The Flash Review: There and Back again

Flash review: there and back again?

To say that the DCEU has had a bit of a rough journey is quite the understatement as it seems like most of the films that have come from the expanded universe ranged from hits critically and financially (Wonder Woman, Aquaman), hits critically (The Suicide Squad, Shazam, ZSJL) and some more mixed to disappointing (WW84, Batman Vs Superman, Suicide Squad) with varying levels of financial outcomes, as well as studio interference, confusing outcomes and everything under the sun. We now come to the film that has been labelled as a "Reset" for an all new DCU timeline and for a hopeful future, but today we'll talk in the one that is rebooting the series and that is with the long awaited film adaptation of The Flash (a film that started development in concept around a decade ago). But the question is, is the film any good and off running or has it stumbled over its footing, well I would say it is a bit of a middle ground film with some good point and some bad points but we get into the review and talk on them.

*This will have some spoilers for some of the DC films and some minor ones for this film*

The Quick Plot Summary

Now this is not the first film that we have seen the speedster in this universe of films as we have seen him appear in the likes of a brief cameo in Batman vs Superman Dawn of justice and Suicide Squad (2016), made his full screen debut in the 2017 Josstice League and the 2021 Snyder Cut and then made a cameo in 2 of the tv shows with the first one being last years Peacemaker series and the other being the CW series of the Flash (in a weird crossover scene from around 3 years ago)

Now after being announced about a decade ago and multiple delays from finding directors, writers and proper release from change ups, delays and cancellations we know have the film and it follows a plot similar to the most well known of Flash stories of Flash point with the plot being as follows:

"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 when General Zod returns, threatening annihilation. With bo other superheroes to turn to, the Flash looks to coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kyptonian - albeit not the one he is looking for" 

Now cause of the whole change ups and everything the full context of the original plot of Flashpoint is not fully remade here but for what it is worth in the story it does itself well and given it is a more grounded approach with focusing on a small set of characters instead of a large ensemble (we'll get to them) it does its job well enough to feel new but also familiar to those that have read the comic or watched the animated film version.

Story Score: 7-7.5

The Who's who of Heroes

Now for the array of characters, there is not that many as I mentioned and it mostly comes down to a small group of characters that drive the plot and tell the story in particular and we will discuss them and then talk on some of the other characters as well afterwards of varying opinions

Barry Allen / Flash

Now this one is a little tricky as throughout the film we are following 2 variations of the character, the main one from the current day and a younger version of himself who is inexperienced and a little more clumsy. Now both of these version are played by the main lead of Ezra miller and they do a good job of playing the same character throughout the film from Barry being a mentor to themselves while also dealing with losing his powers and trying to get them back that you can see they care about this character and gives it their all (depending if they are coming back in the role in the future). Now some affect to this is not the role in the film but the actor themselves as they have had a bit of a rocky 12 month to say the least beforehand as they were in the news for many things from assaults, domestic disturbances, breaking and entering, trespassing, robbery and a few other things that many assume this was going to be cancelled (like some of the other things that was cancelled by the studio as they would say it would hurt the DCEU when that was already established long before that anyways) but for what its worth they did a great job playing 2 versions of the same character

Bruce Wayne / Batman

Now when it is not the speedster being discussed then we are talking about the other big named hero in the film and that is the Dark Knight himself.... Batman. Now this films sees 2 different versions and actors playing the caped crusader with at first played by Ben Affleck who may not be in the film for much of the film but he does get an action scene in the beginning with the Flash and then they have a moment together a short while after of a simple conversation and after that he is not in the rest of the film (maybe but I am not spoiling this film) and for what he has in the film it is good. Now the big selling point besides this being the film on the scarlet Speedster is that we are seeing the return of another famous face in the suit and the one of the focus on the marketing and that is with Michael Keaton returning as a more older Bruce Wayne and my initial thing was that he was just going to be a mentor like character and not be involved much but he actually does make a solid contribution to this film and it is very cool to see Keaton back as the Batman that made him who he is known for as being dark and Brooding and made him cooler. If anything to me he was the highlight for the film and I would've loved to see more of him as he was supposed to be in the Cancelled Batgirl Movie (which I wish was still going to release) and the Aquaman sequel before that now is supposedly scrapped but for whats its worth it was great to see him again as Batman and he is still going to be part of some superhero series with the Spider-Man films (in some way)

Kara Zor-El / Supergirl

Now with any form of superheroes in the DC Comics many would point to besides Batman and Maybe Wonder Woman there is one other character that everyone would known and that would always be Superman. Now most assumed we would see a kryptonian in this film and it would be Clark Kent but with how Warner has treated the Man of Steel and Henry Cavill, it really did seem unlikely, so instead we were introduced to his cousin Kara who is the one that will take on the role of the Kryptonian this time around and in this is played by actress Sashe Calle. Now Kara is a character that doesn't really show up in this film until a little over an hour but for what they do have of her in this film is good, if not pretty good. We can see with the amount of time they gave her in this film that she has some potential and she does have her moments and cool action sequences and she does play the quieter moments well while also being a bit more anxious or non trusting to the others after she was experimented and tortured for a long period of time and I do hope that their is some chance in the future that we will see more of Calle in the role (and from what I have heard that may be an actual possibility so we'll see how it turns out.

