel
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Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004)
Run Time: 1 hr 46 min | Genre: Comedy | Director: Kevin Rodney Sullivan
Cast: Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Eve, Queen Latifah,
A hilarious followup to the original Barbershop movie, Barbershop 2: Back in Business continues with Calvin’s story. Ice Cubereprises the role of Calvin, who is now struggling to keep his shop open as the world changes, forcing him to compete with the stylist next door, Gina (Queen Latifah). Joining the fun are both new and familiar faces, including Cedric the Entertainer, Eve, Sean Patrick Thomas, and Michael Ealy.Barbershop 2: Back in Business succeeds at furthering the stories of these beloved characters while also maintaining the tone and humor of the original film in the expanding franchise. – Yael Tygiel
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Seven Pounds (2008)
Run Time: 2 hrs 3 min | Genre: Drama | Director: Gabriele Muccino
Cast: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson
Will Smith (Bad Boys) completes his transition from comedy and action star to dramatic leading man in Seven Pounds, a touchingly devastating story written by Grant Nieporte. Guiding Smith’s performance is director Gabriele Muccino, who captures the delicate connection between Smith and his co-stars — particularly Rosario Dawson. Seven Pounds tells the extraordinary tale of Ben (Smith), a man determined to redeem himself by literally giving everything he has to strangers. While making an effort to radically benefit the lives of seven people, Ben unexpectedly falls in love with a cardiac patient who inadvertently threatens to derail his mission. Brace for tears and heartbreak — Seven Pounds is a tale of woe. – Yael Tygiel
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Closer (2004)
Run Time: 1 hr 44 min | Genre: Romance Drama | Director: Mike Nichols
Cast: Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen
Directed by the great Mike Nichols with a script by original playwright Patrick Marber, the 2004 romantic drama Closer is both a tender and talky character piece about four desperately lonely people falling in and out of love with each other, and constantly searching for moments of truth in their litany of lies. As the lovers, exes, and enemies in question Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen make for a remarkable ensemble, each as radiant as their characters are repugnant, fully capable of tackling the dialogue-forward demands of Marber’s script and translating its moments of melodramatic flourish into believable and searing vulnerability. Having Nichols behind the camera only enhances the human element amidst the soapy treachery and toxicity, and the fact that Closer feels so emotionally cinematic while retaining so much of its stageplay syntax only further proves what a uniquely empathetic filmmaker he was, and a master of his craft at that. – Haleigh Foutch
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The Aviator (2004)
Run Time: 2 hr 49 min | Genre: Drama | Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda
Legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese had wanted to make a film about iconic aviator and filmmaker Howard Hughes for a long time, and he finally saw that dream become a reality with The Aviator. The film finds Leonardo DiCaprio stepping into the role of Hughes, who went from pioneer to filmmaker to recluse over the course of a lengthy career. As the title suggests, Scorsese’s film sees Hughes through the lens of his passion for aviation, and DiCaprio delivers a towering performance that spans decades. Moreover, in a nod to his love of film, Scorsese and cinematographer Robert Richardson present each section of the film in the manner in which it would’ve been presented at the time. The result is a vibrant and engaging affair, even as the film stretches on for nearly three hours. – Adam Chitwood
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