The Flash (2023) | REVIEW

Directed by Andy Muschietti (IT: Chapters One and Two) — Screenplay by Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey) — Story by John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, and Joby Harold.

Few films have had as storied and controversial pre-release periods as that of Andy Muschietti’s The Flash. A live-action solo film about DC’s speedster has supposedly been on the drawing board since the 1980s, back when no one had even thought to consider multiverse movies or toxic fandoms. Over the years, the idea changed shape multiple times (and went through multiple filmmakers’ hands) from solo film to team-up film to guest appearance and back to solo film within the Zack Snyder-orchestrated DC Extended Universe (DCEU), as one of the follow-ups to Snyder’s Man of Steel. While we waited for this film to materialize, The CW’s shared TV-DC Universe, the Arrowverse, came and went with Grant Gustin portraying The Flash in a nine-season-long series of the same name, which just ended this year (and which, notably, featured an appearance from Ezra Miller — the actor chosen by Warner Bros. to play the speedster on the big screen).

Before Ezra Miller’s Flash got their own solo film, they didn’t just make a cute appearance on the small screen, they also appeared briefly in Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and David Ayer’s Suicide Squad, both of which were panned by critics, and then in two different versions of the same Justice League movie — one finished by Joss Whedon and another finished by the original director, Zack Snyder. Still with me? Good. Well, now that their solo film has finally come out, the DCEU is effectively over and done with, and this film effectively only exists to reset the shared universe to allow James Gunn’s upcoming DC Universe (DCU) to pick up the scraps that he sees fit. Whether or not fans think of The Flash as a lame-duck film before they even see it, it does exist and it should not be thrown out just because it perhaps isn’t a part of the upcoming plans at DC and WB.

Further complicating things is the fact that the film’s star, Ezra Miller, is the source of multiple controversies and legal troubles. The actor, who once delivered an astonishing performance in Lynne Ramsay’s We Need to Talk About Kevin, has been arrested multiple times, a restraining order has been filed against the actor, and there are numerous other allegations out there indicating that they have been violent and/or aggressive towards individuals. I would rather not get into these incidents in this review, other than to further emphasize exactly how controversial this release is. There was even debate online as to whether or not Warner Bros. should even release it in the wake of Warner Bros.’s decision to shelve Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah’s filmed Batgirl film. And yet, whether a marketing stunt or an actual reaction, there are reports that Tom Cruise adores Andy Muschietti’s The Flash, and some reactions have even suggested it’s one of the best films ever made in the superhero genre. Look, I’d hate to burst anyone’s bubble, but Andy Muschietti’s ambitious The Flash isn’t the best superhero film ever made. That is pure hyperbole. But it didn’t need to be the best ever made, it just needed to be entertaining enough, and that is what it is, which is a little bit of a movie miracle given the pre-release drama and development hell it has been through. The Flash is overstuffed, tonally uneven, and occasionally messy and misguided, but, at the same time, it is also consistently entertaining.

Before I expand on those general thoughts, allow me to first establish what the movie is actually about. Very clearly inspired by the iconic DC Comics crossover comic book event series known as Flashpoint, Andy Muschietti’s The Flash takes place sometime after the events of Justice League with speedy Barry Allen (played by Ezra Miller) receiving an urgent call from Batman’s butler, Alfred (played by Jeremy Irons), who insists that he must use his superspeed to save people in Gotham. After a lengthy opening sequence in which multiple members of the Justice League are put to work, Barry removes his costume and once again must focus on the central problem in his daily life — the fact that his father (now played by Ron Livingston, as Billy Crudup had scheduling issues) is wrongfully imprisoned for the murder of Barry’s mother. Overcome with emotion, Barry decides, against the advice of his good friend Bruce Wayne (played by Ben Affleck), to travel back in time to save his mother, thus freeing his father and giving himself time with her.

However, once Barry enters the lightning-engulfed speedforce — rocking down, as it were, to Electric Avenue — to return to the present day and live in this ‘new reality,’ he is knocked out of it by a mysterious foe from within the speedforce. Suddenly, Barry finds himself in 2013 before he got his powers and mere days before General Zod (played by Michael Shannon) is supposed to attack Earth, like he did in Man of Steel. Here Barry reconnects with his mother, but he also encounters an earlier version of himself — who he finds to be incredibly agitating — and he learns that, in this reality, neither Superman nor Wonder Woman, Cyborg, or Aquaman are anywhere to be found. When he seeks out Batman, Barry finds out that his journey through time didn’t just change the present and the future, it also altered the past, as this Bruce Wayne (played by Michael Keaton, now once again playing a version of his caped crusader) looks nothing like Barry’s ‘best friend,’ Bruce Wayne. Nevertheless, Barry needs this Batman’s help to ensure that both Barrys have powers and to help them fight General Zod and save the world.