All the others in this race

Now as for the rest of them they can be a bit of a mixed bag as some that are returning or were introduced in a previous film or series that could see potential get a bit more of a mixed response. We'll start with what is essentially labeled as the "villain" and that was with the return of General Zod from Man of Steel. Now the last time we Saw general Zod he was off getting some Chiropractic done and since then we have not seen much in the form of any Kryptonian since that film but now we are in a form of time travel film we return to the year of this movie and Zod's return. Now he is kind of wasted in this film as he doesn't really do much, he does do a little bit of a battle with Kara but that is really it, one minute he is on screen, next minute he is not and doesn't come back so he feels kind of wasted when their could've been much more potential or more of a focus.

Same can be said for some of those close to Barry as Harry Allen, Nora Allen and Iris West all make some form of an appearance in the film as they are the crux to the making the story go along as those that need backstory, Barry's Mom died when they were a kid and it was not by an illness but from an unknown and strange force (in the comics and the original comic line it was the reverse flash) and what happens is that his father is convicted of murdering her and sentenced to prison and the basis is Barry trying to prove his fathers innocence and then from the kind words and talking with an old school friend (and secret crush) of Iris West, helps Barry to realize of tapping into the speed force to go back and save his mom and leads to the rest of the story. Now for what it is worth they are there for a fair amount that is needed of their characters and their moments between Barry and his family does have its nice moments throughout the film and I did enjoy their time they were in it.

Lastly I just want to talk on one other major thing of the film and that is with the cameos. Now we initially though that Keaton was going to be a simple cameo and may show up for a scene or 2 but he is bumped up to main cast compared to others. Now we do have 2 at the beginning and then see other through out the runtime with a few in the middle and then a lot of them in the end and they are..... weird, like some I expected to see in some capacity and then some from the outcome just felt off and for the ones near the end in the 3rd act is where their is some visuals of potential but it is unknown if we will see this all play out in the future of the DC universe and with them some are good and some are odd.

But in general I think that the main leads are all decent and do a good bit of it well, other aspects of the villain and some other characters feel they could've been done better and knock it down a point or 2 but it is not a level of it being unbearable

Characters: 8

Entering the Speed Force of Presentation

Now we will go to the presentation of the whole thing and this will come to us in the form of the world, characters designs, source material faithfulness and big talking point of debate of the visuals.

Now for the presentation side of things there is not much to say on anything really standing out much in the film as a lot of the settings are your basic cities and all that for a good chunk of the first hour where we have the starting action scene, travelling through the speed force and up until they look for help in their dire situation and it is fine, some usual stuff, car chases, people in peril and thousands in property damage that most likely get fixed by the next film. For the likes of the Wayne Manor and the other action scenes it did feel something different like seeing the manor from the Burton films all over again was a nice nostalgic flair and the Batcave was cool to witness for its simplistic but stylized look to it. The big battle in the 3rd act somewhat is aware of causing less property damage by having it in the middle of a dusty canyon to avoid any major civilian casualties and they used some of his powers well here to make it enjoyable for a fair amount of the film.

One other thing I likes of the presentation area was the speed force zone he enters into that sees all these displays of points in the DCEU based on the focus of some of the Justice League members and I liked the idea of it. Visuals on it we will get to in a moment but it was some bit that I liked from it

As for the costumes, the suits of the heroes were interesting and very stylized like Flash's design mix of runner's outfit and futuristic tech look to it. Sashe Calle's Supergirl Outfit had that feel of the DCEU's Superman outfit with a bit of more flexibility and durability to it and it looked cool and colourful. As for the Batsuits there is one at the beginning with Affleck's that was not the best looking and kind of looked unfinished (if you have seen the images of the suit you know what I am talking about) and as for Keaton's, it was cool to see the old style suit with the one that was a design flaw that they couldn't really turn their neck without turning the entire body (a trait noticeable until Dark Knight somewhat fixed it) but it was functional and nice to see the old suit again (and for one to be worked and purposed for an extra suit for the other Barry)

As for the likes of faithfulness to source material, I think that it does its job well for what the film's story it is basing itself on with Flashpoint and for what they have presented in the film from the characters, concept and execution is not a full 1 to 1 copy of it but they give it is own flair and I think that it does a fine job with what they had going for it. Would it have been cool to see the likes of the Amazonians and Atlanteans at war with one another and Diana being a stone cold killer, well yes, but with all the messiness at the DCEU up to the release and development of this film I think they made something good out of what they can get from all of this.

