It’s hard to believe that 2006 was 15 years ago, as there are movies that were released in the year that feel as fresh today as they did when they were first released. Between Casino Royale and Borat, some movies were instant classics as soon as they were released.
However, others didn’t get quite that reception in 2006, but they have been recognized as some of the greatest films of the 21st century in the time since. Between surreal Spanish fantasies, Scorsese-directed crime movies, and Will Smith biopics, these movies deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as other, much older cinema classics.
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Inside Man
Inside Man was something of a reinvention for Spike Lee, as he had never fully delved into popcorn flicks before. The heist movie is an edge-of-the-seat thrill-ride from the very beginning, as it sees a detective try and negotiate with a bank robber to free the hostages.
As it’s so hard to make compelling heist movies, Inside Man sits among Ocean’s Eleven and Dog Day Afternoon as one of the best. But, what Spike Lee does so well is use the popcorn movie as a vessel for his profound social commentaries. Though they were so prevalent in his previous movies, they are more subtle in Inside Man, but they’re always there bubbling beneath the surface.
Pan’s Labyrinth
There are loads of great foreign movies, but there is only a handful that manages to break into the mainstream each year. In 2006, Pan’s Labyrinth took the whole world by storm; it was visually stunning and filled with imaginative creatures. However, it holds a classic status because it delves much deeper than most fantasy movies.
Pan’s Labyrinth isn’t just a fantasy filled with quirky designs just for the sake of being quirky, but it’s is a fantasy movie with a social commentary. It’s set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. Ofelia conjures up the imaginative world to escape the horrors of the reality she lives in, and it has one of the most bittersweet endings in cinema history.
The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift
It’s easy for film buffs to turn their noses up at Tokyo Drift, as it seems like a goofy street racing movie on the face of it, but the movie has grown in popularity since 2006. Even when it was first released, the late, great film critic Roger Ebert was a fan of it, and, as per IndieWire, director Christopher Nolan has discussed his admiration for it recently. On top of that, it was the fans’ love of the movie that encouraged the studio to bring back the characters for F9.
What’s great about the whole Fast & Furious series is that it has always been diverse; erven before studios were patting themselves on the back for their diverse casts, Universal did it in The Fast and the Furious without even thinking about it. Tokyo Drift was a major Hollywood movie, and, though it’s led by a white American male, the rest of the cast is Asian. Though Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift originally had a very different treatment, Justin Lin tastefully filled the movie with Japanese culture instead of cliched and potentially racist jokes.
300
Based on Frank Miller’s classic graphic novel, 300 is an epic historical fantasy movie that follows an army of Spartans as they face off against Xerxes. Besides the fact that the iconic line, “we are Sparta!” has rippled throughout pop culture for the past 15 years, nobody has been able to replicate 300‘s look since.
It’s hardly as if any filmmaker would want to try and recreate the look of 300, as it would simply come off as derivative of the 2006 movie because it’s so distinctive. The unique look of the film still holds up today, and it’s the blueprint for most other Zack Snyder-directed movies, too. The visuals, the narration, and the epic scale have all become trademarks of the polarizing director.
Casino Royale
Along with Batman Begins, Casino Royale was part of a group of movies that inspired the dark and gritty reboot movement, but few other movies pulled it off quite like Casino Royale did.
From the very opening scene of Bond jumping from crane to crane, audiences knew it was going to be a very different kind of 007 film. There wasn’t an invisible car or rocket ship in sight, and, instead, it was a proper espionage spy movie with very few gimmicks. It’s what makes the film one of the greatest and most unique James Bond installments.
The Departed
The Departed was somewhat of a return to form for Martin Scorsese, as it was the director´s greatest gangster movie since Goodfellas, which came 16 years earlier.
It is one of the few remakes that’s better than the original, as the cat and mouse chase movie is based on the Hong Kong thriller Internal Affairs. The movie has all the makings of a classic; it’s one of the greatest gangster movies of the 21st century, it features an iconic performance from Jack Nicholson, and The Departed is full of iconic quotes.
The Pursuit Of Happyness
Being released at the height of Will Smith´s popularity, The Pursuit of Happyness is a classic film not just because of the incredible dramatic performances, but because of what it represents. It was the perfect film at the time, as it was exactly the kind of uplifting movie that America needed.
It’s a surprise that Will Smith wasn’t even nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, as his performance is more raw and powerful than any of his other roles. However, that may all change next year, as the upcoming King Richard in which he stars is looking like it’s going to be one of the best dramas of the year.
Blood Diamond
2006 was a great year for Leonardo DiCaprio, as not only did he star in the Martin Scorsese directed The Departed, but he played a South African mercenary in Blood Diamond, too. The film is about the diamond trade in West Africa as diamonds are mined in war zones and only serve to profit warlords.
But, it’s Djimon Hounsou who turns the movie into a classic, as he plays a Mende fisherman helping Danny to achieve his quest to find a rare Gem. As entertaining as the film is, it accurately depicts the sordid, torn apart country that Sierra Leone was in the 1990s.
Borat
Borat isn’t just considered a classic today; it was an instant classic as soon as it hit movie theatres in 2006. Everybody knows how to mimic Borat´s accent and the character’s many iconic quotes, and mankinis are now sold in stores the world over and are worn at countless bachelor parties.
What makes the film just as memorable as the character are all of the interviews that expose many delusional professionals. As the sequel was released just last year, there’s no doubt that, in 15 years, Subsequent Moviefilm will be considered to be a classic, too.
The Devil Wears Prada
The Devil Wears Prada is such a great movie that even people without the slightest bit of interest in the fashion industry are still captivated by it. The movie is a classic because it’s one of the few of its kind, as there are so few movies about working for a magazine or newspaper.
Not only is the movie about that industry, but it portrays in such a unique and telling way, as Meryl Streep plays one of the most detestable movie bosses in history. The actor channels evil TV bosses like Malcolm Tucker from The Thick of It and Ari Gold from Entourage, as well as basing the character on the notoriously fastidious Anna Wintour.