Key Takeaways
- 2000s Movies: The decade saw an increase in intense films responding to global events.
- Genre Evolution: Action and horror genres pushed boundaries with graphic content.
- Notable Films: Titles like ‘Ong-Bak’ and ‘Oldboy’ exemplified this trend.
- Cultural Impact: The films of this era reflect societal desensitization to violence.
Movies got pretty intense in the 2000s. While there were still plenty of family-friendly and heartwarming efforts filling theaters throughout the decade, many films across all genres had an edge to them. Some of it certainly came in response to 9/11 and the ongoing Iraq War, with both filmmakers and general audiences becoming so desensitized to everyday violence intruding on their televisions that the movies had to correspondingly escalate their content.
Raunchy, R-rated comedies made a big comeback, as did political thrillers that took a nihilistic look at international affairs, but more than that, filmmakers from across the world took violent content to its absolute extremes in horror films, revenge thrillers, and hard-hitting action movies. Bones crunched, tendons snapped, and limbs got lopped off in the most intense movies of the 2000s. There was blood, sweat and tears all across the silver screen, but never with more intensity than in these ten films.
10
‘Ong-Bak’ (2003)
Though brutally intense action movies would experience their real renaissance in the 2010s, they had some major forebears in the 2000s. The Crank movies took glee in pushing the boundaries of good taste, while Zack Snyder cranked up the slow-motion for some blood-soaked sword-and-sandals warfare in 300. On the martial arts end of things, Jet Li got Unleashed, Uma Thurman set out to Kill Bill,<em> </em>and Tony Jaa got his Thai warrior on in Ong-Bak. Hearkening back to masters of the genre like Jackie Chan by proudly proclaiming all of its stunts were performed for real without CGI enhancement or with wirework, Ong-Bak also upped the ante with its fight scenes, thanks to its emphasis on Muay Thai fighting.
Focusing heavily on strikes, with elbows and knees featuring prominently, this martial arts form was introduced to the world at large thanks to star Jaa’s proficiency with it onscreen, where he repeatedly fells foes with some serious head blows. Playing a villager who travels to Bangkok in order to retrieve the stolen head of a sacred statue, Jaa finds himself up against dangerous drug lords, biker gangs and underground fighting rings, all of whom he deals with in the same skull-cracking fashion.
9
‘Narc’ (2002)
Image via Paramount Pictures
Joe Carnahan‘s Narc is a throwback to gritty cop dramas like The French Connection and Prince of the City, but with a nerve-jangling update to its aesthetic that fits right into the 2000s rapid-cutting, music video aesthetic. It also begins with a chase scene that is a pure shot of adrenaline that shocks the audience into paying attention. Jason Patric plays an undercover Detroit cop, hot on the heels of a drug dealer in a foot race that cuts through a crowded playground and ends with a pregnant woman taking a stray bullet.
It’s a visceral beginning to a film that continues to hit hard with raw drama and brutality. Patric is a frayed wire to Ray Liotta‘s live one as a career cop who has no qualms about crossing boundaries or violating rights to get the job done. Narc is an intense two-hander that put Carnahan on the Hollywood fast track and represents some of the most electric work of its two stars. It’s all one hell of a ride, but nothing is quite as intense as those opening few minutes.
8
‘City of God’ (2002)
The film continues…
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