The Flash: Movie Review

The Flash Movie Review: Confounding Choices

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"The Flash" felt like the culmination of everything that has gone wrong for the now defunct DC Extended Universe (DCEU). This film had a lot of highs but also a lot of lows. A lot of choices that perplexes and a lot of choices that seemed reasonable. It never really found its identity and its footing and what we get is a fun albeit flawed experience. With the competition being able to produce more compelling multiverse experiences, "The Flash" just turns out to be lackluster. If the intention was to make this as the jumping point for the upcoming DC Universe (DCU) then things aren't looking so well even at this early flashpoint.

When Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) accidentally discovers that he can use the speed force to go back in time, he decides to change the past in an attempt to save his mother and father at the same time. But by saving his parents, Barry has accidentally created an alternate timeline that has no Superman to stop General Zod (Michael Shannon) from making Earth into New Krypton. Without the Justice League to help him, Barry must find a way to make things right again on his own.

We had high hopes for "The Flash". Superhero films have perfect platforms to pull off a great multiverse story. But how "The Flash" executed its multiverse wasn't the way to do it. At its core, this was an extremely shallow execution with a predictable narrative, little emotional stakes, and a multiverse built on fan service. The film will make you cringe a lot with its confounding choices and execution but still entertain you with its best bits. We won't deny that Ezra Miller's rendition of The Flash is still a little bit over the top and its pretty meta for his character to actually acknowledge this fact when he met his match - by getting to know a more immature and younger Barry in an alternate timeline. Even with double the perkiness, we expected to be really annoyed but we actually found the quirky chemistry and energy from both entertaining. Also seeing Michael Keaton as Batman again was a sight to behold (he was the first Batman of our childhoods). Fun and nostalgia aside, the film failed to be compelling. A lot of its elements were rushed with little regard for any character build-up. And yes, the VFX was bad and inconsistent as particular scenes looking fake as clear as day with plastic-like execution. Overall, "The Flash" had a lot of potential to be more than what it is right now. It's really disappointing that it took the safe route without anything new to offer audiences other than the bare minimum.

Rating: 2 and a half reels