Quentin Tarantino recently stated, with quite a level of conviction, that David Fincher’s The Social Network was “hands down” the best film of the decade 2010-2019. Sure, Tarantino may have a case: Jesse Eisenberg is undeniably great as Mark Zuckerberg, Aaron Sorkin never falls short of excellence in terms of his dialogue, and David Fincher is…well, he’s David Fincher. However, to call The Social Network the best film of the decade and make it out to be no competition at all seems like a stretch. I’d personally take Tarantino’s own spaghetti western revival and bloody masterpiece Django Unchained over the film about the rise of Facebook.
Fortunately, film is mostly subjective. Tarantino has his opinions, I have mine, and I’m most certainly sure you have your own when choosing the best film of the past decade. It’s not an easy task picking one film to stand above the rest, 2010-2019 was littered with great films; 2019 alone probably has three or four candidates you could make an argument for.
So, if I don’t believe The Social Network is the best film of the past decade, that begs the question, what do I believe fits the bill?
Blade Runner 2049
To my parents, this will not come as a shock, but Denis Villeneuve’s cyberpunk sequel, Blade Runner 2049, is my favorite film to have come out from 2010-2019. And I know I’m not alone, as I have seen plenty of people sing the movie’s praise as obnoxiously and as often as I do.
Why Blade Runner 2049?
The real question here should be, why not Blade Runner 2049? The film is a masterful continuation from the original, remaining faithful to the atmosphere and themes of its defining origin whilst maintaining its own identity. Ideas of humanity, love, and justice are poetically explored through the film’s central characters, replicants, holograms, humans and the like. Blade Runner 2049 is also the greatest visual spectacle I have ever witnessed on screen, the work from director Denis Villeneuve and cinematography legend Roger Deakins here is unparalleled. The score is a fantastic ode to Vangelis. Ryan Gosling exudes stoicism, Harrison Ford exudes being a grumpy old man, Ana De Armas breathes life into a character that physically has none, Sylvia Hoeks plays a criminally underrated villain, and the list goes on.
Blade Runner 2049 is the first film I purchased on the 4k format, and when I finally get a machine that is capable of playing the disc, it will be the first film I watch in 4k at home. Which film do you believe is the best of the previous decade? Is it The Social Network? Or maybe Blade Runner 2049? Or maybe something else entirely. I’m more than happy to discuss.
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