Review: The Flash Is A Fun, Messy Race To The Finish For This Era Of DC Films
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Flashpoint (comic-book trade)
The Flash may not be what you expect, but it’s certainly never dull, full of laughs, and ripe with ambition, even if it doesn’t always land. It’s a superhero movie that feels ripped from another era, sandwiched between the Batman franchise from Tim Burton’s original to Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin. The time travel tone and direct references to Back to the Future make The Flash feel like it’s literally traveling back in time, which is both a credit and a hindrance to the latest endeavor from the world of the DCEU, soon to be the DCU, headed by writer/director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran.
After decades of attempts to bring the “Scarlet Speedster” to the big screen, The Flash was as close as ever when actor Ezra Miller (who uses they/them pronouns, so keep that in mind throughout this review. I didn’t make grammar mistakes. Society did.) was cast in the part, appearing in cameos for other DC Films, including Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, before making their full first appearance as the character in both Justice League and Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
From there, things only got more problematic for The Flash, as the musical chairs of filmmakers shuffled endlessly for years until finally settling on Andy Muschietti, who made a mint for WB with his adaptations of Stephen King’s IT, Chapters One and Two. When the dust finally settled, Muschietti got production underway, wrapping in late 2021, with a number of reshoots taking place afterward. Meanwhile, the film’s star, Miller, invited a slew of negative publicity with his erratic behavior and constant run-ins with the law, prompting many to predict his cancelation and subsequent sinking of The Flash as a franchise.
With all the trouble of getting the film made after decades of trying and a finished product on the shelf, Miller single-handedly put it all in jeopardy, putting WB on high alert to try and right the ship and distract the public from the actor’s high-profile legal troubles. With WB being bought out by Discovery and new president David Zaslav in charge, it became clear that DC was in for some changes. Zaslav immediately shelved the finished film adaptation of Batgirl, which also starred Michael Keaton as Batman, while axing several announced projects, including a Wonder Twins movie (bullet dodged, in my opinion) and a Thanos Snap of the DC shows on CW. Was The Flash next?
Well, obviously not, but it wasn’t entirely clear for a minute. And you may be wondering why I’m giving a complete history lesson on the film's production, as most of you are already aware. The answer to that is in response to the film itself, in its final form, as it feels like a product that has gone through a long journey before getting to where it landed, which can be viewed as both a good and bad thing.
With so many treatments, scripts, and page-one rewrites for The Flash and a hefty number of big-name creators signing on and then signing off on the film, one has to wonder how much of their influence stuck throughout the process to both help and hinder what the final product became. Even the most minor tidbit can have the biggest impact and The Flash feels like a lot of hands were at play, even if it was guided by Muschietti to the finish line.
Miller returns to the role of The Flash, this time as not only the lead but the second lead as well. It’s one of the reasons why WB could not have easily reshot their part if it came to that. They are front-and-center throughout the entirety of the film, which is great for the character, but not so great for the supporting players. For all the legal troubles and personal problems, Miller delivers an outstanding performance as Barry Allen/The Flash/Barry Allen/The Flash, making it all the more unfortunate that their personal life almost ended the whole thing (and, depending on box office, still may).
The actor balances comedy and drama exceptionally well throughout the film, playing two variations of Allen that are equally funny, engaging, aloof, and ultimately heroic. That said, there’s still a level of immaturity that feels off for the character, who frequently comes off as a man-child, rather than an adult superhero, which is a more accurate description of the character in the comics. Sure, Allen is playful on the page, but he’s not quite as goofy or playful as Miller portrays him.
One of the bigger draws to The Flash wasn’t even The Flash, but the multiple Batmans that appear, including Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton. For Affleck, it’s similar to his appearance in Suicide Squad, a brief cameo with an action scene worked in, which is cool enough, but not exactly the warehouse scene from Batman V Superman. It’s fine. Affleck is fine. Nice of him to show up.
