{"id":407502,"date":"2026-04-23T21:41:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T21:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/407502\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T21:41:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T21:41:17","slug":"only-8-epics-in-the-2020s-can-be-considered-true-masterpieces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/407502\/","title":{"rendered":"Only 8 Epics in the 2020s Can Be Considered True Masterpieces"},"content":{"rendered":"

Powered by cutting-edge developments in production technology, the movies<\/a> of the 2020s have pushed cinema to new limits, with imaginative and mind-blowing artistic expressions that go beyond anything we\u2019ve seen so far. The best of them, arguably, are the epics<\/a>; grand films of immense scale and spectacular storytelling that stand on par with the greats of the cinematic canon. And while the movies may have gotten bigger than ever in the 2020s, only a handful of the epic films produced in the decade so far can be counted as true masterpieces.<\/p>\n

Though they may be few in number, these films have had a profound influence on cinema that\u2019s sure to be felt for decades to come, exploring complex, compelling narratives on a scale that simply wasn\u2019t possible before. With that in mind, here\u2019s our selection of 2020s epics that can be considered true masterpieces.<\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

\u2018Babylon\u2019 (2022)<\/p>\n

\"Nellie
\n Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie) lying on the dance floor in Babylon.Image via Paramount Pictures<\/p>\n

Set in the Golden Age of Hollywood, Babylon<\/a> is an epic period black comedy-drama written and directed by Damien Chazelle. Centered on up-and-coming starlet Nellie LaRoy (Margot Robbie), movie star Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt), and resourceful Mexican immigrant Manny (Diego Calva), the movie explores the transformative changes that sweep across the industry as it transitions from silent films to talkies. The film\u2019s ensemble cast also includes Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li, Tobey Maguire, and more in major roles.<\/p>\n

Despite mixed reviews and a disappointing box office run, Babylon is a modern cult classic<\/a> that paints a detailed, layered, and outrageous portrait of Hollywood and cinema in general. The film is a powerful tribute and an honest examination of the industry\u2019s excesses and flaws, deconstructing the myth and magic to explore the often brutal nature of showbiz and ask the most fundamental question, \u201cWhat\u2019s it all for?\u201d Elevated by Justin Hurwitz\u2019s stellar score and the compelling performances of its ensemble, Babylon is easily one of the most underrated films of the 2020s.<\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

\u2018Everything Everywhere All at Once\u2019 (2022)<\/p>\n

\"Evelyn
\n Evelyn Wang with a googly eye on her forehead strikes a pose as paper whirl around herImage via A24<\/p>\n

Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once<\/a> is a sci-fi action comedy that follows the fantastical experiences of Evelyn Quan (Michelle Yeoh), an exceptionally average Chinese-American woman. Struggling to deal with her business, marriage, complicated family dynamics, and lost dreams, Evelyn finds her life suddenly upended when she\u2019s drawn into a multiversal crisis involving alternate worlds and an evil entity intent on destroying all of existence. During a tax audit, no less! Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Jamie Lee Curtis, and James Hong star in supporting roles.<\/p>\n

Chaotic, complex, hilarious, heartbreaking, and heartwarming, Everything Everywhere All at Once fully lives up to its name with its strange and wild story. Thematically rich and beautifully performed by its talented ensemble, the film is a heartfelt, multi-layered narrative about family, self-discovery, and Asian American identity that found resonance with a massive international fan base. The movie easily ranks among the greatest sci-fi films<\/a> of all time, transcending the limits of genre and convention, and it earned a record-high seven Academy Award wins, including for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress.<\/p>\n

3 <\/p>\n

\u2018The Northman\u2019 (2022)<\/p>\n

\"Alexander<\/p>\n

Image via\u00a0Focus Features<\/p>\n

Based on the original Scandinavian legends that inspired William Shakespeare\u2019s Hamlet, The Northman<\/a> is an epic dark fantasy Viking movie directed and co-written by Robert Eggers. Alexander Skarsg\u00e5rd stars as Amleth, a prince exiled from his homeland after his father is killed by his uncle, and the film follows his quest for vengeance, which leads to unexpected discoveries and a terrible cost. The movie also features Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Gustav Lindh, Willem Dafoe, Bj\u00f6rk, and more in supporting roles.<\/p>\n

