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THE FLASH
Director: Andy Muschietti Cast: Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, Ben Affleck, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdú, Kiersey Clemons, Michael Shannon, Jeremy Irons MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 2:24 Release Date: 6/16/23 |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | June 15, 2023 There's a fun—if, at this point in the world of superhero movies, overly familiar—idea at the core of The Flash, but the gimmick of that idea comes to overshadow everything else the movie could be doing to flesh out the premise. It almost seems hesitant to do so, as if shaking up things too much might cause some problems down the line for the franchise of which this movie is a part. Looking at the big picture, some shaking might be exactly what this particular universe of superhero movies needs to awaken it from an obviously confused and uncertain state. That's a bit beside the point when it comes to director Andy Muschietti's tale of the super-fast superhero in a red suit, even if the ending of this story suggests that at least some cosmetic changes are to come for the DC Extended Universe, as this franchise based on that line of comics has been dubbed. The suggestion is in line with the rest of the movie, at least, which primarily focuses on some superficial pleasures in a story that revolves around a changed timeline for Barry Allen (Ezra Miller), aka the Flash, and how the alterations to his life have consequences for the rest of his fellow superheroes. In this world of heroes, the Flash is either the one of the best or one of the least fitting candidates for such an adventure, since his role so far has been one of a supporting player to the rest of a team of much more famous and more fleshed-out superheroes. We don't know too much about the Flash or Barry at this point, except that he is the fastest person on Earth, possesses a sarcastic attitude, and has a tragic back story involving the murder of his mother and the wrongful conviction of his father for that crime. As such, he's the right superhero for the job of leading a story that treats the entire universe as a malleable thing, because it's not as if there's much investment in his character or story right now. The Flash doesn't quite work here, though, because that means his character and story—from the origin of his superpowers, to how that tragedy has shaped him, to what kind of hero he actually could be—take a back seat to all of the other things happening in this timeline-altering tale. We do get a quick reminder about and update on the Flash and Barry at the start of Christina Hodson's screenplay. It's a rescue sequence involving a sinkhole outside a hospital that is highly questionable in terms of design and execution. In it, the Flash is assigned "janitor" duties while Batman (Ben Affleck, presumably saying farewell to the role with some quiet dignity) chases the criminals responsible. In a big showcase of the Flash's powers, he has to rescue about a half dozen babies falling from a great height. If the notion of that doesn't feel distasteful enough, the waxy computer effects, which become an unfortunate trend here in the movie's allegedly spectacular sequences (An entire realm of possible timelines and universes is rendered in an egregiously cheap, outdated way), make it especially uncomfortable to watch (although this isn't the most discomforting set of digital characters to appear in the story). The main plot has the Flash discovering that he can travel through time by running faster than the speed of light, so he devises a "simple" plan to prevent his mother (played by Maribel Verdú) from being murdered, thus also saving his father (now played by Ron Livingston) from prison. Things go wrong, of course, in ways that aren't important until a climactic revelation, but the Flash ends up stuck in time when his 18-year-old self is just about to get his powers. It's around the same time that General Zod (Michael Shannon) almost destroyed Earth, but in this new timeline, Superman, the planet's only hope, is missing in action. Most of this, though, is an excuse for the two Barrys/Flashes to bicker (Miller is funny and self-deprecating in the dual roles) and seek help from the only superhero they know of in this timeline. That becomes a reason for Michael Keaton to don the cape and cowl again as Batman and be especially reclusive as alter ego Bruce Wayne. While it'd be fair to call this a cheap appeal to nostalgia, there's little denying the joy of seeing and hearing Keaton in the role as Danny Elfman's theme rises to a crescendo on the soundtrack. The only new character of note in this altered universe is Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El, who arrived on Earth from Krypton instead of him, and she's played by Sasha Calle with smoldering restraint. The cast, then, becomes the most appealing element of The Flash. In relying more on nostalgia than on developing or doing much with its cast of familiar and new characters, the movie ultimately feels as if it's circling around a limited portrayal of the potential of this time-traveling/multiverse plot. Copyright © 2023 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
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(for sequences of violence and action, some strong language and partial
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