The Flash
THE FLASHÂ (12)
D: Andy Muschietti
Warner Bros / DC / Double Dream / The Disco Factory (Barbara Muschietti & Michael Disco)
US 🇺🇸 2023
144 mins
Science Fiction/Action/Adventure
W: Christina Hodson, John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein & Joby Harold [based on characters created by DC comics]
DP: Henry Braham
Ed: Jason Ballantine & Paul Machliss
Mus: Benjamin Wallfisch
Ezra Miller (Barry Allen / The Flash), Sasha Calle (Kara Zor-El), Michael Shannon (General Zod), Ron Livingston (Henry Allen), Maribel Verdú (Nora Allen), Michael Keaton (Bruce Wayne / Batman)
The Flash may well be the most divisive superhero movie of all time, with large swarths of the fan base calling it the greatest comic book film of all time, whilst others are calling it a hot mess.
My take: it’s neither, but it was a film I had a good time with, even though it did have quite a few flaws.
Ezra Miller plays off himself as The Flash & a younger version of Barry Allen, after realising that he can run so fast, he can travel into the past. He uses this ability to prevent the death of his mother, but it’s a change to his history that creates a butterfly effect that could cause the end of the world.  Trapped in an alternative past, The Flash meets the younger version of himself prior to gaining his superhuman speed abilities, and a twist of fate leaves the older Barry without them when his younger counterpart does experience the accident that gifted him them.
The threat to the planet comes with the reemergence of General Zod & his Kryptonian Army, nurturing the same fate to Earth he had in 2013’s Man Of Steel (qv), but with no Justice League or even Superman to stop him, the two Barry Allens track down a retired Bruce Wayne to convince him to put on the Batsuit for one last hurrah.  Together, they locate who they believe is Superman, imprisoned in a Siberia facility, but it turns out to be Kal-el’s cousin, Kara Zor-el / Supergirl, who is our greatest chance to prevent the hostile Kryptonian invasion.
The plot doesn’t make any sense if you really pick it apart, but if you park logic for the duration of the runtime and just go with it, you’ll have more fun. For me, it’s the third Michael Keaton Batman movie that we didn’t get in the 1990s and that alone is worth the admission/rental price. Sacha Calle is also great as Supergirl, but Ezra Miller was always an annoying Barry Allen in previous films where he’s taken the role, so it’s not going to be any less irritating having two for the price of one.
Visually, the film does have some good action set pieces, but some of the CGI effects are probably the worst seen on film in over two decades, which is quite unforgivable for a film which cost upwards of $200m.
It’s far from the best superhero movies ever made, but it wasn’t entirely deserving of all its criticisms too, even if it was a huge disappointment financially.
6/10
