Best of the Year in Film: The Fifth Annual Revvies | 2023 InReview Awards

InReview is pleased to announce its fifth annual Revvies site awards for 2023. The following have been selected by InReview Executive Editor Mitchell Chapman, InReview’s primary film critic. To be eligible, all movies had to released during the calendar year 2023 and watched by a member of staff.

Note, this year, we are sticking to only movies due to the sheer volume of TV shows that came out across streaming platforms in 2023. Nominations are accompanied by links to our reviews.

Best horror film

For a horror film, I’m looking for something that legitimately made me scared or uncomfortable. While 2023 was certainly not a weak year for horror, “Evil Dead Rise” is the only film that made me feel this way. This is perhaps due to its unconventional way of being shot and in-your-face nature or the fact that many of the most popular horror entries of the year weren’t pure horror movies (i.e. Cocaine Bear is a horror comedy, while Godzilla is a horror film that has strong thriller and action elements).

Winner: Evil Dead Rise

Best superhero film

This was a really weak year for superhero films — even Marvel’s tentpole releases lacked the luster they needed to draw me to the theaters. Arguably the MCU’s best and worst work happened in TV with the likes of “Loki” Season 2 and “Secret Invasion” representing its best and worst respectively. But I have to give this to “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” It has it all: Great characters, arguably the only good multiverse story last year, breathtaking visuals and superior writing and direction that had me on the edge of my seat. “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3” is a firm second place. The rest were a waste of time I wish I could recover.

Winner: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Best action film

I’m deadlocked with this one. While “John Wick: Chapter 4” has the best action out of any of these, “Godzilla: Minus One” is the best overall film, with its compelling and tragic revenge story making it one of the year’s best. So, both will share this prize.

Winners: John Wick: Chapter 4 and Godzilla Minus One

Best biopic

These are all strong entries, but Oppenheimer is the winner by a long shot. Christopher Nolan’s beautifully crafted, if not long-winded, depiction of the life of Atomic bomb creator J. Robert Oppenheimer’s life is best experienced on a streaming platform where you can take a break at any time. But it became a cultural phenomenon with “Barbie” for a reason, as it was able to soar to heights other films in this category weren’t able to reach.

Winner: Oppenheimer

Best comedy film or special

Ricky Gervais: Armageddon
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Book Club: The Next Chapter
Barbie

James Gunn has still got it. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” was by far the best comedic film of the year, being arguably the best part of the movie. It’s a shame that every superhero film is trying to chase “Guardians” in this regard, as it’s arguably responsible for much of the forced humor in superhero films, especially MCU projects. Still, nothing beats the original.

Winner: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Best animated film

Elemental
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Swordsmith Village
The Super Mario Bros. Movie

This was a very competitive category between “Elemental” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” However, I award the edge to “Elemental.” While “Spider-Verse” has more compelling visuals and a more pronounced art style, “Elemental” tells a superior, complete story with strong themes of overcoming societal segregation and learning to accept and love people from other cultures.

Winner: Elemental

Best film of 2023

What I look for in this category is thus: What film overall adds up to the best complete whole? For me, “Godzilla Minus One” is that film. Grounded in an excellent redemption arc of a kamikaze pilot who failed to committ suicide and has to live with survivor’s guilt in post-war Japan, Godzilla serves as its primary villain as much as he does a seemingly unstoppable force that can only be defeated through human cooperation. This film is an excellent celebration of the indomitable human spirit and a great rebuke of the ideas behind kamikaze pilots and their misplaced values of honor and needless sacrifice.

Despite costing a fraction of what blockbusters cost, this is one of the best looking films of the year. While not every scene is a cinematic masterpiece, every frame has impact and weight to it no other film manages to muster throughout. It has devastating emotional low points, but it also leaps to amazing heights no other film even comes close to touching. That’s why it’s the very best film of 2023.

Winner: Godzilla Minus One.