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Update: June 13, 2023
Dragonlord’s Review of THE FLASH (No Spoilers)
Bottom Line: Is The Flash the best superhero movie as touted by Warner Bros.? Not really (it’s not even the best comic book movie of 2023). Is it a good multiverse adventure escapade with some terrific performances, a fun Back to the Future vibe and tons of cool fan service? Yes, it is.
Heavily influenced by Geoff Johns’ popular Flashpoint story arc, the film tells the story of Barry Allen / The Flash (Ezra Miller) traveling back in time to prevent his mother’s death but alters the timeline. Barry is now stuck in an alternate universe where General Zod (Michael Shannon) is going to terraform the Earth and kill all the humans. Barry, alongside his younger self (also played by Miller), enlists the help of an older and retired Batman (Michael Keaton) to stop the Kryptonian invasion.
From multiple writers and directors coming on board and leaving the project, The Flash’s race to the big screen has been a bumpy one to say the least. At one point the star Ezra Miller with writer Grant Morrison took a stab at writing the script for the troubled project. Despite the rotating filmmakers and Miller’s real life scandals, The Flash has finally crossed the finish line after nine years since the announcement of the project.
So, is it one of the best superhero movies ever made as Warner Bros. and early screeners claimed it is. Personally, no. It’s not even the best superhero movie of the year (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 edges it out for me). In spite of all that, The Flash is still a highly-entertaining, super-fun cape movie and one of the best DCEU films ever made. The rules for their time-travel, multiverse story does not make sense fully (as par for the course for with these types of movies) but you just go along with it.
Despite all the twisty plot and crazy things happening on screen, it’s Ezra Miller who carries the film. Ezra is just superb in the starring role, injecting the character with equal dose of neuroticism and charm that translates into high Peter Parker likability level. Miller displays some terrific acting chops in several high emotional and dramatic moments. Equally impressive is the actor’s double duty performance as a younger Barry Allen who is just a funny character and his interactions with the older Barry is just as entertaining. Props to the hairstyle department (and Miller’s performance) because I would be convinced if they told me that the younger Barry Allen was played by another actor due to the fact that he kinda resembles the actor but also not exactly.
One of the biggest attraction of the movie is the return of Michael Keaton as Batman and he does not disappoint. Keaton is magnificent as the older and wiser Batman. During Tim Burton’s first two Batman films, there was a limitation on the technology and filmmaking techniques that impeded Keaton’s portrayal as the Caped Crusader. In The Flash, they’ve finally transformed Keaton’s Batman to its fullest potential, giving him several thrilling, bad-ass action scenes. I was so happy to see that they even incorporated Keaton’s Batman’s old style of martial arts and just modernized it. Danny Elfman’s Batman theme was just icing on the cake.
Sasha Calle was okay as Supergirl. She wasn’t given much depth. Supergirl was just there to provide the muscles. She was not bad all in all but she didn’t make me want to see a Supergirl spinoff movie of her also. The choice of Supergirl in this Elseworlds story is a cool Easter egg by itself because the character was among the crew of the Kryptonian ship found by Clark in Man of Steel, per the official tie-in comic book. So it was nice to see that Easter egg come to fruition in this What If…? scenario. I just don’t like her costume though. The lower half of the suit needs a few more red colors to balance out the monotonous blue colors.
Speaking of costumes, I’m not a fan of the Flash’s costume in this one. It’s not terrible but it’s not the best either. The helmet looks awkward in some angles. His Justice League costume is still better in my opinion. Keaton’s Batman suit looks great while Affleck’s Batman suit looks amazing in action but looked shoddy and cumbersome when he’s just standing still.
Though I’ve only watched the teaser trailer and official trailers, I was pleasantly surprised at how much the previews did not spoil. There’s also a multitude of Easter eggs and fanservice, especially towards the ending. The film is not afraid to poke fun of itself, its universe and its characters. The funniest gag for me was the way they made fun of Barry’s special (sissy) way of running.
