The Scarlett Speedster is back on the big screen and messing with time and the multiverse in the D.C. superhero film The Flash.
At the start of the movie, Bruce Wayne aka Batman (Ben Affleck) asks Alfred (Jeremy Irons) to contact Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) in Central City for assistance in saving a hospital and its patients in Gotham City. A wannabe terrorist has damaged the foundation of one of the hospital’s wings, causing it to collapse.
The first action sequence of the movie is both thrilling and hilarious. The Flash is tasked with using his superspeed to rescue everyone, including multiple newborn babies in the maternity ward, from plummeting to their deaths.
After assisting the Caped Crusader, Barry speaks with his wrongly imprisoned father (Ron Livingston) on the phone about his upcoming hearing. Barry’s dad is still incarcerated for the murder of Barry’s mother, Nora, but Barry knows his father is innocent. Barry’s been working to clean up video footage of a supermarket to prove that his father was there and not at home at the time of the murder.
Still haunted by the loss of both his mother and father when he was just a young boy, Barry comes up with a plan to use his superspeed to travel faster than the speed of light and travel back in time and stop his mother’s death. Barry seeks out Bruce to tell him his plan, saying, “I could save my mom…I could save your parents.” The crime-fighting billionaire replies, “You could also destroy everything.”
Desperate to get his parents back, Barry races into the speed force to go back in time and change history.
After changing a small event to create a domino effect and prevent his mom’s death, Barry attempts to speed back to his time. Unfortunately, he accidentally exits the speed force early and finds himself transported back to when he was 18, resulting in two versions of himself.
Yes, that’s right. There are now two Barry Allens.
Barry soon realizes that his actions have created an alternate timeline, one where there are no meta-humans and where General Zod is alive and arriving on Earth to destroy it.
Realizing he’ll need the help of Superman and his mentor, Batman, Barry and his younger version travel to Gotham City to ask Bruce for help to find the Man of Steel. Once at Wayne Manor, Barry finds a reclusive, older Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) who’s retired from fighting crime because Gotham City is now one of the safest cities in the nation.
Barry uses Bruce’s still-functional computers in the batcave to find information about a Kryptonian prisoner in Russia. Believing it must be Superman, Barry wants to travel there and rescue his friend but desperately needs Bruce’s help.
Reluctantly, Bruce dons a new and improved batsuit and agrees to help locate Superman. But after that, Barry will be on his own. The 18-year-old Barry Allen stares in shock, and Bruce replies with a half smirk, “Yeah…I’m Batman.”
All of this sets up the aged Dark Knight and the two Barry Allens to embark on a rescue mission and try to save this world from Zod.
Full of action, CGI effects, and a seasoned performance by Michael Keaton, The Flash is one of the best D.C. films since Wonder Woman. It has heart and humor but wavers with its tone and uneven pacing.
Hands down, the highlight of the movie is the return of Michael Keaton as Batman. Keaton delivers an outstanding performance, stealing every scene he’s in, whether as Bruce Wayne or the Dark Knight. In a recent interview, Keaton expressed that playing Batman again was like riding a bike, and his performance in The Flash proves it.
If you’re a fan of Keaton’s portrayal of Batman in Tim Burton’s 1989 superhero film, then this movie is a must-watch just to see him back in the batcave and wearing the cowl once again. It’s cinematic gold. His performance also brings a subtle balance of humor and seriousness, taking the movie to a higher level.
Ezra Miller, coming into the film’s release with a lot of baggage (including allegations of physical assaults), does double duty as two Barry Allens – the original well-meaning, good-natured albeit nerdy young man who just wants to save his parents and himself from so much pain and death. Miller nails this version of Barry, showing how much he’s still hurting and remains haunted by the loss of his mother.
Then there’s the second, 18-year-old Barry who’s obnoxious, annoying, and for some unknown, unexplained reason is dumbed down. It’s this version of Barry that Miller does a terrible job portraying and is a real distraction in the film. If younger Barry is meant to be the comic relief, it fails miserably.
Sadly, Sasha Callie as Supergirl portrays the cousin to Superman as a one-dimensional character, angry and guarded. It’s not the actor’s fault but rather a weakness in the script. Supergirl gets limited screen time and is only active in the film’s final act.
The CGI special effects are nothing groundbreaking and are very similar to the effects in the earlier D.C. film The Justice League. The rescue mission of Supergirl is the strongest action scene in the film, even better than the CGI-heavy fight against Zod near the end of the movie.
Still, with Michael Keaton back as the Caped Crusader, a strong musical score, and enough entertaining action scenes, The Flash is a worthy addition to the D.C. film franchise.
GRADE: B
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for partial nudity, action, sequences of violence, and some strong language
Running Time: 2 hours 24 minutes
Release Date: June 16, 2023
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
