The Flash Movie Review: Perhaps One of the Best DC Movies to Date

Worlds collide when the Flash uses his superpowers to travel back in time to change the events of the past. However, when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, he becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation. With no other superheroes to turn to, the Flash looks to coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian — albeit not the one he’s looking for.

syopsis

This review contains major spoilers.

Overview

Going through this review, I am not going to base my review on Ezra Miller’s recent controversial behavior. I want to base this review on the movie alone and that’s it. I feel in recent times it’s unfair to review something poorly based on outside factors when we, as reviewers, should review a project based on the actual project itself and score it correctly. I feel like when reviewers do this it’s not a fair reflection.

You can say what you want about the film of course but The Flash was brilliant. I wasn’t expecting a lot as it’s a DCEU film and DC hasn’t made the best decisions in recent years but this film really was great.

In the cinema I was in, I had the most vocal visitors alongside me but not the annoying kind. The movie featured a lot of humorous moments but not Thor: Love and Thunder level, it was done well and everybody around me laughed at these moments.

As of to date, according to Box Office Mojo, the movie is sitting on $139,000,000 at the Box Office. This is as of Monday the 19th of June so unfortunately it hasn’t been going well. Not in the standards of a superhero blockbuster in theatres. We suspect this is down to a couple of things;

1. Ezra Miller
2. James Gunn
3. DC & Warner Bros.

It doesn’t seem to matter what they do nowadays, even if they have a solid film on their hands – people just are not interested anymore. This is what happens when you treat the consumer like crap and don’t listen. It’s a shame to see The Flash not do overly well but it does definitely deserve a lot more.

Story

We all knew this would feature the Flashpoint storyline. We also had an inkling that this would reset the DCEU in many ways. It definitely did that. Whilst Barry has somewhat found his way in this world, working for the Justice League and training to become a CSI. It features many back stories that we know, and you’ll be more familiar with this if you have watched The CW’s series.

The story showcases how he ends up running back in time and essentially what sparks him to do that – it’s the same as the series, he wants to save his Mom once he realizes that if he runs fast enough, he can turn back time.

He does this but things don’t go to plan despite him thinking one small change would change everything. He ends up meeting another Barry, losing his speed for a portion of the film and then fighting alongside Batman and Supergirl.

Ultimately the story rests on Barry trying to undo what he did but it not going to plan at all. It was well paced, it had sad moments, it had funny moments, it had the serious tone when it was needed and I think it was well balanced.

After all, this is a Flashpoint story. We’ve already seen this story in The CW’s The Flash but this side of it crushed The CW’s story. It didn’t feel rushed at all and that’s what I enjoyed more than anything.

Characters

Let’s discuss the main characters.

You had Ezra Miller as both Barry Allens. Sasha Calle as Supergirl. Michael Keaton as Batman and Michael Shannon as General Zod. We also had Ben Affleck return in the beginning as Batman and also Gal Gadot returned as Wonder Woman. These were brief but it was nice to see them. We also got to see Jason Mamoa return as Aquaman in the post-credit scene.

I want to discuss one person above others here and this is Sasha Calle as Supergirl. I’m not going to lie, I was worried. She didn’t do much in the trailers and the fact she wasn’t blonde threw me well off. I’ll admit now I was wrong. She blew me away in this and was one of the best parts of the movie. The anger she put into fighting Zod was felt right the way through. The way she saved Barry and the way she helped them after she escaped. Bravo, Sasha.

Ezra nailed it this time as Barry. For me, it was nice to see him actually have a lot of control over his powers. He could phase, and run with ease and he even struck his hand through a chest of a Kryptonian during the final battle sequence. It’s stuff we’ve seen with The CW but this for me was just done better. If Ezra is to continue as our Flash moving forward then I’m okay with that.

Of course, as well, it was beautiful to see Michael Keaton suit up one more time. He did very well as the Dark Knight and brought a lot to the role. What I liked as well, you could tell this Batman was still based on 1989 in terms of tech and gear because it felt old school. They stayed true to his version of Bruce Wayne and I’m glad they did that.

None of the characters felt out of place either. That’s always a worry when you watch a film of this magnitude that characters tend to get lost in the script. They included everyone in the right way, even Iris who didn’t feature a lot but it’s clear if the film gets a sequel that she’ll be an important character moving forward.

For the full cast list, you can visit IMDb by clicking here.

Hype

I feel like the hype of this movie in general has been let down purely because of Ezra Miller which does make sense, the charges he was hit with were very serious. However, for me, I was excited about this. The main reason why I was so hyped was that it’s the film that’s going to set the DCEU onto a new path that is so desperately needed. Plus, in fairness, I do like Ezra as Barry Allen so that further fuelled my excitement.

5 Favorite Moments

1. Michael Keaton’s Batman kicking ass is definitely at the top of the list for me. The way he just fought off several Russian guards was perfect and just such a sight to see. The leg sweeps, the back leg kicks, and the use of the batarangs were so entertaining.

2. Kara helping our Barry get his powers back after the initial lightning strike fails is second on the list. This moment was emotional in so many ways considering what Kara has been through during her time on earth, being locked up and tortured – she still found a way to help Barry.

3. Probably the entire end fight sequence but the one moment that stood out was when both Barry’s began to properly work together, ran close together, touched heels, and went in each direction. It was flawless and it just looked so damn good on the big screen.

4. Next up is the end. When Barry put the tomatoes back in order to stop what the original Barry did leave a gulp in my throat. Seeing him completely slow down time in order to tell her he loved her just one more time was beautiful. I know the connection of those two, more so from the series so this hit home hard.

5. The tributes. This has gotten shit from some websites but for me, I liked it. We saw Christopher Reeve’s return for a brief few seconds alongside Helen Slater’s Supergirl. We also saw Nicholas Cage as Superman and others. For me, this was touching. It was lovely to see Christopher Reeve on the big screen again and I personally enjoyed it. I understand this scene wasn’t for me everyone but it’s a tribute to the character.

Dislikes

1. For me, my major dislike comes in the form of CGI. It was horrific in the opening scene where Barry is trying to save the falling babies. The babies themselves didn’t look even remotely real and looked like falling dolls. I’ve seen better graphics in a PS3 cinematic. This really needed to be looked at prior because despite how good the film was, these were the moments that pulled me out of the film.

2. I wanted more of Zod. I know at this stage he’s been somewhat overdone in the DCEU but he didn’t really make an impact. This is even worse considering he is supposed to be the main antagonist of the film. I needed to see more of him because the only time he made an impact was the moments he killed Kara.

Recommend?

I absolutely do. If you’re one of those people that’s refusing to see it because of Ezra, honestly if you can put that aside you’ll really enjoy this. It’s easily one of the best DCEU films in a long time, maybe in total if I’m being completely honest.

Verdict

The Flash is the perfect film to give the DCEU the reset it needs. The film was fun, action-packed, featured a lot of cool cameos, and gave me heaps of entertainment. I always know I’ve enjoyed a film so much when I could easily go back to the foyer and purchase another ticket and see it again immediately – if I didn’t have a 3-year-old son, I would have without question.

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Rating 9.3/10

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The Flash is available in cinemas worldwide. You can visit here for more information on IMDb.

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Trailer