It is inconceivable to not speak about The Flash film with out speaking about Ezra Miller. The actor performs not only one model of Barry Allen in The Flash, however two, sharing the display screen extra with themselves than with any of their co-stars. Nonetheless, in the previous couple of years, consideration has been drawn to Miller’s off-screen actions, starting from the actor bodily attacking a lady in 2020 to dealing with prices of housebreaking and being accused of grooming in 2022. The actor issued an apology in August 2022 and has saved a low profile since, not collaborating within the press lead-up to The Flash, leaving a lot of the promo to director Andy Muschietti (IT) as they attend to their psychological well being.
Due to Miller’s actions, there are those that have determined to not see The Flash. This overview won’t try to vary their minds as everyone seems to be entitled to their very own choices about what they view as moral consumption of media. Miller is intrinsically linked to The Flash film and, for a lot of, the true world context of their actions will have an effect on the best way the film is considered—it affected the best way I considered the film. It was inconceivable to neglect the accusations of kid endangerment as Miller’s Barry Allen saves a bunch of infants onscreen, or the stories of their violent outbursts when Barry has his personal offended outburst. These parallels have been little question an accident, however they shade any viewing of The Flash. It was inconceivable not to consider Miller’s victims whereas watching the movie. The Flash is a satisfactory multiverse superhero film, however no quantity of DC cameos could make audiences neglect Miller’s terrible off-screen actions.
The Flash is loosely primarily based on the Flashpoint storyline from the DC Comics, which sees Barry Allen (Miller) journey again in time to forestall the demise of his mom, Nora (Maribel Verdú) and wrongful arrest of his father, Henry (Ron Livingston). Nonetheless, Barry finally ends up not solely altering the current, however the previous, and he finds himself in an alternate universe the place Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) seems to be just a little totally different from the Batman he is aware of (Ben Affleck). Alongside together with his alternate universe self, Barry makes an attempt to avoid wasting the timeline during which his mom survives from Basic Zod (Michael Shannon) with the assistance of Supergirl (Sasha Calle).
Muschietti directs The Flash from a script by Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey) and a narrative by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Spider-Man: Homecoming) and Joby Harold (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts). The film makes an attempt to place a brand new spin on Flashpoint, which has been tailored earlier than in live-action with The Flash TV present and in animation by way of the 2013 film Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. It is, sadly, neither the well-developed character examine executed in The CW’s The Flash, neither is it the violent, mature and extra comics-accurate adaptation of the animated film. The Flash film is, as a substitute, the weakest adaptation of Flashpoint, with a script that focuses on all of the incorrect issues and a breakneck storyline that does not permit for a lot character improvement.
The Flash is supposed to be Barry’s story, however does not make a compelling argument for truly caring about him. He is impolite, awkward and unlikable, made worse by the film clearly banking on Miller’s allure and charisma to attraction to audiences, which fails to land you probably have any information of their off-screen actions. As a substitute, The Flash makes an attempt to make Barry likable by way of his relationships with others, most egregiously with Iris West (Kiersey Clemons). Iris’ solely traits revolve round Barry—she exists completely as an object to be coveted by him and, every so often, as a power to drive the story ahead. Equally, Nora is an archetypal mom, one who helps and loves her son unconditionally. There are, at the very least, glimpses of character to the character because of Verdú, however they’re arguably solely included for plot causes or to create emotional callbacks afterward. Although Barry’s relationship with Nora is the emotional crux of Flashpoint, The Flash does not give it sufficient focus or time to make it something greater than a one-dimensional mother-son dynamic.
As for the opposite members of the forged, it’s pleasant to see Keaton again embodying Bruce Wayne. He is additionally tasked with explaining the multiverse to each variations of Barry, which he manages admirably, nevertheless it’s the struggle scenes that basically elevate his return as Batman. They’re sharp and recent, whereas on the similar time feeling nostalgic, and they are much extra grounded than the rubbery CGI motion displayed by each The Flash and Supergirl. Calle holds her personal as Kara Zor-El, although she is not given a lot to work with. Nonetheless, her struggle scene with Zod presents among the extra brutal motion within the film. However The Flash is Miller’s movie and on the coronary heart of it’s Barry Allen’s relationship together with his different self, which might be a powerful central throughline if it wasn’t half-baked, and if it wasn’t so rapidly resolved within the third act. The third act is rushed, as if the filmmakers realized too late that they spent an excessive amount of time on the primary two acts and wanted to wrap issues up rapidly. So The Flash does not finish on a really robust notice.
In the end, The Flash desires to have its cake and eat it too — and have a second cake and eat that as nicely. There are such a lot of cool concepts in The Flash, from the 2 variations of Barry Allen and tackling the multiverse through Flashpoint to the return of Keaton’s Batman and the introduction of Supergirl, however the film fails to completely ship on any of them. Miller’s off-screen actions overshadow his efficiency as each variations of Barry, which is not very robust to start with. Keaton’s Batman and Calle’s Supergirl are high-quality, however are very a lot supporting gamers to The Flash. All three leads have some enjoyable motion sequences, however not sufficient to justify the movie’s two hour and 24-minute runtime.
As for The Flash film’s multiverse storyline, it permits for some enjoyable cameos, nevertheless it pales compared to extra well-executed multiverse tales just like the Spider-Verse motion pictures, Spider-Man: No Approach House and the Arrowverse’s Disaster on Infinite Earths. Miller had a cameo within the latter, crossing over to satisfy Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen. That scene was extra well-done than nearly all of the cameos in The Flash, which really feel shoe-horned in for pleasure issue alone. Whereas some are genuinely thrilling, total The Flash’s multiverse cameos find yourself being lackluster, particularly after what different motion pictures and Disaster completed.
In consequence, The Flash is in no way a must-watch superhero film, even for followers of The Flash character or the Flashpoint storyline. DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn said The Flash will “reset” the universe forward of the franchise’s comfortable reboot as he and Peter Safran usher in a brand new period of DC motion pictures. Nonetheless, the way forward for The Flash is presently unknown, and requires DC to recast Miller have grown steadily since 2020, so the film’s precise significance to the franchise is unclear, however appears negligible. For many who nonetheless need to take a look at The Flash, I would advocate retaining your expectations low. It is, at greatest, a middling superhero film and, at worst, one other reminder of how uncommon actual penalties are in Hollywood.
The Flash releases in theaters on June 16. The movie is 144 minutes lengthy and rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and motion, some robust language and partial nudity.