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Summary
TheMCU , DCU , and Sony ’s Spider - Verse all released a substantial amount of content in 2023 , but only a few project suffer as rightfully exceptional . While the Spider - verse stands alone as its own narrative creation ( for now ) , the MCU and DCU both find themselves in a yr of transition . The DCEU excellently came to an end withAquaman and the Lost Kingdomahead of James Gunn and Peter Safran ’s DCU reboot , and the MCU is refocus after critical flops andthe legal trouble of Jonathan Majors .
If it was n’t already clear , 2023 also proved that the years of superhero movies automatically turning a profit are far from over . Both major studio have work to do to reconstruct their reputations among cosmopolitan audiences , which they seem place to do with their announced succeeding flick slating . Even with some disappointment , 2023 also had several gravid movies and bit proving there ’s still plenty of deception leave in the superhero literary genre .
In a challenging year for comic Koran motion-picture show and TV shows , Marvel still had some soar high . Here ’s how every MCU release of the year ranks .
8Shazam: Fury Of The Gods Is Formulaic And Forgettable
Released March 17, 2023
Shazamwas a surprise hit for the DCEU , extradite a playfulness inception story anchored by Zachary Levi ’s rattling performance as the titular kid in an adult superhero ’s body . Unfortunately , Shazam : Fury of the Godsforgets much of what made its precursor successful , sticking too much to wear out tropes and forgetting to put a floor behind the natural process and prank . The movie does n’t do much actively wrong , but it fails to do anything particularly right .
The cast of the superhero subsequence Shazam ! rage of the Gods boast grownup star topology like Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren play superpowered DC characters .
Shazam : violence of the Godsintroduces a story about the fear of growing up and recede family , but that narrative threat is only given a few quick lines and largely sinks to the background signal . Moreover , the villainous Daughters of Atlas , never lift beyond cliche motives of supremacy and shadowy retaliation . The end upshot is a movie that ticks classic boxes of the superhero picture show genre but never becomes more than the some of its familiar parts .
7The Flash Wastes Some Great Ideas
Released June 16, 2023
Despite being one of DC ’s most popular superheroes and a founding member of the Justice League , The Flashhad a hard road to production . ab initio announced back in 2014 for vent in 2018,The Flashunderwent several change in behind - the - scenes talent and story . The outcome is a bit of a mess . The story is challenging , adapting The Flash ’s famous meter - travelingFlashpointstory , but like other DCEU projects , it seems like something that should have ended a character ’s motion picture franchise instead of starting it .
The Flashgets major credit for delivering a terrific reappearance for Michael Keaton ’s Batman , and Miller delivers a substantial functioning as " present " and " past " versions of Barry Allen . unluckily , these are moderately detracted from byThe Flash ’s bewilderingly horrifying CGI . Of naturally , Ezra Miller ’s off - camera legal controversieswere a flake of a PR catastrophe forThe Flashas well .
6Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Was A Few Mistakes Away From Being Better
Released February 17, 2023
If nothing else , nobody can sayAnt - Man and the Wasp : Quantumaniisn’t ambitious . Eschewing the earlier Ant - Man movies ' small-scale stakes and ground tone , Quantumaniagoes big by croak small . The Quantum Realm may be microscopic , but it has the feel of a sci - fi space risky venture , full of exotic creatures and wild engineering . Unfortunately , the film loses some charm in the transition .
Quantumaniaintroduced Kang the Conqueror , and the villain is almost compelling . interview are told of his conquest and power , but it plainly is n’t show on screen , and his ostensible death comes before the villain establishes himself as a menace . Moreover , Quantumania ’s close come along to be the dupe of last - instant reshoots , pivoting from what seems set up to be a much darker end in favor of something that does n’t seem to really change the status quo at all .
5Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom Ends The DCEU Without Fanfare
Released December 22, 2023
The firstAquamanwas a surprise hitting , pull over $ 1 billion at the global box billet . Unfortunately , Aquaman and the Lost Kingdomfails to capture the fun of its predecessorand officially cease the DCEU with a decent but ultimately unexceptional escapade . Momoa plays his classic self , which is a far cry from Greco-Roman Aquaman but enjoyable in its own rightfield . Wilson steals the show as Orm , but a forgettable story keepsAquaman and the Lost Kindgomas a fine movie instead of the olympian on the DCEU would have like to go out on .
Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom is as zany and adventurous as the first movie , but tries too difficult for a seriousness it can never achieve with Jason Momoa .
4The Marvels Is A Solid But Safe Cosmic Adventure
Released November 10, 2023
3Blue Beetle Delivers Fun Action And A Great Cast
Released August 18, 2023
In many ways , Blue Beetlewas set up to fail . The movie came out as the secondly - last project of the before long - to - be - reboot DCEU , signify its story was pre - determined not to mean anything on a franchise - wide scale . Moreover , perhaps because of it initially being set as a streaming undivided before jumping to the braggy filmdom and perhaps because of the DCEU ’s run of boxful office bomb , the motion-picture show just was n’t market as powerfully as it deserve . Regardless , Blue Beetleis a long ton of play .
gamy Beetle’splot is familiar , and its villain is actively forgettable , butXolo Maridueña infuses the epic Jaime Reyes with a gross ton of heart , and the whole Reyes family is wonderfully honk and has notable chemistry on - screen . The action scenes and special outcome are also well - done , outdoing DC movies with importantly higher budgets . WhileBlue Beetlefailed to impress at the box office , James Gunn has confirmed that the theatrical role will uphold on the DCU , so the character still has more history to secern .
2Across the Spider-Verse Is True Art In Motion
Released June 2, 2023
just put , Spider - Man : Across the Spider - Verseis one of the most visually sensational movies ever made . The film ’s default artistic production panache is good , but the unique twist on the formula elevate the experience to something altogether more impressive than the film ’s herald . Not only do case-by-case characters like Spider - Punk and Spot shine with unequalled animation techniques , but entire worlds like Gwen ’s watercolor world are paintings occur to life .
Spider - Man : Into the Spider - Versenarrowly neglect out on the form of address of top superhero picture show of the twelvemonth with its deficiency of resolving and true cliffhanger ending , but that is n’t to say that it is n’t merit of all its congratulations - and more . IfSpider - Man : Beyond the Spider - Versecan observe the dealership ’s quality , the trilogy is set to go down as one of the best in the superhero genre . From the characters and story to the animation and soundtrack , it ’s hard to find geological fault in Sony ’s late invigorate Spider - Man escapade .
1Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Closes The Trilogy With Heart And Spectacle
Released May 5, 2023
When it became unmortgaged thatGuardians of the Galaxy Vol . 3would be the last movie for the original version of the team , it was sane to expect that at least a few Guardians would n’t make it out live . Instead , writer / director James Gunn return something much more hard to pull off - endings beseem the persona that both bring satisfying block without dying . Each member of the squad is in a bold fresh position with an exciting futurity that builds utterly on everything they ’ve been through .
However , that is n’t to say thatGuardians of the Galaxy Vol . 3isn’t darkness . The High Evolutionary is one of the most hateable villains in the MCU , and Rocket ’s opprobrious backstory with the villain borders on difficult to look out . The action is top - nick , the history is in truth piquant , and the special effect and soundtrack are among the best in the MCU . Even still , the movie is more than the heart and soul of its function , placing it securely as the just comic book movie of 2023 from theMCU , DCU , or otherwise .
