The comic-book genre continued to dominate in 2023, with a record eight new releases. Unfortunately though, it was an overall weak year for the genre with both Marvel and DC facing headwinds.
Marvel got off to a bad start this year when Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania debuted to lukewarm reviews. Of any Marvel film to not hit the mark, this wasn’t the one the brand would have chosen. Not only did it open the studio’s hotly anticipated Phase 5, this film marked Kang’s (Jonathan Majors) debut, who is scheduled to be the big-bad in the next Avengers films. Although critics and audiences largely agree he made a strong impression, the film around him was uninspiring. It didn’t help that later in the year, Majors would later plead guilty to serious sexual assault charges, casting doubt over his future in the franchise.
Later in the year, The Marvels bombed financially, becoming the studio’s lowest grossing film of all time, with tepid reviews despite a talented black female director in the form of Nia DaCosta. On the plus side for Marvel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was a hit and marked director James Gunn’s final work for the studio and is now spearheading a rebranded vision for DC.
Moving swiftly onto DC, because of the aforementioned upcoming regeneration, all four of the films released this year could be considered ‘legacy products’ now that the DCEU is closing up shop. That meant limited or in some cases, next-to-no marketing for its films, unceremoniously dumped into cinemas having been, at one time, part of a bigger picture. Shazam: Fury of the Gods and The Flash received mixed reviews and the DCEU closer Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom washed up with a poor reception. Blue Beetle was a surprise critical hit but given the limited marketing, flopped financially.
Sony was arguably the big winner this year with Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse opening unanimously positive reviews and tipped for Awards consideration.
There’s a varying degree of quality in this list but for the most part, it was a poor year for the genre. Comparing to the comic-book films of 2022, my top pick for this year doesn’t compare to any of the top three last year.
Let’s get started!
8) Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse
The part where you completely disregard this ranking, I just can’t understand the love for Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. I thought its predecessor, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, was overrated but at least it had its plus points in that it had plenty of heart and well-developed characters. This sequel was just an overlong headache throughout, completely and utterly overstuffed, stretching the already worn multiverse trope at nauseum. Many left the film giddily excited by its cliffhanger ending but I can’t imagine sitting through another 150 minute snoozefest.
7) The Marvels
The sequel to the surprisingly entertaining Captain Marvel had all the right things going for it, chiefly an interesting director in the form of Candyman‘s Nia DaCosta. What a shame that the finished product completely misses the mark, both as a Marvel and a Nia DaCosta film. The Marvels is utterly bereft of the director’s fingerprints and completely misguided. It doesn’t help that not only do you need to have seen Captain Marvel to be up-to-date before watching this film but you also need to have seen two Marvel television series – Ms Marvel and Secret Invasion. The trademark quippy humour of Marvel films rears its ugly head here and it’s missing almost all of the ingredients that made its predecessor a success. There’s next-to-no character development for Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers and the film doesn’t capitalise on her relationship with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) – the interplay between them was one of the main ingredients that made it work. The film also suffers from a poor and one-dimensional villain and a grating score. It’s quite possibly the worst Marvel entry to date, with other contenders including Avengers: Age of Ultron and the boring and formulaic Black Widow.
There is now an increase in quality…
6) Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
The film to kick-start the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 5 fell short of the mark. Unlike both of its excellent predecessors, Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp, which acted as pallette-cleansers, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania performs a very different function in that it needs to introduce Kang, the big bad for Marvel’s forseeable future.
Starting with the positives, the cast are excellent and the chemistry shared between Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang and his daughter is admirable, although not as heartfelt as in previous films. Jonathan Majors is by far and away the standout as Kang, a cool and calculated villain with oodles of charisma and intelligence. Outside of the fun performances, the film unfortunately has an episodic quality to it, akin to watching a Saturday morning television show. Moving the story away from Earth to the Quantum Realm also lowers the film’s quality. The first two films excelled with their innovative action sequences and their manipulation of size and spectacle, whereas this disappointingly doesn’t. Most distractingly, the Quantum Realm is not well-realised. There is an unnerving amount of CGI and the film is visually drab. Even the score by Christophe Beck isn’t particularly memorable and Bill Pope’s cinematography is surprisingly anonymous considering his filmography, likely drowned out by the distracting CGI.
