The Best Films of the 2010s: A Solo Viewer's Guide
The Best Films of the 2010s: A Solo Viewer's Guide
The best films of the 2010s include Inception, Interstellar, Django Unchained, Joker and the Marvel Cinematic Universe's finest entries, and watching any of them alone is often the smartest choice you can make. No negotiating the genre. No pausing to explain backstory. No cutting the evening short because someone else is tired. Solo viewing means you watch entirely on your own terms, and for a decade that produced films this varied in tone and demand, that matters more than it sounds.
That said, the difference between a great evening and a frustrating one usually comes down to matching the film to your actual state of mind, not your aspirational one. The 2010s gave us everything from three-hour psychological thrillers to blockbusters built for pure enjoyment. Knowing which type you need before you press play is the most useful skill a solo viewer can develop.
Choosing from the Best Films of the 2010s
Start with an honest read of your energy level. Films like Inception and Interstellar reward full concentration from the opening scene. If you are genuinely tired, neither will give you what they are capable of. You will either follow them partially or stop caring about the payoff. Save the demanding ones for when you are actually switched on.
Length is the next thing to weigh. Several of the decade's best films run close to or beyond three hours. The Wolf of Wall Street and Avengers: Endgame are event films in a literal sense. They work best when you have the time and space to commit. Watching across two evenings is fine, but front-loading a long film when your concentration is already fraying tends to kill the momentum.
Genre labels are a blunt tool here. The more useful question is: do you want to feel something, or do you want to think? Films like Joker and Shutter Island put you through something emotionally demanding. Inception and Interstellar ask you to keep up intellectually. The Marvel films on this list ask neither, and that is precisely their value. There is nothing wrong with knowing you want two hours of well-made entertainment.
Solo viewing also gives you genuine freedom with difficult material. Django Unchained is brutal in ways that can generate uncomfortable conversation mid-film. Joker's slow unravelling is easier to sit with when you are not managing someone else's reaction alongside your own. There is real value in being able to process a heavy film without narrating your response to it.
One thing worth noting for anyone newer to the Marvel series: Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame land significantly harder if you have some familiarity with the characters. They are not impossible to follow cold, but much of the emotional weight depends on knowing who is at stake.
The Films
Interstellar (2014) This is a film for when you want to feel the full weight of scale. It is demanding and emotionally heavy, and solo viewing lets you give it exactly the concentration the later acts need. Available in the UK on Now TV Cinema and HBO Max.
Inception (2010) One of the most rewatched films of the decade, and legitimately so. It holds up under close attention, and a second viewing changes what you notice in the early scenes. A restless, alert evening is exactly the right context for it. UK: Now TV Cinema, HBO Max Amazon Channel.
The Avengers (2012) Pure, uncomplicated pleasure. It is not trying to challenge you, and it does not pretend to be. That is its entire point, and it pulls it off completely. Perfect for a mid-week evening when you want to be entertained without being taxed. UK: Disney Plus.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018) The Marvel film that genuinely caught people off guard when it arrived. If you are across the broader series, this hits harder than almost anything else in it. The ending in particular benefits from watching without commentary running over it. UK: Disney Plus.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) Funny, warm and immediately enjoyable. It works as a comfort watch or a mood-lifter without ever feeling slight. One of the most straightforwardly satisfying two hours of the decade. UK: Disney Plus.
Avengers: Endgame (2019) A proper event film at three hours, and solo is arguably the ideal way to see it. You can pace yourself, step away if you need to, and let the final act land without managing anyone else's reaction to it. UK: Disney Plus.
Django Unchained (2012) Tarantino at his most assured and most brutal. The violence is not incidental; it is the point. Solo viewing gives you room to take the film seriously on its own terms, without the social friction that sometimes comes with watching something this confrontational alongside other people. UK: Amazon Prime Video, Sky Go.
Joker (2019) Difficult, claustrophobic and entirely committed to its central performance. Not an easy watch, but among the decade's most genuinely interesting films. Best seen alone when you are prepared for it rather than treating it as background viewing. UK: Now TV Cinema, HBO Max Amazon Channel.
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) Three hours of excess that is also, somehow, genuinely funny. Scorsese at his most maximalist. The kind of film you can give yourself to more completely when there is nobody next to you checking how much time is left. UK: Amazon Prime Video.
Shutter Island (2010) The most rewatchable mystery of the decade. It improves considerably once you know the ending, and the atmosphere holds up on repeated viewings. A good choice when you want something absorbing without the emotional weight of Joker. UK: Amazon Prime Video.
Is Inception or Interstellar better for a solo watch?
Both reward full concentration, so either works well. Inception is slightly easier to revisit casually; the mechanics are pleasurable to work through more than once. Interstellar is more emotionally demanding but arguably more rewarding if you give it the time it asks for. It comes down to whether you want to think hard or feel hard on a given evening.
Which of these films are best if you have not watched much from the 2010s?
Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers are the most accessible starting points. Neither requires any prior context, both are immediately enjoyable, and they give a genuine sense of why blockbuster cinema from this decade still holds an audience.
Is Avengers: Infinity War okay to watch without seeing the other Marvel films?
It makes considerably more sense with some background. The film assumes familiarity with most of its characters, and the emotional stakes depend heavily on knowing who is at risk. You can watch it cold, but you will get substantially less from it.
Where can I watch these films in the UK?
The four Marvel films on this list are on Disney Plus. Interstellar, Inception and Joker are available on Now TV Cinema and HBO Max. Django Unchained, The Wolf of Wall Street and Shutter Island are on Amazon Prime Video. Streaming catalogues change regularly, so it is worth checking availability before you sit down.
If you watch films with a partner and want a faster way to agree on what to watch, CouchSync is a free app that lets you both swipe on titles and match instantly, with a shared watchlist and a streaming service filter. Available on Google Play and at couchsync.com.