It is no understatement that the superhero genre has reached a level of output that has long since past saturation. It seems barely a few weeks go by without another costumed character gracing our screens. Depending on your lean, this is either a golden age of choice, or a dearth of variety or imagination. Of all these types of films that some bemoan and others cheer, The Flash would have been rife to be another source of divisiveness. The stories of its idiotically careless lead actor’s personal behaviour these past two years already had the production at a level of infamy without seeing a frame. Some even demanded it be reshot with a new actor (not really factoring in the film was completely shot and Ezra Miller is in nearly every scene). It was too far along the road and too far spent, production wise, with the effort and talent of hundreds of people, to just throw away. So, with that long preamble out of the way, was it worth it?
Hell yes! The Flash definitively cements itself as one of the best superhero films made in a very long time. It is a soulful, hilarious and thrilling adventure from the opening frames to the tag scene at the end (stay through the credits!)
The story sees Barry Allen (Miller) discovering a new ability that allows him to manipulate time. With his father wrongly imprisoned for the murder of his mother, Barry gets an idea in his head that he can ‘fix’ this tragic mistake. Batman (Ben Affleck) tries to warn his misguided young friend that tampering with time is a very bad idea, but of course there wouldn’t be a movie if he listened at the start. Barry accomplishes nothing when he saves his mom but destroying the fabric of time, losing his powers and getting stuck in an alternate world that has no superheroes. Barry must enlist the help of himself and another Batman (Michael Keaton) to try and undo what he has done or all will be lost.
This story, with all its time travel complexity, could have been a mess. Anchoring this story to a young man who loves his parents was genius. The emotional through line of Barry’s love for his parents compels you through his journey of self discovery and maturity without getting bogged down in time travel paradoxes or jargon. Because he has to work with a younger self, he acts as a mirror to himself and they both teach each other valuable lessons. It’s emotionally relatable, it’s hilarious and it’s meaningful.
As far as time travel stories go, this is up there with Back to the Future. Just as Michael J. Fox was essential to that film’s success, so is Ezra Miller to this. Miller is brilliant, playing the character two distinct ways and holding your attention effortlessly throughout. It really is tailored to the actor; Miller is essential to this story. Michael Keaton proves he is still Batman, and as my personal favourite Batman, it was an absolute thrill to see him kicking arse like never before. Then there is the beautiful and thrilling Sasha Calle: her Supergirl has the gravitas of Cavill’s Superman and amazes with her impact in but a handful of scenes in the scope of things. She isn’t the traditional image of the character but I swear to you she won’t disappoint. There are far too many cameos to go into in this review but you are in for a treat! I shall say no more there.
Now the one—it’s not a negative but it wasn’t the high bar set by the rest of the film—let down. This movie obviously required a shit tonne of CGI. It’s inconsistent. Sometimes it’s mind-blowing level good. Other times it feels like a friggen cartoon, with CGI doubles not convincing you the actor is there at all. I mean they stick out like a nose wart bad. It’s not often they are that terrible, but when they are it’s distracting.
Director Andy Muschietti has delivered a spectacularly good movie. More than that, he has reminded us what these kind of event films are supposed to be: FUN! This is a great night at the movies. Whatever befalls it, I now count it as one of my favourite DC movies ever. Absolutely loved it.
MPAA Rating: PG-13.
Runtime: 144 mins
Director: Any Muschietti
Writer: Christina Hodson; Joby Harold
Cast: Sasha Calle; Ben Affleck; Ezra Miller
Genre: Action | Adventure
Tagline: World's Collide.
Memorable Movie Quote: "If you were to go into the past, you have no idea what the consequences would be."
Theatrical Distributor: Warner Bros.
Official Site: https://www.dc.com/theflash
Release Date: June 16, 2023
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: Barry Allen uses his super speed to change the past, but his attempt to save his family creates a world without super heroes, forcing him to race for his life in order to save the future.
