2023 has been quite a year for movie lovers and many movies are yet to arrive including the highly anticipated Oppenheimer and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. As we wait for them, we wouldn’t mind reliving the first half of 2023 through the movies it gave us, right?
Movies have always been the primary source of entertainment for me. So when I list the best movies of 2023, they won’t necessarily be artistic and with deep meaning that can be analysed in reputed film institutes as true works of art (in the traditional sense). Of course, I love art films and there is a special corner for them in my heart but the movies in this list generated immense gladness, happiness, and thrill in me for being a cinephile.
Best Movies of 2023 So Far
John Wick 4 (Action)
It rarely happens that a franchise manages to up its ante with every sequel. Some fail (Twilight, Fantastic Beasts, Terminator) while others get saturated (Fast and Furious, X-Men, Jurassic franchise, Transformers). But the John Wick franchise, with all four of its movies directed by Chad Stahelski has been able to achieve the feat. The feared character, the whole world created for the character, and of course, the action sequences, make this film one of the all-time top 10 action films.
The fourth part was John’s send-off (spoiler alert! he dies at the end but does he really?) which meant that it had to be special. Thanks to Chad and his past as a stuntman and stunt coordinator, he knew exactly what to do. More than anything else, what he gave us, for which we should be indented to him, is action, specifically close combat, that did not rely on visual effects and a cast that could adhere to it, Donnie Yen, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Scott Adkins.
The palpability needed to establish John Wick’s character as a gruesome assassin is something that Chad Stahelski took care of with immense precision. That along with beautiful locations across the globe where we find John, make watching John Wick 4 feel like playing an R-Rated open-world video game. Long story short, if you love action, go for it (again).
Spiderman Across the Spider-Verse (Animation)
From live-action, we come to animation. With the release of Spider-Man: Into the SpiderVerse, Sony has established itself as one of the top-tier animation companies in the world. To incorporate the comic book appearance in an animated movie is something no one had expected could be done effectively. But Sony Pictures Animation did it.
The movie brought out the kid in us all; one that read through pages and pages of comic books, getting lost in that world. And this feeling made us want more. Cut to 2023, Sony drops Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse which would take Miles Morales on a journey across the multiverse. And I knew it was about to be one of the Best Movies of 2023 for me. And after watching it, it became one of the best movies ever.
Animation is not a genre but a medium and Sony used it to give us a whole new and colorful perspective that I just couldn’t have enough of. With hundreds of Spider-Men including our beloved Miguel O’Hara and Pavitr Prabhakar, directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson gave us a ride worth remembering at least until Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse hits the screen. If you want to enjoy movie magic, Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse is a great choice.
Air (Motivation)
“A shoe is always just a shoe until someone steps into it.”
These words from Nike Director of Marketing Rob Strasser (played by Jason Bateman) in the Ben Affleck directorial Air hit me hard. Available on Amazon Prime Video, the film is about the history of the company Nike Inc. and how it gave birth to a shoe that would go on to become the greatest shoe brand of all time i.e. Air Jordan. Ben Affleck should direct more movies because he knocked it out of the park with this one. The creative decision to not show Michael Jordan’s face was the perfect way to honor his legacy.
The film shows how Sony Vaccaro (Matt Damon) convinced Michael Jordan’s mother Deloris (Viola Davis) to sign a deal with them even before Michael became famous. Michael’s mother believed that her son would become a great basketball player and Sony had anticipated it too. How the latter convinces the former and what it takes to do that is what Air is all about. From start to finish, the film shows how your vision is nothing without your faith, your determination, and your never-give-up attitude. It is a deserving addition to my best movies of 2023 so far and I suggest you watch it too (in case you haven’t).
Which movies did you watch in 2023 so far that left a long-lasting impression? Let us know your pick in the comments section below.