The Northman is a rich, well-crafted historical epic that\u2019s further elevated by Alexander Skarsg\u00e5rd\u2019s brutally physical performance. It\u2019s a layered, intelligent story with fascinating characters and a moving narrative, and at the same time, it\u2019s also a thoroughly gripping action movie with amazing fight sequences set against breathtaking landscapes. Though it wasn\u2019t a big box office success, The Northman has found great success with streaming audiences, and it\u2019s easily one of the greatest Viking movies of all time<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Collider Exclusive \u00b7 Oscar Best Picture Quiz
\n Which Oscar Best Picture
Is Your Perfect Movie?
\n Parasite \u00b7 Everything Everywhere \u00b7 Oppenheimer \u00b7 Birdman \u00b7 No Country<\/p>\n

Five Oscar Best Picture winners. Five completely different visions of what cinema can be \u2014 and what it can do to you. One of them is the film that was made for the way your mind works. Ten questions will figure out which one.<\/p>\n

\ud83e\ude9cParasite<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf00Everything Everywhere<\/p>\n

\u2622\ufe0fOppenheimer<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc26Birdman<\/p>\n

\ud83e\ude99No Country for Old Men<\/p>\n

\n FIND YOUR FILM \u2192\n <\/p>\n

01<\/p>\n

What kind of film experience do you actually want?
\n The best movies don’t just entertain \u2014 they leave something behind.<\/p>\n

\n ASomething that pulls the rug out \u2014 that makes me think I’m watching one kind of film and then reveals I’m watching another entirely.
\n BSomething overwhelming \u2014 funny, sad, absurd, and genuinely moving, all at once.
\n CSomething grand and weighty \u2014 a film that makes me feel the full scale of what I’m watching.
\n DSomething formally daring \u2014 a film that pushes what cinema can even do.
\n ESomething lean and relentless \u2014 pure tension with no wasted frame.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

02<\/p>\n

Which idea grabs you most in a film?
\n Great films are driven by a central obsession. What’s yours?<\/p>\n

\n AClass, inequality, and what people are willing to do when desperation meets opportunity.
\n BIdentity, family, and the chaos of trying to hold your life together when everything is falling apart.
\n CGenius, moral responsibility, and the catastrophic weight of a decision you can never take back.
\n DEgo, legacy, and the terror of becoming irrelevant while you’re still alive to watch it happen.
\n EEvil, chance, and whether moral order actually exists or if we just tell ourselves it does.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

03<\/p>\n

How do you like your story told?
\n Form is content. The way a story is shaped changes what it means.<\/p>\n

\n AGenre-twisting \u2014 I want it to start in one lane and migrate into something completely different.
\n BMaximalist and genre-blending \u2014 comedy, action, drama, sci-fi, all in one ride.
\n CEpic and non-linear \u2014 cutting between timelines, building a mosaic of cause and consequence.
\n DA single unbroken flow \u2014 I want to feel like I’m living it in real time, no cuts to safety.
\n ESpare and precise \u2014 every scene doing exactly what it needs to do and nothing more.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

04<\/p>\n

What makes a truly great antagonist?
\n The opposition defines the protagonist. What kind of opposition fascinates you?<\/p>\n

\n AA system \u2014 invisible, structural, and almost impossible to fight because it has no single face.
\n BThe self \u2014 the ways we sabotage, abandon, and fail the people we love most.
\n CHistory \u2014 the unstoppable momentum of events that no single person can stop or redirect.
\n DThe industry \u2014 the machinery of culture that chews up talent and spits out irrelevance.
\n EPure, implacable evil \u2014 a force so certain of itself it becomes almost philosophical.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

05<\/p>\n

What do you want from a film’s ending?
\n The final note is the one that lingers. What do you want it to sound like?<\/p>\n

\n AShock and inevitability \u2014 a conclusion that recontextualises everything that came before it.
\n BEarned emotion \u2014 I want to cry, laugh, and feel genuinely hopeful, even if the world is a mess.
\n CDevastation and grandeur \u2014 an ending that makes me sit in silence for a few minutes after.
\n DAmbiguity \u2014 something that leaves enough open that I’m still thinking about it days later.
\n EBleakness \u2014 an honest refusal to pretend the world is tidier than it actually is.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