Some of the CGI effects on human doubles for the movie are just awful though. It’s like straight out of a video game footage circa early 2000s. Though it doesn't ruin the fantastic action-packed opening act, the CGI on the babies were so glaringly atrocious.
Special mention goes to Benjamin Wallfisch who scored the film. From start to finish, his music was magnificent and extremely helped elevated all the scenes, whether it was some epic action sequence or a poignant tender scene.
Director Andy Muschietti has done a tremendous job with The Flash providing plenty of action, laughs, emotional moments and some unique, striking visual imageries. The filmmaker has definitely put a subtle Hispanic stamp on the film with the casting of a Latina as Supergirl and making Barry Allen half-Hispanic from his mother’s side. Not really bothered by it, just making an observation.
It’s publicly known that the new DC Films co-president James Gunn is going to reboot the DC Universe. So, The Flash is a fitting tribute and a satisfying end to the DCEU and the Snyderverse. The Flash deserves some praise for coming up with a good, cohesive story derived from all the different plotlines the film underwent in its nine-year development (a total of 45 writers were reportedly involved in this project at various stages). But mark my words, if they do a sequel, it will most likely fail because they will no longer have the Flashpoint story to rely on as its foundation. Portraying super speed powers is tricky and audience will be more discerning of the plot holes unless the sequel’s screenwriter is very meticulous and thorough (which I doubt).
RATING: 8/10
(Please leave a Like if you appreciate my reviews. Thanks.
)
Dragonlord’s Review of THE FLASH (No Spoilers)
Bottom Line: Is The Flash the best superhero movie as touted by Warner Bros.? Not really (it’s not even the best comic book movie of 2023). Is it a good multiverse adventure escapade with some terrific performances, a fun Back to the Future vibe and tons of cool fan service? Yes, it is.
Heavily influenced by Geoff Johns’ popular Flashpoint story arc, the film tells the story of Barry Allen / The Flash (Ezra Miller) traveling back in time to prevent his mother’s death but alters the timeline. Barry is now stuck in an alternate universe where General Zod (Michael Shannon) is going to terraform the Earth and kill all the humans. Barry, alongside his younger self (also played by Miller), enlists the help of an older and retired Batman (Michael Keaton) to stop the Kryptonian invasion.
From multiple writers and directors coming on board and leaving the project, The Flash’s race to the big screen has been a bumpy one to say the least. At one point the star Ezra Miller with writer Grant Morrison took a stab at writing the script for the troubled project. Despite the rotating filmmakers and Miller’s real life scandals, The Flash has finally crossed the finish line after nine years since the announcement of the project.
So, is it one of the best superhero movies ever made as Warner Bros. and early screeners claimed it is. Personally, no. It’s not even the best superhero movie of the year (Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 edges it out for me). In spite of all that, The Flash is still a highly-entertaining, super-fun cape movie and one of the best DCEU films ever made. The rules for their time-travel, multiverse story does not make sense fully (as par for the course for with these types of movies) but you just go along with it.
Despite all the twisty plot and crazy things happening on screen, it’s Ezra Miller who carries the film. Ezra is just superb in the starring role, injecting the character with equal dose of neuroticism and charm that translates into high Peter Parker likability level. Miller displays some terrific acting chops in several high emotional and dramatic moments. Equally impressive is the actor’s double duty performance as a younger Barry Allen who is just a funny character and his interactions with the older Barry is just as entertaining. Props to the hairstyle department (and Miller’s performance) because I would be convinced if they told me that the younger Barry Allen was played by another actor due to the fact that he kinda resembles the actor but also not exactly.
One of the biggest attraction of the movie is the return of Michael Keaton as Batman and he does not disappoint. Keaton is magnificent as the older and wiser Batman. During Tim Burton’s first two Batman films, there was a limitation on the technology and filmmaking techniques that impeded Keaton’s portrayal as the Caped Crusader. In The Flash, they’ve finally transformed Keaton’s Batman to its fullest potential, giving him several thrilling, bad-ass action scenes. I was so happy to see that they even incorporated Keaton’s Batman’s old style of martial arts and just modernized it. Danny Elfman’s Batman theme was just icing on the cake.
