Halle Berry’s movies from the 2020s have all performed fairly well, though none of them has wowed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. But even though the films haven’t been strong enough to receive Oscar nominations, the actress has still been a major part of the conversation, especially in 2025. Kissing aside, Berry has always been one of America’s favorite darlings ever since she finished as the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant in 1986. Fans love her for her beauty, and for her unrivaled acting skills. Thanks to the latter, she became the first black woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress.
Berry debuted in Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever in 1991, before getting her breakout role in Boomerang, starring Eddie Murphy. Since then, she has been on a roll. It’s fair to say that all of Halle Berry’s movies are watchable, including the critically panned Catwoman, but there are a few gems that any eager movie lover shouldn’t miss.
10
‘Executive Decision’ (1996)
Executive Decision
- Release Date
-
March 15, 1996
- Runtime
-
133 Minutes
- Director
-
Stuart Baird
- Writers
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Jim Thomas, John Thomas
In Executive Decision, terrorists hijack a commercial airliner, and promise doom if their leader isn’t released. A team of commandos, led by Lt. Colonel Austin Travis (Steven Seagal) is thus tasked with executing a midair boarding operation. During the mission, Jean (Halle Berry), a flight attendant, ends up being of great assistance.
Flight Attendant of the Decade
This thrilling release has the nihilist feel of drama, but it has plenty of action and color. Additionally, the director manages to inject the sky-high surroundings with a therapeutic dose of banter and humanity. Though anchored in fights, the cast’s performances are its most intriguing asset. Steven Seagal’s character surprisingly dies after a few minutes, allowing Halle Berry and the rest to shine. Could have used a more complex plot, but we’ll take it.
9
‘Things We Lost in the Fire’ (2007)
The happiness in Things We Lost in the Fire is short-lived. Audrey Burke (Halle Berry) learns that her husband Brian (David Duchovny) has been killed while trying to protect a woman from her abusive lover. Struggling to cope with grief, she invites Brian’s drug-addicted childhood friend, Jerry (Benicio Del Toro), to live with her and their children. Predictably, bonds form.
Finding Joy in Unlikely Places
By the mid-2000s, Berry had already hit a career high point and Benicio Del Toro was continuing to solidify his superstardom. Both actors shine in this somber, near-flawless marital drama, depicting the pangs of grief and addiction with unerring sensitivity. Thanks to their dedicated performances, this insightful screenplay comes to life. Today, this remains one of the most underrated movies of the 2000s.
8
‘Cloud Atlas’ (2012)
From a lawyer rescuing a slave to a composer struggling to make his greatest piece, Cloud Atlas — directed by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis — presents several stories occurring in six different eras. An ensemble cast brings the proceedings to the screen, with all the plots tracing back to David Mitchell’s 2004 novel of the same name.
An Epic Sci-Fi Adventure
With a budget of between US$100 million and US$146.7 million, Cloud Atlas is one of the most expensive indie movies ever made and it shows. The Wachowskis like going big. Unfortunately, there is more style than substance in the sci-fi flick. It is no Matrix. Thankfully, the performances and music compensate. No complaints were made when it was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.
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7
‘X-Men’ (2000)
Halle Berry’s foray into the DC landscape might have gone wrong, but Marvel has been kind to her. X-Men introduces us to a world where mutants are hated by humans. Even so, Xavier and the X-Men fight to protect the world. But that proves hard because their former buddy, Magneto, believes humans and mutants shouldn’t co-exist.
The Beginning of a Wonderful Chapter
Beautifully blending CGI with location shooting, this spellbinding, superhero feature was several years in the making, and fans were glad that it happened. The superhero film weaves a story of toddler-like wonder with mature and complex themes of discrimination and solitude that resonate in the real world. Halle Berry plays Storm so beautifully that we wonder whether any other actor would be good enough to step in her shoes. Perhaps she should be brought into the MCU.
6
‘Bulworth’ (1998)
Bulworth
- Release Date
-
May 15, 1998
- Runtime
-
108 Minutes
Before he slowed down, Warren Beatty directed and starred with Halle Berry in Bulworth. Here, Beatty is a cash-strapped senator who figures that the only way he can help his family is by ordering a hit on himself so that they can benefit from his insurance policy. But things become complicated when he falls for Nina (Halle Berry), a young black activist.