06<\/p>\n

Which setting pulls you in most?
\n Where a film takes place shapes everything \u2014 mood, stakes, what’s even possible.<\/p>\n

\n AA gleaming modern city with a hidden underside \u2014 beauty masking rot, wealth masking desperation.
\n BA collapsing suburban life that opens onto something infinite \u2014 the multiverse of a single ordinary person.
\n CThe corridors of power and science at a world-historical turning point \u2014 where decisions echo for decades.
\n DThe grimy, alive chaos of New York and Hollywood \u2014 fame as both destination and trap.
\n EVast, indifferent landscape \u2014 desert and highway where violence arrives without warning or reason.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

07<\/p>\n

What cinematic craft impresses you most?
\n Every great film has a signature \u2014 a technical or artistic element that makes it unmistakable.<\/p>\n

\n AProduction design and mise-en-sc\u00e8ne \u2014 every frame composed to carry meaning beneath the surface.
\n BEditing and tonal control \u2014 the ability to move between registers without losing the audience.
\n CScore and sound design \u2014 music that becomes inseparable from the dread and awe of what you’re watching.
\n DCinematography as performance \u2014 the camera not recording events but participating in them.
\n ESilence and restraint \u2014 what’s left unsaid and unshown doing more work than any dialogue could.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

08<\/p>\n

What kind of main character do you root for?
\n The protagonist is the lens. Who you choose to follow says something about you.<\/p>\n

\n ASomeone smart and resourceful who makes increasingly dangerous decisions under pressure.
\n BSomeone overwhelmed and ordinary who turns out to be capable of something extraordinary.
\n CA brilliant, tortured figure whose gifts and flaws are inseparable from each other.
\n DA self-destructive artist whose ego is both their superpower and their undoing.
\n EA quiet, principled person trying to make sense of a world that has stopped making sense.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

09<\/p>\n

How do you feel about a film that takes its time?
\n Pace is a choice. Some films sprint; others let tension accumulate slowly, deliberately.<\/p>\n

\n AI love a slow build when I know the payoff is going to be seismic \u2014 patience for a devastating reveal.
\n BGive me relentless momentum \u2014 I want to feel breathless and emotionally spent by the end.
\n CEpic runtime doesn’t scare me \u2014 if the material demands three hours, give me three hours.
\n DI want it to feel propulsive even when nothing is technically happening \u2014 restless energy throughout.
\n EDeliberate and unhurried \u2014 I want dread to accumulate in the spaces between the action.\n <\/p>\n

NEXT QUESTION \u2192<\/p>\n

10<\/p>\n

What do you want to feel walking out of the cinema?
\n The best films leave a mark. What kind of mark do you want?<\/p>\n

\n AUnsettled \u2014 like I’ve just seen something I can’t fully explain but can’t stop thinking about.
\n BMoved and energised \u2014 like the film reminded me what actually matters and gave me something to hold onto.
\n CHumbled \u2014 like I’ve been in the presence of something genuinely important and overwhelming.
\n DExhilarated \u2014 like I’ve just seen cinema doing something it’s never quite done before.
\n EHaunted \u2014 like a cold, quiet dread that stays with me for days.\n <\/p>\n

REVEAL MY FILM \u2192<\/p>\n

The Academy Has Decided
\n Your Perfect Film Is\u2026<\/p>\n

Your answers have pointed to one Oscar Best Picture winner above all others. This is the film that was made for the way your mind works.<\/p>\n

Parasite<\/p>\n

You are drawn to films that operate on multiple levels simultaneously \u2014 that begin in one genre and quietly, brilliantly migrate into another. Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite is a film about class, desire, and the architecture of inequality that manages to be darkly funny, deeply suspenseful, and genuinely shocking across a single extraordinary running time. Your instinct is for cinema that hides its true intentions until the moment it’s ready to reveal them. Parasite is exactly that \u2014 a film that rewards close attention and punishes assumptions, right up to its devastating final image.<\/p>\n

