5 Best Western Movies Of The 2000s, According To Letterboxd

By the dawn of the 2000s, the Western had fallen into mild hibernation. '90s hits like "Dances with Wolves" and "Unforgiven" had given the genre a new lease on life, but that momentum couldn't keep rolling permanently. As the new century dawned, a handful of theatrical Western movies were emerging, but they weren't plentiful. By the end of this decade, though, the Western would not only have grown in prominence, but even thrived artistically. It turns out the specific themes and thoughts consuming artists during this inaugural decade were perfect for Western storytelling.

Thus, a genre that once looked like it might fade once more into obscurity roared back to life on the silver screen. For a clear look at just how creatively fruitful this decade was for Western cinema, just look at the five highest rated 2000s Westerns on Letterboxd. These titles (ranked below from "lowest" to highest average rating on the site) hit audiences with profoundly specific creative visions that reminded everyone the world over the vitality of the Western. To boot, many of these 2000s productions, like the spaghetti Westerns of the '60s, took the genre into exciting new directions. These features didn't look or act like Westerns of yore and they were all the better for it.

The five highest rated 2000s Westerns on Letterboxd reflect pivotal titles in this genre's history, as well as some of the greatest movies of any genre.

For some people, the existence of Australian cinema may begin and end with casual thoughts like "whatever happened to 'Crocodile Dundee?'" In reality, of course, Australia has a rich movie scene that can produce any kind of film imaginable, from delightful comedies like "Muriel's Wedding," to the brutal "Mad Max" films, and including the horrifying "Talk to Me." Given that Australia has such famously searing natural backdrops, it's always a treat when artists use these tableaus to inform grimy, harrowing features. In these titles, you can practically feel the sweat on people's foreheads or the parched throats driving them mad.

That makes the country perfect for Westerns like "The Proposition," a 2005 John Hillcoat directorial effort penned by Nick Cave. Digestible heroes don't exist here. Instead, this is a grim odyssey about Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce) being forced to hunt down one of his siblings solely so he can save another brother from the noose. Endless violence and long stretches of inhospitable Australian desert await. "The Proposition" has a mighty 3.8 average rating on Letterboxd, built upon positive reviews hailing its evocative imagery and Hillcoat's commitment to unflinchingly realizing this movie's darkest corners.

The "Proposition" cast has also proven essential for its esteemed reputation, particularly Ray Winstone's acclaimed supporting work. For some, "The Proposition" might be too harrowing for its own good. Judging by those Letterboxd responses, though, most found the films grimness captivating rather than off-putting. Chalk up another mighty win for the Australian film scene.

You don't have to look back far in cinema history to uncover the worst movie remakes of all time. Countless motion pictures throughout the years have registered as remakes that infamously failed to live up to the original and just left everyone wondering why artists wasted their time on this enterprise. In September 2007, though, a striking refutation of this trend emerged with director James Mangold's star-studded take on "3:10 to Yuma." This project kept the premise of the original "3:10 to Yuma" (an ordinary rancher escorts an infamous criminal to trial), but this time had Christian Bale and Russell Crowe playing the rancher and criminal, respectively.

Running 30 minutes longer than the original "3:10 to Yuma," this 2007 remake clearly made no bones about being its own creation. This willingness to chart its own course is one of several factors that inform its terrific 3.8 average rating on Letterboxd. Mangold is a go-to filmmaker for "dad movies." The Letterboxd reviews hailing "3:10 to Yuma" for exemplifying so many traits that should inhabit all Westerns (including Earthy acting and memorable action) reflect Mangold's chops in this domain.

Meanwhile, the performances of Crowe and Bale have been a persistent source of praise, particularly the way each man conveys palpable world weariness perfectly fitting their respective characters. Sure, there's already one great "3:10 to Yuma" movie out there for people to enjoy. This 2007 remake, though, clearly did that title's legacy proud — at least, judging by these Letterboxd reviewers.

Out of all the films on this list, "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" has to be the one whose Letterboxd reputation has been bolstered the most by nostalgia. This is not to diminish anyone's enjoyment of "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron," nor detract from the artistic achievements of a film many hold highly when ranking every DreamWorks Animation movie from worst to best. However, it's the only film on this list that's G-rated and easily accessible for children. There's little chance one first experiences 2007's "3:10 to Yuma" in their most formative years. "Spirit," meanwhile, was undoubtedly endlessly replayed in many childhood homes.

Even the Letterboxd reviews for "Spirit" informing its 3.9 average rating on the site often wax poetic on memories of watching and being moved by this title during early theatrical moviegoing experiences. Beyond tickling the nostalgia bone, though, "Spirit" has also amassed an impressive Letterboxd following thanks to its bolder storytelling decisions (like firmly making colonizer characters the baddies), the laudable move to not make the horses talk (the titular horse only speaks via voice-over narration courtesy of Matt Damon), and Hans Zimmer's tremendously sweeping score. Its effective poignancy-driven moments are also a fixture of these euphoric reviews.

There's a lot of drama and earnest grandeur informing "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron," especially when compared to other DreamWorks Animation titles of the same era. Perhaps that 3.9 average Letterboxd rating isn't so outlandish or purely nostlagia-driven after all.

By the late 2000s, the grim n' gritty phase had gripped American cinema. This wasn't just true of blockbusters looking to channel the box office success of "Batman Begins." Post-9/11 ennui and the horrors America inflicted on Middle Eastern civilians in the Iraq War had taken a toll on the populace. No wonder so many 2007 masterpieces (like "There Will be Blood," "No Country for Old Men," or "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," among many others) were rooted in captivating bleakness. Firmly part of this trend was "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," which took a raw, down-to-Earth look at both of its titular men.

Today, "Robert Ford" is famous as one of those beloved Westerns that was a box office flop. Financial challenges couldn't dilute the magnificence of this title, though, especially in the eyes of Letterboxd users. On this site, "Robert Ford" has an average rating of 4.0, a fantastic score encapsulating how so many people on this site view "Ford" as the artistic pinnacle of its various participants. The cinematography from Roger Deakins especially dominates the avalanche of effusive Letterboxd write-ups. His compositions lend tremendous visual precision to a saga underlining the humanity of two men that history has rewritten into shallow archetypes.

The haunting tone and sublime collection of performances are also fixtures of the countless positive "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" Letterboxd reviews.

Speaking of bleak 2007 masterpieces, "No Country for Old Men" saw writer/directors Joel and Ethan Coen taking the melancholy, revisionist Western to its most harrowing extreme. This isn't just a Western where impending railroad tracks suggest that the age of the cowboy is winding down. "No Country for Old Men" firmly takes place in 1980, when the Old West was already a distant memory. Any of the cozy morality or narratives presented by Westerns have no chance of flourishing here. The ballad of Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) snatching a bag of cash is instead a desolate yarn where evil incarnate — in the form of Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) — ruthlessly hunts this man down.

As atmospherically bleak as it is magnificently composed, "No Country for Old Men" has cultivated a reputation as one of the best movies of the 2000s and for good reason. As numerous praise-laden Letterboxd reviews (which inform this title's 4.3 average rating on the site) can attest, "No Country for Old Men" is one of those rare perfect movies. Everything here clicks together, from the performances (decades later, Bardem remains ominously transfixing) to the towering imagery to the audaciously bold narrative choices (like ending on a quiet monologue).

"No Country for Old Men" doesn't just stand head and shoulders above every other 2000s Western. It's also one of the decade's greatest cinematic achievements, not to mention a highlight of 21st century filmmaking.