For the record, I am writing this The Flash review Tuesday, May 23rd The Night After I attended the fan screening. The version we saw was the one that was shown at Cinemacon last month, so what new things were added on June 16th will not be included in this review. I assume that was intentional because they may be looking to make last-minute changes. I also don’t wish to give any major feedback on the CGI.
I will say for unfinished VFX, it was pretty good for the most part. Also, for viewer discretion, no I’m not going to be giving my opinions on Ezra Miller the person. This review is about the movie that Andy Muschietti directed and not the individual that was hired to do the job. Now I know people who won’t separate the art from the artist and that’s their decision.
On to the Flash review… So what did I think of The Flash? Without any hint of sarcasm or hyperbole, I genuinely think this is one of the best films of all time, its unparalleled. Not just in terms of a comic book movie. I don’t have any major criticisms, I’ll save any I do have for near the end. The biggest asset the film sold me on is the double-duty Ezra Miller pulled.
When it comes to acting in two roles, you’re acting against yourself ultimately, you’re going above & beyond. It is a very difficult thing to pull off. Even in Lindsay Lohan’s The Parent Trap, there’s a significant amount of time where the two Characters Haley and Allie are separated for a lot of the film. Once the two Barry’s are on screen together, they’re on screen together for most of the time they’re both in the film. There was never a moment I thought they had their scenes shot separately and the chemistry between the one actor I felt was genuine. It was like two Brothers.
The Flash is also very clever with this dual role technique by making the film go through the origin of the Flash without it being a conventional origin film. Is this the most unique and original idea ever done? No, but I think the execution worked here and by recreating the origin, it juxtaposed itself, ultimately becoming a consequence by incorporating a major element from The Flashpoint story. In addition to having so much heart, the film does have humor. The humor is done in a way that felt organic.
Some of the jokes reminded me of Doctor Who which…time travel story so duh. Not every joke landed, but 99.9% I felt did. Some of the humor was surprisingly dark, yet I couldn’t stop laughing. Admittedly, I like dark humor, but some of these may not work for an average film viewer or maybe it will I’m curious to find out in 3 weeks. I think the big question on people’s minds is how the other characters are.
For Barry’s supporting cast, while I would have liked to have seen Billy Crudup back in the role of Henry Allen, I thought Ron Livingston was fine. He played the role he was supposed to play. The actress who played Barry’s Mom felt like an older, more seasoned Sofia Vergara. But many want to know-how are Michael Keaton & Sasha Calle. Both served their purpose and had great scenes. Michael Keaton has fight scenes that rival Affleck’s fight scenes from Batman v Superman and is given some of the best dialogue.
Sasha Calle as Supergirl did great expanding upon the Krypton Legacy and I don’t think she overshadows Superman in this. Kara Zor-El isn’t just a plot device she takes pride in being Kryptonian the same way Diana is proud to be Amazonian. The way she stands up to Zod has a familiar but different context. Having Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Thomas Wayne would have been more respectful to the source material, but I also don’t see Keaton’s Batman as a cash grab either.
The Multiverse does have a purpose in this and sometimes branches become linear. I also have to say Affleck does feel like a more contemporary Batman. There’s only one scene that they did I wasn’t thrilled over but I won’t say what it was. It’s a short time onscreen, but they didn’t feel wasted. Oh, and an additional Justice League member cameo was nice to see.
I can’t give too much away but the Cameos in the Speed Force across the Multiverse are my favorite scenes there might be a couple more added upon release but if they don’t, I’m still shocked at some of the things that they did end up with. There were only a couple of things I would like to have seen done better.
Kiersey Clemons Iris West could have had a bigger role, and the main Villain could have been better. The young version of Barry has a quirky personality that may not be widely accessible to everyone who sees the movie even though I thought he was a bit too corny at times. Other than some of these criticisms, I have no more complaints. When the moment called for humor, I laughed. When it was, sad it legit felt right to cry.
This is probably the DC film a lot of fans have been wanting for a long time. The film ends without a proper ending which makes me inclined to see it again. When the final version is shown, it’s going to be interesting how the future of DC movies will end up.
