We are nearing the end of the pre-James-Gunn-running-things-for-DC era, and it’s been a mixed bag. While I didn’t fully dislike any of their films (they did television better), there is also a hierarchy to the quality of what they have put forward. It is no secret that Gunn is about to Control/Alt/Delete all this stuff, so the clock has been ticking for a while now to get The Flash out to theaters after four years of production moves and drama. (We still have the next Aquaman film to go.)
Director Andy Muschietti does his first non-horror film (he did both It films), as he takes on a “loosely based” on The Flashpoint Paradox storyline with Ezra Miller continuing his role as Barry Allen. Barry is having a crisis of identity (I tried REALLY hard not to make a pun that only a fraction of our readers would understand) as a member of the Justice League when he realizes that his powers through the Speed Force can enable him to travel through time. He takes this knowledge back to the day his dad (Ron Livingston) was accused of murdering his mother (Maribel Verdú) and stop the crime from happening altogether. In doing so, his actions create an alternate timeline that has more consequences than he realizes.
Now before the arrows start getting slung of “ANOTHER multiverse/time travel/alternate universe movie?” … OK yes, this is another one. And yes, this clears the two-hour mark. However, this film is one that exceeded my expectations for it. I did everything I could to avoid as much as possible going in (I only saw the full trailer two days before the screening, and that was because it was attached to another film I went to see), and I am honestly glad I did. Do yourself a favor and avoid as much as you can so The Flash can deliver the way it is intended to. There is a really good story at the center of this visual smörgåsbord of action and CGI of decisions and consequences while still being a superhero story that is entertaining and engaging.
There are some odd choices made within this story itself and it does take a bit to get all the pieces together to get to the heart of it but overall, I found The Flash to be a great way to start the process of wrapping up the latest version of the DCEU. I have talked to some that had issues with some of the visual effects, and there are a few spots where it is questionable, but I may be numb to that when it comes to Warner Bros. and their superhero films. At the base of it all for me, it’s about the story and how it drives the visuals and not the other way around.
The Flash knows what it needs to be, and it is exactly that. Whether or not the filmmakers knew at the time what was to become of the franchise and the DCEU in general, it tells a good stand-alone story in a world where it feels like federal law to do endings that tells us that even where there is a one-in-a-million chance of a sequel, you’re still telling me there’s a chance. I fully admit that I am ready for what comes next, and this film helped solidify that opinion.
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