The Flash – Film Review

Cast: Ezra Miller, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdú, Kiersey Clemons, Antje Traue, Michael Keaton, Ben Affleck

Director: Andy Muschietti

Synopsis: Upon discovering he can use his powers to travel in time, Barry Allen/The Flash attempts to rectify a tragic incident from his past…

Review: Before taking the time to analyse the latest, and one of the last films in the DC Extended Universe as we know it, it would be remiss for anyone to not bring up the subject of the string of off-screen allegations which have followed the film’s star Ezra Miller since the film wrapped production in 2021. Such is the scale and extremely serious nature of said allegations of misconduct, they cannot be ignored and the art can no longer be separated from the artist. Furthermore, given we’ve known for a while that the DCEU as we know will be rebooted under the direction of James Gunn and Peter Saffran, these allegations will have to be addressed by the studios at some point in the future.

Barry Allen has settled into his day job as a forensic investigator while also helping to fight crime as a member of the Justice League. However, his dad is awaiting trial after he was accused of murdering his mother when Barry was a child. When he discovers by travelling at such high speeds he can travel back in time, he attempts to alter the past to prevent his mother’s death, only to realise he has landed in an alternate universe, where he encounters his younger self. Together, the two of them must work out how to fix the damage that has been done to the universe before it is too late.

Multiverse movies have become all the rage in recent years, so despite being centred on an extremely fast character who can travel at super speeds, it is somewhat ironic this has been one of the last films to get in on the action. Though, in all fairness, it has been stuck in development hell for a long time, with multiple directors being attached at one point or another. The dual performances by Miller are solid. It provides some entertaining moments seeing the older Barry get irritated by the antics of his younger self, though they are both overshadowed by the return of Michael Keaton’s portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman. Given his legendary status, and arguably being the best actor to ever don the cape and cowl, it would have been easy for Keaton to show up, film his scenes and collect his pay cheque no fuss no muss. But he commits to it, because he’s BATMAN, and the delivery of certain iconic lines from his Batman films are joyful to watch.

Unfortunately, what is not so joyful to watch, is the film itself. Any film which tries to dabble in time travel/multiverse adventures needs an airtight screenplay to prevent things from spiralling entirely out of control. Christina Hodson’s screenplay, working from a story by John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein and Joby Harold, is heavily influenced by the Flashpoint storyline from the comics. However, perhaps given the screenplay has presumably gone through numerous versions, the final product leaves an awful lot to be desired. It attempts to juggle too mnay different plot threads with Barry’s remorse over what happened with his parents, time travel, an adventure with an alternate universe Batman, and a climatic superhero showdown in third act that it becomes severely muddled and unfocused. As if that wasn’t enough, it introduces a new iteration of Kara/Supergirl into the mix, portrayed by Sasha Calle making her feature film debut. Calle does an excellent job with the material she’s given, but she is severely underutilised and the same is true for the return of Michael Shannon as General Zod, whose presence feels nothing more than a glorified cameo to set the stage for the third act.

This does have its moments, particularly around said final act and director Andy Muschietti does a capable job of trying to hold the film together through the chaos of this misadventure. However, as well as the opening action sequence, this third act is marred with some truly unexcusable sub-standard CGI, which should not happen when you have a $200m budget. While there have been some high points in the ten years since Man of Steel first took flight, ultimately, the current DCEU has got to a point where too many of its productions have been beset by too many problems, admittedly sometimes through no fault of their own. Nevertheless, the time is right for Gunn and Saffran to take charge and reboot the universe, but if this is to be the great reset for the DCEU it has been marketed as, a good starting point would be to unequivocally address the allegations surrounding Miller and hold them to account.