5) The Flash
The Flash is a mixed bag – there’s some fun to be had in the middle with Michael Keaton’s Batman but it’s bookended by fairly turgid first and third acts. The multiverse is an increasingly worn concept and it really plagues this film as it lessens the stakes for the characters. Despite a carousel of cameos from stars all over the DC canon, the result is a film with an episodic quality akin to watching a Saturday morning cartoon than the series-defining reset The Flash was intended to be. The problem of ropey visual effects also plagues The Flash, especially a spectacularly misjudged opening action sequence involving a group of babies. Ezra Miller makes for a fine, if schizophrenic lead, although the character arguably received a more meaningful arc with less screentime in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
There is now another step-up in quality…
4) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is quite different in tone from its predecessors but for the most part, it’s an enjoyable trilogy closer. Returning director James Gunn treats the characters with love and care and it’s impressive how even minor characters get a meaningful arc. When you’re juggling close to ten primary characters, that’s no mean feat. The film is surprisingly dark in places and has Gunn’s fingerprints all over it, even if its violence, language and disturbing depictions are somewhat sanitised. It’s also a very personal watch, its story mirroring Gunn’s Marvel experience and how he is saying goodbye to the conglomerate that propelled his career. That said, I wish Gunn took more narratively risks and applied his ‘everyone is expendable’ mentality from The Suicide Squad here. Like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, it’s also baggily constructed and at least half an hour too long. It’s also not as humorous as the first two but this isn’t necessarily a con given it tackles darker subject matter.
3) Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
The final film in the DCEU before it’s reimagined under James Gunn’s leadership attracted negative reviews but I found returning director James Wan‘s sequel to be very entertaining and visually interesting. Devil’s Deep, a volcano island lots of the second act takes place in is particularly nicely realised and there’s an excellent early heist and ensuing chase that can only have been created by Wan with his horror tinge. The cast are all clearly having fun. Jason Momoa essentially plays himself and Wan-regular Patrick Wilson fares much better this time round. His villain was a little disappointing in the original due to a lack of character development but Wan puts a much greater focus on him to great effect and both Momoa and Wilson share an excellent bromance chemistry. Yahya Abdul Mateen II makes for a sinister, if slightly cartoonish villain and Randall Park is another bright spot as Dr Stephen Shin.
You can tell it’s a film that was meant to be bigger than it is and it does feel like some scenes have been cut down and storylines reduced. This sequel is twenty minutes shorter than its predecessor and the film runs at a brisk pace, never really taking the time to breathe.
2) Blue Beetle
Blue Beetle is a pleasant surprise and by far and away its biggest asset is the amiable family dynamic which although affectionate, is fiercely positive. The characters are generally very well developed and by the half way point when there is a pivotal moment in the narrative, it’s safe to say we’ve really come to care for them. Angel Manuel Soto’s film feels like a fusion of Iron Man, Ant-Man, Spy Kids and Coco and he does a great job of making Palmera City seem like a real place, with its Miami-esque new town juxtaposed against the suburbs that are undergoing gentrification, signifying an economic inequality. The film does a great job of showing you the mansions and the neighbourhood Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) lives in, and it feels like an actual Central or South American city. Although it’s not going to set the superhero genre alight, I appreciated Blue Beetle’s upbeat energy and it manages to stand out in a crowded genre.
And by a slither, the best comic-book film of 2022 is…
1) Shazam: Fury of the Gods
Shazam: Fury of the Gods isn’t as fresh as its predecessor but aside from a rocky start, it’s another entertaining ride. It’s considerably of a higher production value than Shazam spin-off Black Adam that released last year. This sequel mostly retains its warm portrayal of family and all of the characters receive meaningful character development. The script penned by Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan is sharply written and there’s a few laughs peppered throughout. Once again, Sandberg’s horror fingerprints can be felt all over the film, particularly in the climactic battle sequence and there’s even a cameo by the Annabelle doll that you’ll need to keep an eye out for. Other than the opening action sequence, there’s some fun set pieces here and even the final climactic battle remains consistently fun to watch, often the undoing of many a comic book film. The film is well shot by Gyula Pados but the score by Christophe Beck is disappointing and unmemorable.
What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments or tweet @TheFilmMeister
The Film Meister 