For Keaton, it’s a return decades in the making, and it ultimately hits with a nostalgic jab. It’s not monumental or particularly fleshed out, but it’s nice to see him back in the cape and cowl, even if he is obviously not doing any of the major stunts or fight sequences (but, credit to whoever did, as they do a fantastic job). There’s a moment where Keaton’s Bruce Wayne is sewing up a wound on his arm and he smiles at himself in the mirror, as if rediscovering himself and what makes him tick after living as a shut-in long enough to have grown a beard and long hair. We needed much more of that.
Keaton’s Bruce Wayne is a seasoned veteran, a wise-old bat wizard that gives some sound advice to the spritely Barry Allen, helping him to navigate back to his world after he inadvertently travels so fast that he breaks into the Speed Force and is able to reverse time, prompting him to go back and change the timeline to prevent his mother’s murder (which isn’t explored at all, but comic fans know it’s a whole journey in itself). However, it isn’t that simple, and he ultimately ends up breaking time into a multiverse (or perhaps breaking INTO the multiverse), sending him on a spiraling journey where each new stop is slightly different, while certain events are unavoidable, no matter how many times you go back.
This introduces Barry to a younger version of himself, just before he got his powers to become The Flash, making for a truly fun and comical relationship between old Barry and young Barry. This really is where the movie shines, as their relationship works exceptionally well, which is a testament to Miller’s part in differentiating the roles and executing them with precision. I mean, how many of us have wondered what it would be like to go back and interact with our younger selves? It’s a fun premise and The Flash is a great example of how it can be pulled off successfully.
The antagonist of the film is really Barry himself, as he’s the one who broke the Speed Force and he’s the one that has to try and fix it. There’s a “Dark Flash” that shows up at one point and is fully revealed and explained by the end, but it ultimately feels like a non-threat by the time that happens. He sure looks cool, but when the rubber hits the road it’s kind of a flat. Still, Michael Shannon and Antje Traue return as Zod and Faora, part of the Kryptonian invasion that was the main threat in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, with plenty of minion fodder throughout for everyone to beat up and show off their fancy moves. Again, it’s all cameo material that offers nothing new, but it’s fun to see them again.
One of the chief complaints plaguing The Flash right now is the PS2-level VFX in certain sequences, namely the baby-save scene in the opening and pretty much every sequence when he’s traveling in the Speed Force. Muschietti has explained this is meant to look this way as we’re in Barry’s perspective, a kind of “waterworld” if you will. However, I think that’s a stretch and I have to wonder if budget, time, and resources were sacrificed at some point and they just had to make do with what they had. That’s entirely possible, but the problem is that some of the VFX are quite good, so what we end up with is an imbalance. It’s just too jarring to accept as a perspective shift. Perhaps Muschietti will get a Muschietti Cut someday where he can refine those effects. If not, it’s not the end of the world, it’s just not the best that The Flash could have been.
The other big character to appear in The Flash is Sasha Calle’s Supergirl, the latest live-action incarnation of the character after Melissa Benoist portrayed her for CW and Helen Slater for the 1984 solo film. As The Flash is in a timeline where Clark Kent/Kal-El is not Superman, they are able to uncover Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl, the cousin of Kal-El, who is trapped on Earth by the Serbian government. Teaming with Keaton’s Batman, the two Flashes help free her and make her an ally in the battle against Zod, who is attacking the planet as he did in Man of Steel. Barry wants to defend this plane of existence as it’s the only timeline he’s discovered where his mother lives.
Calle is good in the role, but like Keaton, she just isn’t around long enough to get fully invested. She’s got charisma and presence, but she’s kind of a Cliff Notes version of Kal-El by the end of it, and her fate, along with Keaton’s, isn’t wrapped up particularly well. In fact, both are kind of jolted in and out of the movie, leaving the question of what happened to them wide open, while also allowing WB to move on without ever addressing them ever again if they so desired. The stakes are low for both of them, so it’s hard to ever get truly emotionally invested.
