Flash, Magic Mike 3 and more: critics have named the worst movies of 2023

On the eve of the new year, we are used to summarizing the results. This is what world film critics do when they determine the best films in various genres. However, some films are less fortunate and end up on the list of the worst films of the outgoing year.

The film critics Owen Gleiberman and Peter Debruge took on the responsibility of choosing the most disastrous films of 2023. Each of them named five films that, in their opinion, deserved to be on the losers' list. The list was published by Variety.

The list of the worst films of 2023 by Owen Gleiberman

1. Ghosted

Many expected the acting tandem of Chris Evans and Ana de Armas to make a splash. However, the over-the-top romantic spy action comedy did not meet the expectations of either critics or the audience. Gleiberman called the movie "degraded" and "fake".

2. Asteroid City

Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Tilda Swinton and Margot Robbie in a new American experimental story from Oscar nominee Wes Anderson. With such a cast and director, many expected a masterpiece! However, in Gleiberman's opinion, Anderson's aesthetics and the talent of the listed Hollywood stars did not save the film from failure.

3.  Your Place or Mine

Friends who have known each other for 20 years suddenly realize that this fate and love of their lives is as old as time. But the main roles here are played by Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher! However, the film critic called this love comedy absolutely ridiculous, adding, "It's like several bad movies in one with a romantic climax."

4. Magic Mike's Last Dance

The series of films about the sexy, charismatic, and kind-hearted stripper Mike, played by Channing Tatum, has many fans. Unfortunately, most of them were disappointed with the final chapter, which featured the iconic Salma Hayek.

5. Heart of Stone

In this film, Gal Gadot plays the role of Rachel Stone, the only agent of a global peacekeeping organization who is preventing threats to its most important (and dangerous) resource, codenamed "Heart." Gleiberman commented on it as follows, "What goes around comes around, and here we are again: in the land of pathetic thrillers on streaming services, hyperbolic excess is not just a byproduct but its very essence."

List of the worst movies of 2023 by Peter Debruge

1. Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey

How about a horror adaptation of the good old story of Winnie the Pooh and his friends? Debruge believes that such a brutal and cynical use of a story beloved by many generations is a terrible incident in the history of cinema.

2. Carmen

The film was Benjamin Millepied's directorial debut. It is a film adaptation of Bizet's opera, but in fact, it is a "complete reimagining" that ignores the plot. The film critic called the director's debut a failure, and the work itself "a clumsy dance movie with almost no dance... and even less chemistry."

3. The Flash

It came as a surprise to many to see this superhero movie on the list of the worst. Debruge explained his choice as follows, "Younger than the other members of the DC team, The Flash may be a funny character who is ahead of his Justice League counterparts in laughter and demeanor. However, as the centerpiece of his own movie, the character is mostly just tiresome, especially when you see his obsessive-compulsive way of going back in time to change the past. Problematic off-screen antics aside, Ezra Miller has a prominent charisma. However, it doesn't help. Director Andy Muschietti destroys any empathy for the movie with the opening scene of falling babies, a boring, endless plot, and terrible visuals."

4. Paint

The film introduces the viewer to Carl Nargle, the No. 1 public television artist in Vermont, who is convinced that he has everything: a signature perm, a custom van, and fans who enjoy his every move. According to the film critic, this indie comedy is an anti-example for all films in this genre, and the jokes were not only unfunny but simply mediocre.

5. Caligula: The Ultimate Cut

Here is an alternative version of the movie Caligula by Tinto Brass, which returned to the original script by Gore Vidal. "Like an overpowered Roman guard with a sword at his scrotum, this boring new version somehow manages to be both bloated and neutered: an endless 'who-cares attitude' that has had its transgressive novelty stripped away to make room for McDowell's insufferable chewing," Debruge sharply criticized the film.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA wrote that IndieWire created its own list of the best films of 2023, which were voted for by film critics.

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