Top Ten Films of 2023: A Retrospective
I like to leave it a few months before taking a look back at the previous year’s releases and picking my Top Ten films of the year – partly because it gives me some extra time to catch up with films I missed, but mainly because often the real test of a film is how well it ages in the months after you first see it.
With that in mind, it’s now time for my retrospective Top Ten review of 2023 – although as usual, there were a lot films that I really loved that still narrowly missed out on a spot in my Top Ten. So in no particular order, I did want to give “Honourable Mentions” to the films that made up numbers 11-20 in my overall Top 20:
John Wick: Chapter 4 – this was an improvement on Chapter 3 for me, and if this is the end of the series, it ends on a high note.#
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem – this was an unexpected delight, with so many laugh out loud bits that I’m still quoting now.
Creed III – up there with Creed II for me, I thoroughly enjoyed the lead performances.
Fast X – a total guilty pleasure, I probably watched this three times last year and enjoyed it immensely each time! Jason Momoa makes a superb villain, and this restored my faith in the series after the extremely disappointing ninth instalment.
The Equalizer 3 – similarly, I wasn’t a huge fan of The Equaliser 2, but this was a return to form, and makes me hope that they leave the series here on a high note…
The Flash – I don’t get the hate for this film; it’s not perfect, but it’s so much fun.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – same comment as above for The Flash!
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – same comment as above for The Flash! Plus, it gives the series/character a worthy send off, and wipes the memory of Kingdom of the Crystall Skull away!
A Haunting in Venice – this third Poirot film was an improvement on the second, and it’s well worth a watch if you’ve not seen it.
The Killer – this is a great slow-burn character thriller with occasional explosions of violence … I think a lot of people haven’t seen it, so it’s well worth tracking down.
But without further ado, here’s my (totally subjective and personal) Top Ten of 2023 (with links to my full, spoiler-free, reviews):
10) Oppenheimer: As someone who's normally not a fan of “biopics”, Oppenheimer had me gripped from the get go, I think in large part because it's constructed more as a political thriller than it is based on the usual tropes and structures of a biopic. Not only do we have the ticking clock of the race to develop the bomb before the Nazis, but we also have the paranoid thriller elements of the “red peril” fears, and the political conspiracy sections connected to the post WWII hearings. All that, brought to the screen by a (literal) all-star, Oscar-winning cast, and a director at the top of his game.
9) Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (Part One): This maybe didn't quite hit the highs of Mission: Impossible – Fallout (for me, the best M:I film so far), but part of that may simply be because it was only ever planned to be half a story. What we get is amazing – several incredible action sequences, some genuinely intimidated new villains, and a couple of excellent additions to the cast (specifically Hayley Atwell's Grace, and Shea Whigham's Briggs), and the only real negative is having to wait for the second part to see where all this is really going.
8) Scream VI: I'm a big fan of the Scream franchise's blend of meta-slasher-horror and whodunit murder mystery, and this instalment took the best parts of the 2022 legacy sequel (the engaging new cast) and put them in an entirely new environment. And while Scream 3 showed how not to move the action to a big city, Scream VI did a fantastic job of making you feel like the main characters were never safe even when they're surrounded by crowds in a bustling New York City. It remains to be seen where the franchise may go from here, but Scream VI remains one of my favourite instalments in the series so far.
7) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: It was always going to be impossible for this sequel to redefine the animation genre again – but it comes damn close. The different aesthetic styles for the different universes and characters, the touching coming-of-age story, the inventive take on the villain, the moral dilemmas, and the sharp, witty script mean that this is still one of the freshest and most original films of the year, despite being a sequel. But like the latest Mission: Impossible film, Across The Spider-Verse only tells half a story, and while this is good insofar as it means that the story isn't unnecessarily rushed, it does mean that it leaves a lot still to be resolved.
6) The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes: I admit that I rolled my eyes when this was first announced, because although I am a huge fan of the original Hunger Games films, I thought the story was done. But the fact that this prequel comes from the author of the original novels means that it comes from a place of storytelling, rather than being a cynical studio-mandated cash grab. It wonderfully fleshes out the history of Panem, and the story of how the Hunger Games themselves evolved into the horrific spectacle that we saw in the original films, while also delivering a nuanced and ambiguous character study of its main protagonists. Not only is this a great film in its own right, it also reminded me just how unpredictable and morally complex the original films were (leaving me wanted to revisit them again as well).
And now, on to my Top Five...
5) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: James Gunn's return to (and retirement from) the MCU was everything we could have hoped for. This is a writer/director who has honed and perfected his ability to balance laugh-out-loud comedy, heartfelt and genuine emotion, and inventive larger-than-life action sequences, at the same time as bringing the characters' (and the cast's) nine-year journey to a satisfying conclusion. James Gunn took a bunch of characters that nearly no one had heard of, and transformed the bunch of reprobates into the MCU's favourite found family. I laughed, I cried, I left the cinema on a high.