Everything Everywhere All at Once<\/p>\n

You want it all \u2014 and this film gives you all of it. The Daniels’ Everything Everywhere All at Once is one of the most maximalist films ever made: action comedy, multiverse sci-fi, family drama, existential crisis, and a genuinely earned emotional core that sneaks up on you amid the chaos. You are someone who responds to ambition, who doesn’t want cinema to choose between being entertaining and being meaningful. This film refuses that choice entirely. It is overwhelming by design, and its overwhelming nature is precisely the point \u2014 because the feeling of being crushed by infinite possibility is exactly what it’s about.<\/p>\n

Oppenheimer<\/p>\n

You are drawn to cinema on a grand scale \u2014 films that understand history not as a backdrop but as a force, and that place their characters inside that force and watch what happens. Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is a film about the terrifying gap between what we can do and what we should do, told with the full weight of one of the most consequential moments in human history behind it. You want your films to feel important without feeling self-important \u2014 to earn their ambition through sheer craft and the gravity of their subject. Oppenheimer does exactly that. It is enormous, complicated, and refuses easy comfort.<\/p>\n

Birdman<\/p>\n

You are drawn to films that foreground their own construction \u2014 that make the how of the filmmaking part of the what it’s about. Alejandro Gonz\u00e1lez I\u00f1\u00e1rritu’s Birdman, shot to appear as a single continuous take, is cinema examining itself through the cracked mirror of a fading actor’s ego. You respond to formal daring, to the feeling that a film is doing something that probably shouldn’t be possible. Michael Keaton’s performance and Emmanuel Lubezki’s restless camera create something genuinely unlike anything else \u2014 a film that is simultaneously about creativity, relevance, self-destruction, and the impossibility of ever truly knowing if your work means anything at all.<\/p>\n

No Country for Old Men<\/p>\n

You are drawn to cinema that trusts silence, that refuses to explain itself, and that treats dread as a form of meaning. The Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men is a film about the arrival of a new kind of evil \u2014 implacable, arbitrary, and utterly indifferent to the moral frameworks we use to make sense of the world. It is one of the most formally controlled films ever made, and its controlled restraint is what makes it so terrifying. You want your films to haunt you, not comfort you. You are not interested in resolution if resolution would be dishonest. No Country for Old Men is honest in a way that most cinema never dares to be.<\/p>\n

\n \u21bb RETAKE THE QUIZ\n <\/p>\n

4 <\/p>\n

\u2018Poor Things\u2019 (2023)<\/p>\n

\"Emma
\n Emma Stone as Bella Baxter in Poor Things looking up while reading a book.Image via Searchlight Pictures<\/p>\n

Inspired by Alasdair Gray\u2019s novel, Poor Things<\/a> is a surrealist coming-of-age comedy-drama directed by Yorgos Lanthimos that presents a new perspective on the classic Frankenstein trope. The film follows the life of Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a woman who is brought to life by an eccentric scientist, beginning as an infant in an adult\u2019s body and slowly growing into her own person, hungrily seeking knowledge, adventure, love, and sexual awakening. The movie also stars Willem Dafoe, Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, Suzy Bemba, and more in significant roles.<\/p>\n

There are layered movies, and then there\u2019s Poor Things, a film that reveals new symbolism and interpretations with every rewatch. A fierce, delightfully weird, and highly unconventional exploration of femininity, independence, and self-discovery, the film is whimsical yet dark, with beautiful cinematography, sharp humor, and mindblowing acting, particularly by Emma Stone, who won an Academy Award for her performance<\/a>. It\u2019s easily one of the greatest films of the 2020s, and arguably one of the greatest of all time.<\/p>\n

5 <\/p>\n

\u2018Oppenheimer\u2019 (2023)<\/p>\n

\"Oppenheimer
\n Image via\u00a0Universal Pictures<\/p>\n

Directed, written, and produced by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer is a biographical thriller that explores the life and times of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, commonly known as the father of the atomic bomb. Starring Cillian Murphy in the title role, the film follows Oppenheimer as he leads a team of scientists to develop the first nuclear bomb during World War II, changing the world forever with their deadly invention. The ensemble cast also includes Robert Downey Jr., Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek, Kenneth Branagh, and more in significant roles.<\/p>\n

Oppenheimer is just about the most epic movie of the 2020s so far, in terms of both its content and its impact on popular culture. The film has been widely hailed as one of Nolan\u2019s greatest masterpieces<\/a>, a genre-blending drama that\u2019s part biography, part thriller, and part philosophical journey, all brought to life through stellar direction, gorgeous cinematography, compelling performances, and amazing visual effects. The movie received numerous accolades as well, including seven Academy Awards out of 13 nominations.<\/p>\n

