THE FLASH Review
“A wild and clever take on Flashpoint, and a fine punctuation mark to the Snyderverse”
I’m not sure even where to begin with a movie that covers so much ground in its 2 hour and 13 minute running time, a superhero movie that has so much pressure on it from everything that’s gone on around it, starting with the Snyderverse, how that fell apart, but then came back, and still has another movie to go before James Gunn takes over. I’m going to do my best not to spoil anything that’s not already been out there in some of the trailers released, but if you think you’ve seen and know everything, then you’re in for a pleasant surprise for sure. Let’s put it this way: There’s a good reason why Warner Bros. didn’t completely scrap the movie due to the behavior of its star, but maybe we’ll touch on that in a bit.
You don’t really have to know that much about the previous DCEU movies, of which there have been many since Zack Snyder made Man of Steel, released ten years ago this month. There’ve been hits, there’ve been failures, there have been some really unfortunate decisions, but I’ll tell you one thing, getting Andy Muschietti (It) to direct The Flash and tackle some really difficult storytelling was not one of them.
All you need to know is that a bunch of years ago, Geoff Johns wrote a six-issue mini-series called “Flashpoint” and that is loosely the basis for The Flash where Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) is pining over the death of his mother, for which his father has been in prison for many years, and he decides to do something about it. Much against Batfleck’s advice, he decides to use his powers to travel through time to go back and make one small change. As often happens with time travel, the best laid plans go awry, and Barry soon learns that he has changed a lot more than that as he ends up stuck in the past with his younger powerless self and none of the Justice League.
If you’ve seen anything about the movie, you probably already know some of those changes, and if you’ve been avoiding all trailers before seeing the movie, then this is as good a time as any to stop reading.
Maybe you already know that there are two Barry Allens in play here or that Michael Keaton has been brought back as Batman or about the new Supergirl, played by Sasha Calle, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg, because all these characters play much bigger roles in the story than being mere cameos. Similarly, Michael Shannon’s General Zod is back, but this time, the Flash doesn’t have Superman to save the earth, so he has to go find him along with Barry 2 and Batman.
Before we get to that point, we do get to see both Flash and Batfleck in action, as the latter is doing his job as a crime fighter, though Flash has to save a collapsing building including a maternity ward full of crying babies. It’s a terrific set piece in itself, showing how Flash’s powers work, including the fact that he needs to eat constantly to build up the energy for his powers.
We might as well address the Ezra Miller in the room. I’ve interviewed Miller many times over the years, and I’ve always found them to be quite personable, although I totally can see them being pushed too hard by the fame that comes with being a recognizable actor… or even the imposed schizophrenia of playing two Barry Allens in a movie. Even so, The Flash has been one of my most anticipated superhero movies, maybe going back to the first Sam Raimi Spider-Man, so I’m not going to let Miller’s recent alleged criminal behavior detract from my viewing experience. I’m a strong believer in redemption, and if an actor isn’t prosecuted and put in jail (like Robert Downey Jr., crazy how few people remember that), then their work on screen should be what a review should be based on.
The thing is that Miller isn’t good in The Flash – they are GREAT. They play two very different versions of the same character and have to juggle the jokes and pathos involved with losing one’s parents, which does lead to a few tonal issues, but the humor works better with Muschietti directing Miller than the Snyder movies. Allen is also troubled by the sudden realization that he potentially has destroyed the entire earth with his attempt to save his parents. But really, the movie belongs just as much to Keaton and Calle, Keaton because he gets to wear the cowl again, but also because he gets to take part in the type of action we’ve only seen in movies from Snyder, Nolan, and even Matt Reeves. Calle is equally terrific as Kara Zor-el, and the way she’s introduced and used really makes you wish we get to see more of her.
Muschietti effectively is able to revisit Snyder’s Man of Steel and maintain some of the look and feel of Snyder’s version of the DCEU while still keeping things fairly fresh and focused on the Flash. There are other more spoilery things in the movie, some that have already been spoiled and others that haven’t, but The Flash isn’t the complete wiping the Snyderverse slate clean some might expect either, despite what Gunn has said.
Huge props need to go out to sole screenwriter Christina Hodgson (Bumblebee, Birds of Prey) for coming onto a project with many fingers involved in the initial story plot, and creating something that’s surprisingly cohesive but also retaining any intended humor.
The Flash is a wild and clever take on “Flashpoint,” and a fine punctuation mark to the Snyderverse, whether it’s a comma or a period or something else entirely? That’s up to Gunn. If nothing else, fans of the comics and the Snyder movies should definitely enjoy it.
Rating: 8/10
The Flash opens nationwide on June 16 with previews on June 15