4) The Creator: The highest entirely original film in my Top Ten, this is exactly the type of film we're told they don't make anymore – an original concept and universe built from scratch by a writer/director, with no previous source material or “brand recognition” to rely on. Cynics may argue that it borrows heavily from the stories that inspired it, but there's no denying that The Creator has a tangible aesthetic and visual presence unlike anything else I've seen in a long time – a lived-in, believable quality to the world-building that's a million miles away from the sterile greenscreen look. This felt like a breath of fresh air when it hit cinemas, and I hope it encourages more studios to support filmmakers to bring epic original concepts to the big screen.
Which brings us to my Top Three...
3) Barbie: Not since The Lego Movie in 2014 has a film sounded like such a terrible idea when it was first announced, only to turn out to be an inventive, visionary, and totally unique piece of cinema. This is a film that not only delivered some of the funniest, most iconic moments of 2023's cinema (it's telling that the live performance of “I'm Just Ken” at the Oscars was all anyone was talking about the next morning), but it also had a lot to say about society, without ever letting its messages get in the way of it being a hugely entertaining movie that absolutely anyone can enjoy. Also a well-deserved winner of my Favourite Cinematic Moment of 2023 Award for America Ferrera's memorable monologue.
2) Wonka: This for me was absolutely the feel good movie of 2023, the type of movie that leaves you walking on air as you exit the cinema, and which can cheer you up even on the most miserable of days. The ensemble cast are fantastic, and even though I’m not normally a fan of musicals, I adored the original songs in this movie, with their hilarious lyrics and their catchy melodies. I laughed throughout (even on my third viewing), but just like with the writers'/director's previous film (Paddington 2), I was also genuinely moved by the emotional moments. A film that I can wholeheartedly and unreservedly recommend to anyone and everyone.
Film of the Year 2023 – Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves: This was a film that genuinely felt like nothing I'd seen before. Yes, it's not really an “original” film in the strictest sense, but on the other hand, I honestly can't remember another action/adventure/fantasy/comedy that's managed to blend – and do justice for to – all of those genres at the same time. Some of the set-pieces were among the most inventive I've seen (the wildshape escape from the castle, and the mirror/coach heist stand out in particular), while the fight scenes involving Michelle Rodriguez wouldn't look out of place in a straight-up action movie. But the film's ace card is its sense of humour – barely a minute goes by without something to make you laugh, but the comedy never undermines the character moments or the stakes of the movie (which is not an easy balancing act to pull off). Okay, so if you have a pathological hatred of anything vaguely in the fantasy genre, this may not be for you – but for everyone else, this is a film that is endlessly entertaining (even on my fourth viewing!).
This year I also thoughts I’d try something a little different, and as well as my “main” Top Ten of 2023, I thought I’d also do a mini-countdown of my “Top Ten Hidden Gems” – films that flew under the radar and which (I think) most people probably won’t have seen, but which are well worth your time:
10) Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant – not at all what you’d expect from “A Guy Ritchie Film”, this ditches the comedy and delivers a tense action thriller.
9) Rye Lane – this charming British rom-com is a million miles from the middle class suburbs of Four Weddings…, but is all the better for it.
8) Joy Ride – a raunchy R-rated comedy with decent character development, this was largely overlooked, possibly due to being led by an Asian female cast.
7) Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire – I get that this is just half a film (so it’s basically all set-up), but I don’t get all the hate for this movie. I thought it was fun for what it was … although I look forward to seeing the R-rated directors cut which (based on Zack Snyder’s previous director’s cuts) I expect to be an even more satisfying viewing experience.
6) Next Goal Wins – I get that it may not offer much if you’ve already seen the documentary that covers the same story, but this warm-hearted comedy consistently put a smile on my face.
5) Nimona – an animated movie with no brand recognition, this flew under the most people’s radar, but it’s a surprisingly thoughtful and poignant fantasy adventure that feels both traditional and subversive.
4) Bottoms – this won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but I thought this surreal, violent, R-rated high school comedy was hilarious.
3) No One Will Save You – what you initially think is a traditional home-invasion thriller becomes something so much weirder, all carried by an incredible wordless lead performance from Kaitlyn Dever.
2) They Cloned Tyrone – this hybrid of the blaxploitation and sci-fi genres is a truly original film, with a great central trio.
1) Renfield– the box office for this film suggests that not many people saw it, but I loved this ridiculously gory horror comedy. The motel fight scene had me in stitches.
For more recommendations, you can also check out the earlier rundown of my Cinematic Highlights of 2023, which includes my nominations for categories such as “Villain of the Year”, “Best Score of 2023” and “Person of the Year”.