Ultimately, The Flash is a fun summer movie, filled with a lot of laughs, thanks mostly to Miller’s dual performance, a bevy of guests stars (which I’ll discuss below in the spoiler section), some cool, inspired sequences, a strong heart, and a playful tone. For those wanting a darker, more serious tale, The Flash isn’t going to be for you. This is definitely not Zack Snyder’s The Flash, nor does it need to be, but it may well be too silly for those wanting something more mature and serious. That said, it’s not a straight comedy and there are plenty of moments that play with a darker side of things, including the murder of Barry’s mother, which is left wide open for exploration if a sequel comes to be, and The Flash comic fans know full well what that means.
While I won’t say The Flash is one of the best comic book films ever made, I had a really good time with it and I laughed out loud a lot, which is no small thing. In fact, I frequently felt like I was the loudest guy in the theater for a lot of those parts, which is not my M.O. Perhaps I’m just turning into “that guy” at the movies. Would I see The Flash again? Absolutely. In theaters? Probably. It’s the best live-action superhero movie of the year so far, easily besting Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Shazam: Fury of the Gods. That’s not nothing, although it’s not the same level of excellence as Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, which will no doubt be the best superhero film of the year, live-action or animated. But, hey, finishing the race in second place isn’t terrible, even if you’re The Flash.
SPOILERS
Okay, for real, don’t read this if you haven’t seen the movie. You’ve been warned. I’m typing this to help keep you away from them if you’re trying to remain spoiler-free before seeing the film. Every movie news site on the Internet is trying desperately to spoil the shit out of it and get those all-important clicks, so nobody cares if you are spoiler free anymore. Even IMDB has spoiled every single cameo and surprise. So, last call to avoid. I’m still typing to fill out another line. There. Done. That was the last warning.
So, it’s no mystery that The Flash was going to explore the multiverse concept, something that Marvel has fully leaned into at this point, unleashing actors and characters from decades of previous films to appear in their current continuity, displayed openly in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Docter Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Now, it’s DC’s turns and they roll the clock allllll the way back for The Flash, making for a very fun and rewarding exploration that I never saw coming, thanks to shielding my eyes and ears from spoilers for months.
As Barry collides into one multiverse timeline after another, we see the connective tissue that reaches back to George Reeves’ Superman, Adam West’s Batman, Christopher Reeve’s Superman, Helen Slater’s Supergirl, and, in a bold, surprising, and absolutely amazing sequence, Nicolas Cage’s Superman. For those not in the know or absolutely confounded by his inclusion, Cage was set to play Superman for director Tim Burton back in the 90s, in which he was cast and fitted for a number of costumes, with the film falling apart weeks before filming was to begin. It was a sad “what could’ve been” story that never came to be and was expertly explored in Jon Schnepp’s documentary The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened?
Not only do we see Nicolas Cage’s Superman in action, taking on the giant spider creature that was planned for the film, but we see him in all his glory, just as the promise of those early costume tests teased. It’s a shame we never got the film, but seeing Muschietti explore it even for a few seconds in The Flash was a serious fanboy dream come true. It’s a glorious use of the multiverse and the first time a non-realized project has been brought to the surface under those conditions. It opens the door, in many ways, to continue that exploration, and absolutely leaves it swinging for Zack Snyder’s universe to continue somewhere down the line.
The second jaw-drop cameo comes from another unexpected realm: Joel Schumacher’s Batman and Robin, which has Barry meeting up with Bruce Wayne at the very end of The Flash, only it’s not Ben Affleck or Michael Keaton - It’s George Clooney. Clooney has long panned his own performance in Batman and Robin, which was a box-office and critical failure that sent the franchise into turnaround. Not that it was Clooney’s fault. Far from it, but he bore the brunt of that failure for a long time, so it was fun to see him turn up again as the character, even if it’s little more than a walk-on with the actor looking like, well, George Clooney.
It’s these kinds of fun moments that make The Flash a cut above the rest in terms of superhero fare we’ve gotten of late. The MCU has been in a sharp decline since Endgame (with No Way Home being an outlier) and DC has had its ups and downs but is thus far showing far more promise in what the future holds. With Gunn’s new DCU already lining up projects, including a new Superman film and a new Batman and Robin film (which is to be helmed by The Flash’s Muschietti), the horizon is looking better and better for DC and The Flash is a good indicator of those possibilities.