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‘The Flash’ is the most exciting DC superhero movie in years
Despite numerous legal troubles, Ezra Miller turns in a fantastic pair of performances in "The Flash."
After almost a decade of studio upheaval and lagging behind Marvel in the superhero arms race, Warner Bros. has a lot riding on “The Flash,” the first standalone film for the speedy vigilante.
While the (likely studio-generated) buzz out of early screenings about “The Flash” being the greatest superhero movie ever are wildly exaggerated, the film is certainly the most exciting DC movie in quite some time.
Watch Kevin Slane’s review of “The Flash”
In “The Flash,” timing is everything. Barry Allen, the 20-something superhero with lightning quick speed played by Ezra Miller, is perpetually late — both to his day job and his duties as a member of the Justice League. His focus is divided, and he spends most of his waking hours trying to correct a defining childhood tragedy: the murder of his mother and the wrongful conviction of his father.
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In a moment of frustration spurred by the intractability of the justice system, Barry discovers that he can run fast enough to travel back in time. The heavens open up, as Barry thinks he has found a way to prevent his adolescent trauma from every happening.
Ben Affleck, playing Batman as an elder statesman, sensibly warns The Flash not to mess with time travel. (Feel free to cue up the “Back to the Future” jokes, because director Andy Muschietti certainly does.)
“Those scars make us who we are,” Batman says, in a quote that feels tailored to Affleck’s lived experience. “Take it from an old guy who made a lot of mistakes.”
Of course, Barry doesn’t listen. In a scene featuring truly horrendous-looking CGI, The Flash enters the Speed Force and finds himself back in his childhood home, where his parents are still alive and where another, non-super Barry Allen already resides.
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Setting aside the actor’s numerous legal issues, Miller turns in a masterful pair of performances. Original Barry is full of nervous energy and pessimism, while Alternate Barry, blessed with a loving home and no burden of responsibility, is an endearing goof. Having to play two versions of the same character — often sharing the screen with no one else — is a difficult task, and Miller is up to it.
Unfortunately, Barry’s time-travel shenanigans (or is it alternate universe shenanigans?) have put him in a world in which Superman isn’t around and General Zod, the genocidal Kryptonian played by Michael Shannon, has come to terraform Earth. The only superhero anyone in this timeline has heard of is Batman. But not the one you’d expect.
Watching Michael Keaton as an extremely grizzled Batman who dons the signature spandex and takes the Batwing for one last ride is an obvious nostalgia ploy. But the actor fully commits himself in a role that goes far beyond a mere cameo, and the movie really hits its stride once he enters the picture.
“The Flash” also heralds the debut of Supergirl in the DCEU, and Boston native Sasha Calle, who beat 400 others for the role, is a commanding presence. In this oddly configured Justice League (consisting of Batman, Supergirl and two Flashes), she is the unquestioned alpha.
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While “The Flash” doesn’t shift the superhero movie paradigm, it goes above and beyond when checking all of the boxes expected of the genre. In particular, the cameos stacked at the end of the film, which we won’t spoil here, brought a palpable sense of joy to the audience during my preview screening.
If “The Flash” suffers from anything, it’s the fact that it’s being released only two weeks after “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” a superior superhero film that also deals with multiverses and the inevitability of a superhero’s tragic backstory. But that’s likely not an issue for viewers who have adjusted to a summer full of caped crusaders.
“The Flash” may not rank among the best superhero movies ever. But the film, which races into theaters this Friday, represents a step in the right direction for the DC universe.
Rating: *** (out of 4)
“The Flash” will be released in theaters nationwide on June 16.
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