As a diehard DC fan — not a Snyder DC fan though, fear not — I had been left wanting more from the DCEU film catalogue as of late. “Wonder Woman 1984” was uneven, “The Suicide Squad” was just a gory “Guardians of the Galaxy” and the less said about “Black Adam,” the better.
While I entered the theater with frighteningly low expectations, expecting to see another attempt at being like Marvel, I was delighted to find that “The Flash” actually worked. The film was funny, action-packed and even a little emotional.
If you are familiar with the “Flashpoint” graphic novel, then you won’t be too surprised by anything in this movie, as the plot borrows several elements from the source material.
“The Flash,” which premiered on June 16, follows the titular character — played incredibly well by Ezra Miller — as he goes back in time to prevent the murder of his mother, indirectly creating a new timeline with some very different, but familiar, faces as they face the threat of General Zod.
The film, directed by Andy Muschietti, marks the first big screen adaptation to solely focus on the Flash as the main character, and it delivers on all cylinders.
Muschietti does a fantastic job with the action sequences in “The Flash,” with a fight scene in Russia with Batman being one of the best scenes in the movie. The Marvel style of rapid edits is not present here, allowing the audience to enjoy Supergirl’s strength and Batman’s ingenuity.
“The Flash” also avoids the easy gimmick of copying how Quicksilver’s powers were presented in the MCU, framing each superspeed scene with lightning and creating a distorted reality effect to show how the Flash sees everything.
It’s hard to discuss this film without going into Miller’s behavior and personal life, which severely impacted the release of “The Flash.” The long-held statement of separating art from the artist is quite difficult as there are some scenes that indirectly remind the audience of Miller’s very real legal and personal troubles.
Miller’s presence is a cloud that hangs over this film, and while their performance is quite good — balancing humor with heart and a healthy dose of awkward humanity — “The Flash” never quite bounces back from that one pitfall.
Another pitfall of the film is the special effects which are something else. As a fan of the CW’s Flash tv show (only the first three seasons), I can look past bad effects, but the CGI in “The Flash” is embarrassingly bad. Whenever the Flash goes fast or enters the speed force to go back in time, one might think they are watching a PS4 cutscene with how rubbery and fake everyone and everything looks.
Distracting effects aside, the action is amazing and so is the acting. Sasha Calle’s Supergirl is a force to be reckoned with, bringing a great performance to a character who doesn’t get nearly enough screen time. In the time we do get however, Calle shows Supergirl’s justified reluctance to help the Flash and her gradual warming up to save humanity.
While Supergirl is unfairly sidelined, Michael Keaton as Batman from Tim Burton’s 1989 film is undoubtedly the best part of the movie. Keaton is a presence in every scene he is in, and when we see the 1989 Batcave for the first time, I may have squealed a little bit.
As superhero fatigue sets in, I recommend checking out “The Flash” for a reminder of what good superhero movies look like, as so far, we only have “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” to remind us they exist.
At least until “Barbie” comes out and redefines what our generation sees as cinema.