Look, for a movie about the fastest person on Earth, this movie has absolutely horrendous timing. The Flash, which very clearly takes several pages out of Marvel’s playbook, tries to be both 2019’s Avengers: Endgame and 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home (both far better films), and, as if that wasn’t enough, this movie was released just two weeks after Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which doesn’t just feature several alternate reality versions of the main character, but which also revolves around whether or not one can be allowed to prevent the tragedy that is meant to define who we are. Now, unlike this film, Across the Spider-Verse actually is one of the best superhero films ever made, and, frankly, it comes down on the opposite side of the argument that The Flash‘s Batmen make to Barry. Now, granted, Across the Spider-Verse is just one part of a two-part story (i.e. its argument could still change), but it is quite unfortunate for this movie to essentially argue against the heroism of a much better film — which has similar ambitions as The Flash — that came out just two weeks ago.

All of that is a shame because, on the whole, Andy Muschietti’s film does, in fact, nail the major Flash-moments that it had to. All of the emotional beats surrounding Barry Allen’s connection with his mother work wonderfully and are genuinely moving (though I have one point of frustration here that I can’t get into without spoiling the film), most of the important speedy action is quite good, and, to my surprise, almost all of its jokes landed (excluding the jokes in the awkward opening Justice League mission, which includes a baffling baby shower scene in which Barry Allen puts a baby inside of a microwave). I’ll even go one step further and say that the controversial lead actor delivers a competent dual performance as multiple Barry Allens — as he gets to be both a ‘high-on-sugar’ version of the character and a more mature version. Having two versions of the character, also gave the storytellers the opportunity to show Barry Allen’s origin story even though our Barry Allen has had his powers for a long time, and seeing alternate reality Barry get his powers is really fun. As I mentioned before, it is genuinely and consistently entertaining. As for the supporting heroes? Well, trailers made me worried that Michael Keaton would only speak in catchphrases like he’s a pull-string voice box Batman toy, but Keaton is solid in this (and hearing Danny Elfman’s theme with him on-screen was pure nostalgia joy). I also really enjoyed seeing newcomer Sasha Calle as Supergirl, even though her part is smaller than I had imagined. Hopefully, she’ll get to play the character again down the line. All of these things made me mostly like the movie (warts and all), even though it certainly isn’t great.

With all of the good things I can say (without spoiling the film) out of the way, I’m left with all of the film’s problems. First and foremost, it must be reiterated how overstuffed it is. Kiersey Clemons plays Barry Allen’s love interest, Iris West, who was first seen in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and one would expect her role to be significantly expanded in a Flash solo film. But the film barely has room for her. Her character and her connection to Barry are underdeveloped, much like the rest of the DCEU always was due to them trying to catch up with Marvel. Of course, the film is also filled to the brim with a cameo-fest that will be very newsworthy due to how it includes a great decades-in-the-making glimpse into what a once-scrapped 1990s film might’ve looked like (something that was spoiled by Andy Muschietti prior to the film’s release in what must’ve been a desperate attempt to make people interested), but the other reason why the cameo-fest will be newsworthy is since it misguidedly crosses ethical boundaries through these lifeless or wooden deepfakes with which the film hopes to reduce us to tears, when it in actuality may feel somewhat wrong to most people. Frankly, the VFX work is one of the major problems with this film. Even if you were to ignore what ethical boundaries it may or may not cross, the film can’t escape the fact that it frequently features rubbery VFX and CGI-recreations of moments and characters that make them look like The Scorpion King from Stephen Sommers’ The Mummy Returns. The visual effects took me out of the film, which is the exact opposite of what VFX is meant to do. Without going into spoilers, I can also say that except for one or two major emotional beats, the third act feels hollow and, at times, recycled. I’ll add that a key frustration of mine is with how Barry goes about ‘saving his mother.’ Bafflingly, he doesn’t actually go back in time to prevent her murder, rather he goes back in time to prevent his dad from leaving their family home to buy a can of tomatoes. Perhaps this was designed to make the film’s ultimate outcome more acceptable, but, as it is, it feels contrived and misguided.

Andy Muschietti’s The Flash is a poorly timed, tonally uneven, and messy multiverse film that pales in comparison with all of the films that it is clearly trying to ape. The film is time and time again brought down by rubbery and questionable visual effects that include wooden deepfake-esque cameos. So this is not the shared universe-saving film that the DCEU enthusiasts may have hoped it would be. But, even though the visual effects make parts of the film an eyesore, it would be wrong to say that the entire film is extremely unpleasant. Rather, Muschietti’s The Flash is an overstuffed mixed bag of a superhero film that is occasionally hollow and messy, but it is also often quite funny and consistently entertaining. The Flash is flawed fun and just okay. The major emotional beats really do work well, but, ultimately, not enough does. In the end, The Flash crosses the finish line with its arms held high, but it stumbles too often along the way to make an impact.

6.5 out of 10

– Review Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.