All Is Fair in Love and Politics
Nominated for Best Original Screenplay, Bulworth tackles race, poverty, government failure, and corporate control, all in an amazing fusion of romance, thriller, and drama. Beatty and Berry heat up the screen with their chemistry. On a larger scale, the actor-director depicts the regimented world of politics as boorish and unpredictable, adding to the movie’s overall enjoyment. Also watch out for Don Cheadle and Oliver Platt in key roles.
5
‘X2’ (2003)
Stryker (Brian Cox), a former Army commander, is the person seeking to destroy the X-Men in X2. Will he be successful? A secondary plot involves the call for a mutant registration act, more like the same thing we saw in Captain America: Civil War, but with less bickering.
The Saga Continues
Directed with cordial, unhurried precision, and filmed mainly in studio lots, the superhero movie looks incredible compared to many others that came out in the 2000s. The conflict is already serious enough, but superb acting, neatly choreographed action sequences, and an unnerving music score, heighten everything to nightmarish levels on specific occasions. X2 won the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film.
4
‘Jungle Fever’ (1991)
Jungle Fever
- Release Date
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June 7, 1991
- Runtime
-
132 Minutes
Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever takes us through the racial and societal complexities that emerge when Flipper Purify (Wesley Snipes), a successful Black architect, begins a passionate affair with his Italian-American secretary, Angie Tucci (Annabella Sciorra). Halle Berry plays Vivian, the girlfriend of Gator Purify (Samuel L. Jackson), both of whom are drug addicts.
The Ghosts of Racism
Harlem is brought to teeming life in Spike Lee’s crackerjack romance drama. The movie thrives on brisk pacing and plenty of malice, while telling a thick, character-driven tale. Halle Berry doesn’t have a lot to do here, but her little contribution matters as we get to learn how spouses can be the propellers of our worst vices. Overall, this is top-notch filmmaking, in ‘90s glory and breathing color.
3
‘Monster’s Ball’ (2001)
Monster’s Ball first introduces us to Hank Grotowski (Billy Bob Thornton), a racist prison guard who loves bullying inmates. When he loses his son, Sonny (Heath Ledger), he is forced to reevaluate his ways. His life changes even more when he meets Leticia Musgrove (Halle Berry), a widow whose husband was a convicted murderer.
An Academy Award-winning Performance
The film has a gritty, take-no-prisoners narrative, literally. There are no easy answers or solutions to the queries and challenges facing these main characters, but the director brilliantly pulls us along. Overall, this remains a startlingly authentic, sincere glimpse into society’s deepest underbelly as well as the rough and tumble paths that guide the common man’s daily life. Billy Bob Thornton is fabulous as usual, and so is Halle Berry, who infuses anguish and real emotion into her role. Thanks to her performance, she won an Oscar for Best Actress.
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2
‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’ (2019)
Big mistake for the titular character in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. He has just killed a member of the High Table, meaning he now has a $14 million bounty on his head. But if anyone can be trusted to dodge hundreds of assassins, it’s him.
John Wick and Friends
John Wick fans always know what they will get. A basic plot with lots of incredible action sequences. Occasionally, there are a few standout performances, such as that of Halle Berry, who plays an ex-assassin and manager of the Continental Hotel in Casablanca. And she did some of her own action work too. In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, the actress revealed that she “broke three ribs” while filming the movie. The film won over 15 awards in various categories, proving that the action genre doesn’t always lack artistic flair.
1
‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ (2014)
Inspired by Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s 1981 Uncanny X-Men storyline “Days of Future Past,” X-Men: Days of Future Past covers two time periods and follows Wolverine as he travels back in time to the ‘70s to change an event guaranteed to destroy both humans and mutants. This happens after Dr. Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) develops the Sentinels, robotic weapons that can kill mutants.
One of the Greatest Non-MCU Marvel Offerings
X-Men: Days of Future Past was a monumental production in its day, though it was buried under the rubble of the more popular MCU films of the time. Now viewed again, it stands as one of the greatest superhero movies ever made. No expense was spared ($200 million budget), so the production values dazzling, with sets and mise-en-scene all reproducing the refined milieu of the ‘70s and beyond.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
