The Flash is one of the best-assembled movies from the DCU. In fact, as the trailer revealed, Andy Muschietti’s film reaches past the DCU proper and into the various DC movies that have existed, with Michael Keaton returning to the Batcave to suit up once more. Fans of the IP brought into this cinematic experience will likely find it hard not to smile, laugh, or throw their hands up in excitement and shock while struggling with the elephant on the screen.
Ezra Miller returns as the scarlet speedster, a role he’s played in Batman V Superman, Justice League, and Suicide Squad. The long-awaited “solo” movie has been forever marred by Miller’s real-life horrors. Plenty of articles outline all the problems they’ve caused, making it quite hard to separate the art from the artist – especially when the film opts to make jokes that feel too close to reality. Barry Allen makes a joke to a nurse whose been traumatized that the Justice League doesn’t offer good mental health benefits, and another where a 14-year-old girl screams that she loves the Flash are two examples of questionable comedy. Miller has always been a charismatic screen presence, and that only makes the internal struggle with seeing him on screen all the more challenging while watching this. One doesn’t want to root for Barry Allen, but Miller’s charm can lull you into forgetting about the reality of the actor.
The film follows Barry as he discovers the opportunity to change his past by saving his mother’s life, and subsequently keeping his father from being wrongfully imprisoned for her murder. He gets stuck in an alternate timeline with a slightly younger version of himself, a different Batman, and a familiar General Zod has returned – however, there are no metahumans to combat his takeover.
DC comic and movie fans are going to flip their lids at times throughout this movie. No specific references will be made here to avoid spoilers, but know that this film follows the trend of easter-eggs-before-substance that has become commonplace in so many superhero movies. At times, the film is far more concerned with providing things for the audience to recognize rather than doing anything new or original for the story or characters. Nonetheless, it’s impossible to deny the joy I felt seeing Michael Keaton as Batman again. My childhood was heavily influenced by Tim Burton’s films, and seeing Keaton return and appear to have fun doing so was well worth my time. However, does it make sense in terms of storytelling, or is it just a really good marketing idea? It seems to be the latter.
On that note, there aren’t any major problems in The Flash as a movie. People will nitpick the CG-fest that is inevitable with the DC movies, but it honestly doesn’t look too bad if you don’t mind clearly CG content. There are a lot of laughs to be had with these characters, and the elements that each character represents in the comics feel far closer here than in Batman V. Superman or Justice League. To summarize this in a flash…it is a fun comic book blockbuster.
The Flash is in theaters everywhere on June 16.
Rating: Not Quite Golden, Ponyboy.
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