6 <\/p>\n

\u2018Killers of the Flower Moon\u2019 (2023)<\/p>\n

\"Lily
\n Lily Gladstone as Mollie Burkhart in Killers of the Flower MoonImage via Apple TV+<\/p>\n

Produced, co-written, and directed by Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon<\/a> is an epic Western crime drama based on true events, as detailed in David Grann\u2019s 2017 non-fiction book. Set in 1920s Oklahoma, the film recounts the story of how several members of the Osage Nation were murdered for their oil rights by a corrupt political boss. Lily Gladstone, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Robert De Niro lead the ensemble cast, which also includes Brendan Fraser, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, John Lithgow, and more in key roles.<\/p>\n

Produced on a giant budget of over $200 million, Killers of the Flower Moon is one of the most expensive movies ever made, and it shows in its impeccable production quality. The film received a nine-minute standing ovation at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere, and it went on to receive near-universal praise for its gripping story, layered performances, and masterful direction, winning several prestigious awards. The movie is Martin Scorsese at his finest<\/a>, and a truly epic film in both scale and runtime.<\/p>\n

7 <\/p>\n

\u2018The Brutalist\u2019 (2024)<\/p>\n

\"Sparks
\n Sparks flying around Adrien Brody as L\u00e1szl\u00f3 T\u00f3th with a cigarette in his mouth in The Brutalist.Image via A24<\/p>\n

Directed and co-written by Brady Corbet, The Brutalist<\/a> is an epic period drama that stars Adrien Brody as Hungarian-Jewish Holocaust survivor and architect L\u00e1szl\u00f3 T\u00f3th. Moving to the United States with hopes of a new life, he spends decades struggling to rebuild his life, career, and marriage, experiencing particularly brutal hardships at the hands of a wealthy industrialist. Besides Brody, the film also stars Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Stacy Martin, Emma Laird, Isaach de Bankol\u00e9, Alessandro Nivola, and more in key roles.<\/p>\n

A long, painful, yet hauntingly beautiful period epic, The Brutalist was a major critical<\/a> and commercial success, earning high acclaim after its premiere at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival, where it won Brady Corbet the Silver Lion for Best Direction. More accolades would soon follow, including a second Academy Award win for Adrien Brody, and the film is widely regarded as one of the greatest historical epics<\/a> of the 2020s so far. It\u2019s not an easy watch, even with its breathtaking cinematography, but The Brutalist is an undeniable cinematic masterpiece.<\/p>\n

8 <\/p>\n

The Dune Trilogy (2021\u20132026)<\/p>\n

\"Dune
\n Image via\u00a0Warner Bros. Pictures<\/p>\n

Directed and co-written by Denis Villeneuve, the Dune<\/a> series is a trilogy of epic space opera films adapted from Frank Herbert\u2019s 1960s novels Dune and Dune Messiah. Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet stars as Paul Atreides, who arrives on the desert planet Arrakis in Dune: Part One when his father is appointed as its steward, but after experiencing betrayal, exile, and an ominous prophecy, he discovers his destiny as a messianic figure. The ensemble cast also includes Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd, Javier Bardem, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, and more.<\/p>\n

The Dune trilogy is by far the most popular and successful science fiction franchise of the 2020s and a true epic<\/a> in every sense of the word. From its sweeping, layered story to the gorgeously realized landscapes and world, every aspect of the series is executed with mastery, creating an immersive, fantastical experience that\u2019s further elevated by its stellar performances. Not since Star Wars has there been a space opera so universally beloved, and Villeneuve\u2019s three-part masterpiece<\/a> is sure to go down in history as one of the greatest cinematic achievements of the 21st century.<\/p>\n

\"01496273_poster_w780.jpg\"<\/p>\n

Release Date<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSeptember 15, 2021<\/p>\n

Runtime<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t155 minutes<\/p>\n

Director<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDenis Villeneuve<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Powered by cutting-edge developments in production technology, the movies of the 2020s have pushed cinema to new limits,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407503,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[146,85,46,397],"class_list":["post-407502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}