Sasha Calle was okay as Supergirl. She wasn’t given much depth. Supergirl was just there to provide the muscles. She was not bad all in all but she didn’t make me want to see a Supergirl spinoff movie of her also. The choice of Supergirl in this Elseworlds story is a cool Easter egg by itself because the character was among the crew of the Kryptonian ship found by Clark in Man of Steel, per the official tie-in comic book. So it was nice to see that Easter egg come to fruition in this What If…? scenario. I just don’t like her costume though. The lower half of the suit needs a few more red colors to balance out the monotonous blue colors.
Speaking of costumes, I’m not a fan of the Flash’s costume in this one. It’s not terrible but it’s not the best either. The helmet looks awkward in some angles. His Justice League costume is still better in my opinion. Keaton’s Batman suit looks great while Affleck’s Batman suit looks amazing in action but looked shoddy and cumbersome when he’s just standing still.
Though I’ve only watched the teaser trailer and official trailers, I was pleasantly surprised at how much the previews did not spoil. There’s also a multitude of Easter eggs and fanservice, especially towards the ending. The film is not afraid to poke fun of itself, its universe and its characters. The funniest gag for me was the way they made fun of Barry’s special (sissy) way of running.
Some of the CGI effects on human doubles for the movie are just awful though. It’s like straight out of a video game footage circa early 2000s. Though it doesn't ruin the fantastic action-packed opening act, the CGI on the babies were so glaringly atrocious.
Special mention goes to Benjamin Wallfisch who scored the film. From start to finish, his music was magnificent and extremely helped elevated all the scenes, whether it was some epic action sequence or a poignant tender scene.
Director Andy Muschietti has done a tremendous job with The Flash providing plenty of action, laughs, emotional moments and some unique, striking visual imageries. The filmmaker has definitely put a subtle Hispanic stamp on the film with the casting of a Latina as Supergirl and making Barry Allen half-Hispanic from his mother’s side. Not really bothered by it, just making an observation.
It’s publicly known that the new DC Films co-president James Gunn is going to reboot the DC Universe. So, The Flash is a fitting tribute and a satisfying end to the DCEU and the Snyderverse. The Flash deserves some praise for coming up with a good, cohesive story derived from all the different plotlines the film underwent in its nine-year development (a total of 45 writers were reportedly involved in this project at various stages). But mark my words, if they do a sequel, it will most likely fail because they will no longer have the Flashpoint story to rely on as its foundation. Portraying super speed powers is tricky and audience will be more discerning of the plot holes unless the sequel’s screenwriter is very meticulous and thorough (which I doubt).
RATING: 8/10
In the post-credits scene, we see Barry talking to a drunk Arthur Curry / Aquaman. Barry mentions to him that in all the multiverse, the one constant is Arthur. Behind-the-scenes, that means that Jason Momoa will continue to play Aquaman in James Gunn’s DC reboot. Ezra's Flash will not be part of Gunn's new universe and that Flash will just be stuck in another universe.
The film gets off on the right foot with an exciting action sequence that also serves as a mini Justice League reunion. Barry saving the babies was a fun super speed scene reminding me of Evan Peter’s classic Quicksilver scenes from X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse.
Affleck’s Batman looked great in the car chase sequence but, if you really think about it, unnecessary since Barry could have just easily stop the bad guys and save the people in the hospital without breaking a sweat. It was good seeing Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and this was a much better cameo appearance than Shazam! Fury of the Gods. They also did the Joss Whedon gag about her Lasso of Truth.
I kinda dig Barry’s pose before he runs. It’s a bit awkward but looks very heroic.
In some amusing ways, everything that happened on The Flash is partially Bruce Wayne’s (Affleck) fault. If only Bruce spent time with Barry as he wanted to, Barry wouldn’t have been so lonely and Bruce could have talked convinced him the fallacy of altering time so far in the past.
