The Flash

This review may contain spoilers!

 

The Flash is the latest DCEU film, a franchise that teeters between what came before and what is to come; in this film more than any other. Here we see Barry Allen discover the ability to run so fast he can travel back in time and prevent the murder of his mother. Yet altering the past comes with a price, one we see play out for Barry and some newfound allies over the course of this film. This movie is the most connected these films have felt in a long way and I actually really enjoyed that comic book world feeling of all these characters and events existing and taking place together. Once the film starts getting a little multiversal there is a real nice sense of humour about how it all works, the little details about famous films having different leading stars was exceptional. I loved that the final fight stopped being about fighting Zod for a second time and tilted into a bit more of an inward reflection on Barry and the consequences of his actions.

The score for the film really does the leg work in this speedster flick, with some truly great character themes and homages to music from previous DC entries. The soundtrack for this film has a great blend of humour and quirky action enhancement; my favourite song from this soundtrack was easily the one used in the final fight: 'Salute Your Solution' by The Raconteurs.

 

Sasha Calle, who played Supergirl, is a phenomenal fresh take on the role; I loved seeing Calle bring more of a rageful 'chip on her shoulder' take of the Kryptonian. Michael Shannon, who played General Zod, returns to the character with some characteristic menace; I enjoy that Shannon still has a great reluctance to visit violence on others yet his character has a serious ruthless streak. Ron Livingston, who played Henry Allen, was wonderful as this very sweet and sincere father figure; Livingston evokes a deeply protective sort of love towards his onscreen son that I came to enjoy. Jeremy Irons, who played Alfred, is one of the best onscreen depictions of the butler we have ever had; I enjoy Irons operational oversight take on the role who also genuinely cares for those he's assisting. George Clooney, who played Bruce Wayne, wasn't in this film long but he certainly left a solid impression; you just feel like he's charismatic but has the darker Batman side lurking just behind those eyes.

However, the best performance came from Michael Keaton, who played Batman. There was a lot about this film I was skeptical of going into it, the idea of a Batman as old as Keaton really didn't excite me too much. But in spite of some of the more obvious effects work, this is such a great return to the role for Keaton. He presents a Bruce Wayne who is a lot more out of the loop, retired and surprisingly content. He has achieved the goal of his Batman crusade, the cowl is hung up and he has a major disinterest in helping our two protagonists. But he isn't washed out or jaded about it, he's genuine and he provides his smarts but he's just out of the game. One of the joys of this film is watching Keaton get back into it, seeing this take on Bruce Wayne feel compelled to help these two fledling heroes in over their heads. I loved seeing Batman be all about business, storming through bad guy hideouts with an efficient if not dated style that worked. Keaton has a wonderful scene in the film where he agrees to help Miller's Barry get struck by lightning; it's a moment where we see this older hero recognise a sacrifice happening and guiltily letting it transpire anyway. If you love Michael Keaton as Batman then this film will certainly reward you.

This film has been talked about so much behind the scenes that it became so hard to enter the cinema feeling fresh from bias of all that news. But then the lights went down and the first shot started and i realised I just wanted to be excited by a superhero film, more than anything else that's all I wanted. What I got was a film that really gave one of the worst multiverse stories I have ever seen with a protagonist who is nearly impossible to watch at times. The Barry Allen we have been getting since he cameo'd way back in David Ayer's Suicide Squad has always grated on nerves a bit but seeing him try to carry a film is rough. He is obnoxious and weird, his humour rarely lands and he has no great ability to make friends with others. Throw in his really creepy crush/flirting with a love interest that is swiftly forgotten about and the film feels like it has banked a lot on a character who is hard to like. So knowing all this what do we then get? A second Barry Allen, a teenage Barry Allen. The way these two play off against one another and give the most grating guiding performances of the film made this a hard watch. I didn't come to care if the Flash succeeded or failed, the film hadn't found a way to endear me to him. This was a role who made mistakes and seemed to get annoyed by his own alternate self, art imitating audience sentiment in this case. The film hinged on a time travel event stopping Barry's mother's death; an incident caused by her forgetting a can of tomatoes. Yep, an incomplete grocery list. This is the event that ruptures our multiverse story. the film never seems committed to high stakes and even after a great segue to a more personal narrative in the final act we still have to watch an obvious twist play out against an antagonist that just doesn't cap this film off well. The humour throughout the feature barely draws a laugh and often makes me think they were crafting something more akin to a stoner comedy than a blockbuster film; also we have a yet another DC film that employs Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman just to draw out a cheap sex joke. I think cameos work well when they are used with function; The Flash has a whole host of cameos that just feel like they're there for the sake of it. This is a film that feels like it needs a lot more work done to make a finished project that is still trying too hard to impress the audience.

The cinematography on this film really showcases that Andy Muschietti has no ability to upgrade himself from the visuals of a horror like It to a full fledged blockbuster. The film looks silly, bare and really is quite intent on spotlighting the glaringly bad visual effects. The list of bad special effects is nearly as long as can be dreamed up, the chief situation is that the film often feels like egenrated models or backgrounds are just slapped on top of a shot, there is a real lack of blending. When Flash runs for the first time I hoped to see him, not the world fall apart to a CGI animated blob of colour and Barry a hazy animation of lightning. But I could forgive that until I got:

- CGI floating babies being put into microwaves.

- A CGI Batman chase sequences where most cars look fake.

- CGI Flash suit that makes Barry's head seem detached to his body.

- CGI actors brought back from the dead.

- A really desolate CGI landscape with really shoddy action model work for the final fight.

- ETC.

 

Ben Affleck, who played Batman, looks fully checked out in this one; Affleck mumbles through his lines and seems entirely disinterested. Ezra Miller, who played The Flash, has never really found a way to make me like him as the famous speedster; I find Miller's take on the character to be obnoxious and annoying which was twofold with two Miller Barrys in this feature. Kiersey Clemons, who played Iris West, feels like a character tacked on and forgotten about; the distinct lack of chemistry between her and Miller fizzled out that romance subplot immediately. Saoirse-Monica Jackson and Rudy Mancuso, who played Patty Spivot and Albert Desmond respectively, were egregious comedic relief; any other film these would have been background bullies but the feature seemed confused as to whether they might also be potential friend roles. Maribel Verdú, who played Nora Allen, gives an awfully over the top performance; Verdú really pushes her love and connection to her son to an extreme point that comes off forced. Ian Loh, who played Little Barry, isn't an amazing young performer in the context of this character; the performance is pretty two-dimensional and doesn't endear us to Barry as a child. Gal Gadot, who played Wonder Woman, has really stopped being good in this role; watching her show up in this film and deliver lines the same flat way as Shazam 2 was awful.

It cost Warner Bros. $200 million dollars to make a movie that looks this bad with a lead who has always struggled in this role. I would give The Flash a 4.5/10.