Now for the big point of discussion that everyone points to and that is with the Visual effects. Now I will agree that a lot of the visuals in this film do look a fair amount of unfinished or not finished rendering and there is a lot of it but in other aspects there is a fair amount of the visuals that actually do look decent but it is kind of a little more middle ground then fully great for a lot of the visuals (especially tying back to the cameos of the film as a good few near the end it is used heavily). Some point to certain scenes that look real bad like one in particular of Flash first tapping into the speed force and he returns back to the opening action scene and you see his floating head and everyone said it looked terrible but to me that looked like at least one of the more decent looking ones but it may only be me. Now I know the director of Andy Muschetti came out and stated that the CGI of the film looked a bit bad on purpose, but whether that is the case it is hard to say but it is not all bad to me personally and I am sure with more time for the VFX artists it may have worked and looked a lot better

Overall the presentation is a bit on the middle ground where you play it safe a little with the setting but have some good ideas to it, costumes looked great and some CGI looked ok but not all great, but there is a chance of improvement as if the visual given more time and some more unique it would be slightly higher and all but for now....

Presentation Score: 7

Quips, exposition and music

(this is a reverse clip of a scene in the film but I find it so dark and yet so funny looking)

I am placing all of these into one category as it is much more difficult to talk on the music in its own separate one for this review (may be the same for other reviews but will come to that when I review the others). I'll start with the writing as this film does have some decent amount of writing to it that feels understandable, gets the point across and doesn't feel convoluted to say the least and some of the writing does have some good elements to it when it comes to one on one moments or certain exposition here and there and I think for the most part it does work well.

On the other hand the one thing of the writing that for me personally I was a little underwhelmed in was the humour as I have heard a lot of the reactions from early test screenings and everything said that it was very funny in a lot of places but either I may have missed some of the context on a lot of them or they slipped by quickly. Not to say that I didn't laugh at point, maybe a small handful of times I did but I was probably going in thinking this will be a non stop laugh fest for a good chunk of it but came out a bit underwhelmed (I could be on my own and would want to hear from yous in the comments if I am on my own with this point or you agree if you have seen the film).

Lastly on the music side of things I think that the score composed from Benjamin Wallfisch does a very good and decent job for the music to the film and gets the point across for the scenes and set pieces for the moment being presented on screen. Is it the best score for a superhero movie, no, but it does the job well enough for what it set out to do and I will give them praise for making a very good effort to the whole score

Writing, Humour and Music Score: 7

It's stumbles and falls

Now of course like all films and media, there is bound to be some critiques and issues to them and as you may have seen already I have some critiques to this film and will place them all here

Story: Not really much of a complaint and say that they should've done a full version of the actual Flashpoint comic into the film but if there was a case of a better structured DCEU plan then I could see that being the outcome but for how it came to be I find it fine enough as it is

Characters: Not really much on the main characters (maybe a little more appearance of Kara by just a little more) but more on the side characters and Villain needing a little more development and explanation to the cameos more (I would do it more in a spoiler review but I may do in some rewatchathon discussion down the line).

Presentation: More on the case of the VFX looking a little off and not that fully finished and maybe a little of the world and settings for the film being a little too generic but it is not to the level of it being unbearable to watch and witness

Writing, humour and score: I feel maybe just a little more in the side of the humour being better as the comedy was a little weak and needed a bit more of a laugh to it (it may be the case that DC is trying to be more serious and less goofy like their more successful competitor (Well a bit of a struggle currently)) but it was not all lacking in funni but a bit more would've helped.

but these only knock down aspects by a certain percent or points and not fully affect it to a bad film

Running fast or tripping and falling?

Overall in the end of things, The Flash is a film I am glad that I at least was happy to see be made after all of this time. Is it perfect, not, there is noticeable problems for sure like development troubles, main lead concerns and some things like VFX and all that is a problem but from what they had going for them with this movie there was a lot that worked like its main leads, some action sequences, a good bit of the writing and some set pieces were fun to observe too. Now this film was known from the beginning and now as the official Reboot to the DCEU (now known as the DCU) and we have no idea if the likes of the Scarlet Speedster will be zooming onto the big or small screen anytime soon or if the main lead will be back playing the character again for Gunns planned universe (which is still be unveiled overtime) but I am sure we will see what lies in store for this new universe and I know that people will hate on DC (mainly from all of the Snyder fans that demand that Gunn is replaced by Snyder to run the DCEU for him to finish his original envisioned plan but he has no intention to) but I have good hope and faith in James Gunn and Peter Safran to make their be hope for the DCEU and Superhero movies into the future. And if we do see the Flash again whether it is still Miller or someone else in the role I am sure I will give a look into it when the time comes

So final tally as follows:

Story: 7

Characters: 8

Presentation: 7

Writing, Humour and Music: 7

Total: 28/40 or 70% (B-)

I hope you enjoyed listening to my review for this movie and I would like to know what your own thoughts of this movie was, did you like it, hate it or indifferent about it and let me know you own points of each sector if you have seen it. As always I hope you stay being wonderful people and I will see you all in the next blog.

Take care,

Signing Off

Sam H