Here we are again, like seeing the same moment again and again in a ‘checks notes’ Chronosphere. We find ourselves back looking at the next installment in the DCEU and whether it will live up to the hype or comic book prowess that its source material holds. Ezra Miller controversy aside, I won’t discuss it but it’s on my mind, The Flash is Warner Brothers’ hope for the restart of the DC Universe but does it reset everything with a flash or a flop?
The Flash follows Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) as he realises that he can go back in time to save his mum from dying and stop his father from going to prison. Despite all recommendations not to from Ben Affleck’s Batman, Barry does this anyway and starts to create new timelines. Barry finds himself without his powers in a world with Michael Keaton’s Batman and Supergirl, played by Sasha Calle, instead of Superman. Barry, his younger self and Batman must stop General Zod from destroying Earth as there is no Superman to save the day this time.
I could go on for longer but I’m slowly creeping into spoiler territory and the more you don’t know about this story the more fun you’ll probably have. Multiverse films have become almost like Cowboy movies back in the ’40s to ’60s, they’re everywhere! You can’t get away from it, I mean there was one literally last week, and today they announced two Mickey Mouses in the same short. That is obviously unrelated to The Flash but my point is that The Flash needed to not be last. For the fastest man alive it certainly has arrived at the party last.
Concepts in the film are now old and seen before by most audiences, those who have been DC animated fans have seen this all before as well. The Flash both feels like a necessary restart but also an unnecessary grind at the same time. On one hand, James Gunn is taking over and the DC franchise needs someone to take control and on the other hand, Superhero movies are losing their street cred. DC films are popping up at a time when even Marvel productions are being rated poorly by critics and fans.
The Flash has some cool little set pieces and, when the VFX of The Flash isn’t happening, some really cool-looking artistic and comic-inspired set designs. The different cities and the backgrounds along with the always dark, mysterious, and stylish Michael Keaton Batcave are all positives to take from the film. You can really feel the difference and evolution of Batman when you’ve started with the dark and brooding Ben Affleck Batman and you move into everything has to be in the shape of a bat Keaton Batman.
There are fun moments to be had in amongst all of the ordinary superhero movie plot. Michael Keaton is the same old cool Batman, with a few quality gags. Bonus points for his explanation of the multiverse in the film, suprised they can still think of different ways of explaining the same idea. Would’ve loved to have seen more of Supergirl but hopefully we’ll get to see more of her in the future.
The film, and every superhero film recently, has an abundance of reliance on including fan service which is feeling a little old too. Live-action superhero films seemed to have peaked with Infinity War and Endgame, which were stuffed with fan service, and whilst you have to expect it from a film like The Flash with the story that it has, there are moments that are way too out there for the average viewer.
Much like The Flash trying to fix his mistakes I feel like I’m going around in circles here. The Flash doesn’t offer anything new, except Supergirl on the big screen which is a bonus. That is something that we haven’t had yet and we should’ve already had at this point. We have already seen a speedster on the big screen, in fact, we have seen two others and the VFX of this film really lets this speedster down. The visuals feel rushed and even some shots look weirdly set up, I assume possibly watching the film in IMAX would make some shots make more sense but not everyone in the world has that opportunity, and I certainly don’t.
When you sit back and look at all of the DC films Man of Steel was an interesting moment for them. It was right after The Dark Knight Trilogy, it has this hauntingly beautiful score and darkness to the Superman story. Then everything else followed suit with this dark look and kept the same style because they needed an overarching look and feel of the DCEU. The Flash adds a spark of colour and the signs of something new coming but I bet if they had The Flash’s powers DC would happily go back in time and make each film and character their own look, feel, and style because Man of Steel and The Batman are so good. You can tell with every DC film, Warner Brothers have this rushed get it out of the door as soon as possible tactic, and in the modern day of VFX when low-budget films have better shots than hundreds of millions of dollar pictures it is embarrassing and it completely ruins the experience for the viewer, rips them out of the world they’re meant to be pulled into. I don’t want to blame the VFX companies because I know/have heard stories about how bad WB is to work with.
To sum up this mess and to get on with my evening, Barry Allen of all people should know that you shouldn’t keep looking back at the past and what others are doing. You should look forward and set your own path, with your own styles, great planning, and storytelling ideas because without it you might just trip on your laces and become The Flop.
Score: Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, and Adam West…that’s a 3/7 Batmen score.