FROM hoardes of rampaging orcs to cowboys in love - the 'Noughties' has pushed the cinematic envelope in both style and substance.
An eclectic mix of Hollywood blockbusters and indie-gems have sat side-by-side on opening weekends attracting record-breaking audiences looking for escapism and the suspension of disbelief.
Astonishing original offerings like Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind and Mulholland Dr made waves with surrealist sentiment, while quirky off-beat offerings akin to Little Miss Sunshine and Sideways injected touching themes of dysfunctional friendship and family.
Horror fans have been divided over torture-flicks like Hostel, and audiences of all ages have been enthralled by the mighty rise of Pixar.
Lost originality
But if there has been one casualty over the last ten years it has been that of originality in Hollywood.
Sequels, prequels, adaptations, homages, remakes, reinventions and spin-offs have dominated the summer box offices; trading on nostalgia and established audience bases to ensure a healthy turn-out through updated vehicles from Star Trek to Starsky & Hutch.
Star Wars delivered episodes two and three, Indiana Jones once again donned the hat and whip, and James Bond slipped back into the tuxedo for a further two martini-swilling adventures.
But if the 90s heralded the rise of rom-com and Independent film, the last ten years belongs to the superhero.
Marvel back-catalogue
After The Usual Suspects' director Bryan Singer showed comics could be cool by grounding 2000's X-Men in reality, the studios took notice and began wheeling out the Marvel back-catalogue.
Three more adamantium-slashing ventures for the X-Men, three web-slinging chapters for Spider-Man, two doses of The Fantastic Four, two reinventions of The Incredible Hulk and a debut for Iron Man were amongst the more successful adaptations, with many more falling by the wayside to be quickly forgotten (The Punisher thankfully being one of them).
Fuelled by advancing special effects, the restraints of technology have been constantly developed to allow more and more fantastical creations to be brought to the screen.
Fantasy has even found its way into critical favour, with magical journeys like Pan's Labyrinth and a reboot of the Caped Crusader in the epic Dark Knight garnering Oscar nods.
But it isn't just the comics which Hollywood has been turning to; the library has also been paid a visit.
One of the most daring undertakings of the decade has been Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings trilogy.
Ushering in a new aesthetic and hugely ambitious schedule of the three instalments being filmed together, critical and commercial praise was inevitable.
Adaptation sensation
With Tolkien covered, CS Lewis was also given the Hollywood treatment before one of the most recent literary phenomenons made it's way into cinemas to establish itself as possibly the most constant presence of the decade: Harry Potter.
Spitting out six generation-defying flicks in under ten years, the scarred boy wizard has been one of the most permanent posters to adorn local bus-stops.
With stage shows being filmed - like the Academy Award collecting Chicago - and even theme park rides spawning franchises with Pirates Of The Caribbean, it proved nothing was safe from the clutches of the movie-moguls.
From Oscar-baiting biopics to petite projects which have snowballed into global crazes; the last decade has showcased the good, the bad and the ugly of what cinemas has to offer.
And with the technology behind the art constantly evolving, and the age of 3D already finding its feet; the next ten years should herald even more surprises.