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Plot Summary: Barry Allen uses his super speed to change the past, but his attempt to save his family creates a world without super heroes, forcing him to race for his life in order to save the future.

Director: Andy Muschietti

Writers: Christina Hodson and Joby Harold

Runtime: 2 hour 24 mins

• Ezra Miller as Barry Allen / The Flash
• Sasha Calle as Supergirl
• Ben Affleck as Batman / Bruce Wayne
• Michael Keaton as Batman / Bruce Wayne
• Michael Shannon as General Zod
• Ron Livingston as Henry Allen
• Kiersey Clemons as Iris West

Review by: Samuel

The Flash from Warner Brother is the most hyped movie in recent memory. Studio executives, test screeners, viewers at CinemaCon, and even Tom Cruise came out to stan for this movie. Despite the controversy surrounding the main character, it was being praised as the greatest comic book movie ever made. I’m here to say definitively that statement is hyperbole.

This is not some genre-defining film or ground break comic film like The Winter Soldier or The Batman. However, I can also definitively say that if not for the existence of the masterpiece Across the Spider-Verse, this film would be easily the best comic cook movie of the year, and it is certainly the best from DC Comics in many years.

What I Didn’t Like

Let’s start here because it is only one thing- the CGI. It’s not great in this film. Now, it is nowhere near as bad as I had heard (I think there was some polish added the version I watched), but it is noticeable that you’re not watching real characters during some of the beefier action scenes- especially those involving Supergirl. In no way does it detract from the overall film, but it is something that you’ll notice, and I think with more time the VFX staff could have cleaned it up to make it better.

What I Liked

There is a lot to like and I’m surprised I did enjoy so much of this film given what it went through In it’s production cycle, and the added controversy of its main star (which I’m not totally over- but that’s a conversation for another time).

I’m going to start with the tone. Spoilers for a 12-year-old comic-book storyline, but this film borrows from Flashpoint in which Barry Allen uses his speed to go back in time and stop his mother from dying. This one act leads to a world where the Justice league does not exist and a world-wide war is threatening to destroy the planet. The latter portion of that story is what gives us the action, but former- a boy trying to save his mom- is the emotional core of the story, and it gives this movie its greatest strength. More than the action, more than the cameos, more than the camera effects, the main draw for this movie is Barry’s story and his struggle to save the one person he loves most while trying to also keep the world at large from imploding. Internal struggles for these gods amongst men are always more compelling than a bad guy who punches them, and this movie shows that better than most.

And, while it’s core it incredibly heartfelt , the movie is also very funny. Some of my favorite writers/directors, John Francis Daley and Johnathan Goldstein, the mind behind Horrible Bosses, Game Night, and the recent Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Amongst Thieves contributed to the story and it shows. You are going to laugh a lot. And these are laughs that are earned, not laughs that feel like they were thrown in just because. So, a movie like Thor: Love and Thunder did not balance its tone well with jokes thrown every second, even during moments where terminal cancer was being discussed. In The Flash, when you laugh it is for that moment and if the next moment calls for seriousness, then not jokes are present. It’s hard to balance a movie like that without over-relying on one tone over the other,  so the filmmakers deserve credit for it here. This also helps with the pacing. Because the movie bounces back and forth and something is always making you laugh, making you think, or making you cry it never feels like a moment is wasted or dragging on. So, this was the quickest 2 ½ hour movie I’ve seen. I did not look at the clock once.

The action is a given. Andy Muschietti and his crew used the camera in ways that made you feel like you saw the world as the Flash does. His powers were on full display, and you see him use them in ways that are completely original and cool to watch. This is a true comic-book movie in contrast to a film like The Batman which is based more in realism. Muschietti understood that and ran with it because while the Flash himself probably has the coolest looking scenes, Batman and Supergirl also have moments to remember that look like they came straight from panels. Michael Keaton is a scene-stealer, and watching him don the suit again may be nostalgia-bait but so be it- it was cool! He is a comic-book Batman and I couldn’t get enough of him. Sasha Calle was also a great Supergirl though she’s not in the film much. I loved her suit (a lot), and I loved her motivation to aide in the fight- it felt like something only a comic-book superhero would do. They both compliment Barry well, and I don’t know what the future holds but I’d love to see them both again.

Speaking of Barry, he is the real star here. I think he is in every single scene (which is why Miller couldn’t be replaced). The film does something really cool that I appreciate with the character. The Barry we know was the immature jokester without much else to add other than comic relief…that could get irritating as The Flash is not Spider-Man. So, what the film does is pair Barry with his younger self who is even more obnoxious, forcing the Barry we know to be serious. It works on two fronts because we get a main character who is focused, is able to show his smarts, and is emotionally driven; and at the same time we basically get the origin story we never saw once the younger Barry receives his powers. We see him make mistakes and learn from them ultimately becoming a hero within the speed force.

There is a whole a lot more I could go on about specifically with each character, but I will just end with this. The best thing this movie did was give us a (mostly) self-contained Flash story that dealt with one man on an incredibly relatable quest. Surprise cameos, fan-service, and building for future movies were all ancillary pieces rather than a big focus. It doesn’t sound like much but in today’s landscape of combined universes it is nice to see a Flash story just be a Flash story. One final thing, speaking of universes, the way time-travel and the multiverse is explained in this film is distinct from the MCU, but explained just as well. I thought it was an excellent touch to make the audience understand without getting too complex.