When she learned that the infant Kal-El died, I found Supergirl’s emotional outburst not too believable as how can she have a strong connection to the baby when their bond was not properly established. Maybe they should have inserted some dialogue in there about how she spent many days watching over and taking care of the baby back in Krypton.
When Barry successfully recreated the formula that gave him superpowers, old man Bruce Wayne should have gotten some of that before facing off against Zod. A super-smart Batman with super speed would have changed the battle's outcome.
In the climax of the film, the multiverse collapses. We get some quick cameos from Christopher Reeves’ Superman and Helen Slater’s Supergirl. It was a nice touch but the CGI effects were just horrendous.
The best part of the cameos for me was finally seeing Nicolas Cage suited up as Superman. Cage was cast to play the Man of Steel in Tim Burton’s defunct Superman Lives. We are also treated to Superman fighting a giant spider, just as moronic producer Jon Peters always wanted.
George Clooney makes a cameo as Bruce Wayne at the end of the movie, making it clear that Barry successfully returned to his timeline but some things have been altered. Since it’s the end of the DCEU and they don’t have to think of the consequences, it’s a fun gag.
Barry changed the tomato cans location from the lower shelf to the top shelf, making his dad look up to get the tomato can, thereby allowing the CCTV camera to get a good look at his face which exonerates him many years in court. Barry still hasn't learned his lesson and still screwed with history and that's why his current timeline is not 100% accurate, hence George Clooney as his Batman.
Though this resets the DC cinematic universe and reboots it for James Gunn's tenure, I still suspect the Snyderverse can still be brought back as some sort of fanservice gimmick many years from now. With the existence of the multiverse, anything is possible.
Affleck’s Batman looked great in the car chase sequence but, if you really think about it, unnecessary since Barry could have just easily stop the bad guys and save the people in the hospital without breaking a sweat. It was good seeing Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and this was a much better cameo appearance than Shazam! Fury of the Gods. They also did the Joss Whedon gag about her Lasso of Truth.
I kinda dig Barry’s pose before he runs. It’s a bit awkward but looks very heroic.
In some amusing ways, everything that happened on The Flash is partially Bruce Wayne’s (Affleck) fault. If only Bruce spent time with Barry as he wanted to, Barry wouldn’t have been so lonely and Bruce could have talked convinced him the fallacy of altering time so far in the past.
When she learned that the infant Kal-El died, I found Supergirl’s emotional outburst not too believable as how can she have a strong connection to the baby when their bond was not properly established. Maybe they should have inserted some dialogue in there about how she spent many days watching over and taking care of the baby back in Krypton.
When Barry successfully recreated the formula that gave him superpowers, old man Bruce Wayne should have gotten some of that before facing off against Zod. A super-smart Batman with super speed would have changed the battle's outcome.
In the climax of the film, the multiverse collapses. We get some quick cameos from Christopher Reeves’ Superman and Helen Slater’s Supergirl. It was a nice touch but the CGI effects were just horrendous.
The best part of the cameos for me was finally seeing Nicolas Cage suited up as Superman. Cage was cast to play the Man of Steel in Tim Burton’s defunct Superman Lives. We are also treated to Superman fighting a giant spider, just as moronic producer Jon Peters always wanted.
George Clooney makes a cameo as Bruce Wayne at the end of the movie, making it clear that Barry successfully returned to his timeline but some things have been altered. Since it’s the end of the DCEU and they don’t have to think of the consequences, it’s a fun gag.
Barry changed the tomato cans location from the lower shelf to the top shelf, making his dad look up to get the tomato can, thereby allowing the CCTV camera to get a good look at his face which exonerates him many years in court. Barry still hasn't learned his lesson and still screwed with history and that's why his current timeline is not 100% accurate, hence George Clooney as his Batman.
Though this resets the DC cinematic universe and reboots it for James Gunn's tenure, I still suspect the Snyderverse can still be brought back as some sort of fanservice gimmick many years from now. With the existence of the multiverse, anything is possible.
(Please leave a Like if you appreciate my reviews. Thanks.
)
