My Flash Review
Okay, I know, I know, The Flash isn’t the last DCEU movie. We still have Blue Beetle and Aquaman before we get the new DCU reboot, but after the gigantic flop of Shazam: Fury of the Gods, and now the big flop of The Flash, it seems that the DCEU is already over. Honestly, I think it’s for the best, but it’s kind of sad to see it go, especially since I think there were a lot of good things, and even some great things about even these last few movies.
The DCEU was on shaky grounds after the mixed reviews of Batman VS Superman, and the disaster of the first Suicide Squad movie, but it could have been salvaged if the Justice League was a good movie. Unfortunately, the debut of the super team had a lot going against it. Following the Justice League up with poorly constructed movies like Wonder Woman 84, and Birds of Prey(or whatever they renamed that movie too) didn’t help the DCEU brand. In fact, it seems that those movies only seemed to reassure audiences that the DCEU could not be trusted with their entertainment.
Remember the Snyder Cut
Zac Snyder, Snyder Cut T-shirt
A New Hope
Along came the Snyder cut of the Justice League, and things were looking brighter. With Henry Cavill briefly appearing as Superman at the end of Black Adam, it appeared that us super nerds could have hope again. Unfortunately, not enough people saw Black Adam, so Warner Brothers decided to let James Gunn reboot the whole thing. While I’m sad to see some aspects of the DCEU go, I think it is ultimately the right call. But enough about the DCEU in general, this post is supposed to be about The Flash.
This movie was supposed to get made many years ago. It would have been one of the first, if not the first superhero movie to deal with the Multiverse in this modern age of superhero movies. Now it appears amid a time where we have witnessed some Multiverse movies that have worked and some that haven’t. I won’t go into detail on those movies in this post, but I’ll just say that I think there is a lot of expectation and hesitation surrounding the Multiverse concept.
The Ezra Situation
As if the Multiverse, and the decline of the DCEU aren’t enough of hurdles for The Flash to get over, it also has to contend with the fact that its star, Ezra Miller is a criminal. Now, I admit that it appears that Ezra Miller does have some mental health issues, and I am glad that Ezra is getting help. Of course, that doesn’t excuse Ezra’s behavior.
It’s especially sad, because Ezra’s performance in this movie is the best I’ve seen. Now it makes sense that his first solo movie would be his best, because we actually get to see his character more, but I think he brings a great emotional depth to the role. That’s saying a lot because I have never been a big fan of Ezra as The Flash. The Snyder cut of The Justice League made the actor and the character look a lot better, but than in the theatrical cut, but I never quite got that Flash feeling from Ezra. This could partially be due to the fact that I grew up with the Justice League animated series, and that Flash was more of the quick witted, funny, and flirty type. He was sort of a cross between your typical Spiderman, and the Human Torch.
During the emotional moments, I was in and out of connecting with the movie, because in the back of my mind, I just kept thinking of Ezra’s poor behavior after the movie had been made. It is a real shame, because it felt like Ezra really put a lot into the character. The Flash character is faced with a lot of turmoil in this movie, and that resonated with me.
Read the Comic that Inspired the Movie
Flashpoint on Amazon
The Time Travel Paradox
Although the premise of this movie technically comes from the comics, I’m glad that they chose to use the Flashpoint story as their template. Barry Allen (the Flash) lost both of his parents and now he has a way to get both of them back. It is super fitting that two different Batman variants are there to mentor him since Batman lost both of his parents, but he did end up with a strong father figure in Alfred. Both Ben Affleck, and Michael Keaton do a tremendous job returning to the role. The unique explanation of the Multiverse and time travels affects on it is really quite fun, although I don’t think it’s my personal favorite theory. I am glad though, that they went for something different, and the Spaghetti analogy was perfect.
From the Beginning
There were a lot of things about the first twenty or so minutes that didn’t really draw me in. I felt like him taking his time to get into the right running pose was somewhat irritating, and I had a feeling that he wasn’t even going to eat the candy bar that he asked his fan for. It may have been partially my fault as I often have a hard time concentrating at the beginning of a movie, but the baby scene just didn’t work for me. It seemed like he was taking way too long (and I know time was slowed down). I think they wanted to do something different than what Fox did with Quicksilver in some of the X-men movies, but it just didn’t work for me.
Witness Super Speed at its Finest in Slow Motion
X-men: Days of Future Past The Rogue Cut
The Rundown
Overall, I enjoyed watching The Flash. The display of the Multiverse and time travel while the Flash was in the Chronosphere was a lot of fun. I do think that some of the images could have looked better, but I understand what the director was going for. The last scene with his mom is truly a great movie moment, and I enjoyed the contrast between the two versions of Barry Allen. I am glad though that we will most likely be getting a new version of the Flash in a few years. I appreciate this iteration of the character, and I look forward to what’s in store for the future.
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