Tag: Batman

Review: Andy Muschietti’s ‘The Flash’ Movie is a Fun Love Letter to DC

by Manuel São Bento
June 14, 2023

When a franchise is being rebooted, it’s usually boringly announced through a press release, and fans simply must accept that what’s next will be part of a new overarching adventure disconnected from what came before. However, in perhaps unprecedented fashion, the DCEU had the opportunity to create a “narrative reboot” with The Flash movie, and this was the main reason why I was genuinely excited about one of the last movies of this cinematic universe – the next one will be called DC Universe (DCU). Apart from that, the fact that director Andy Muschietti (of Mama, It, It Chapter Two) and screenwriter Christina Hodson (Bumblebee, Birds of Prey) were responsible for the film offered a certain assurance that the movie was in good hands. Once again, external situations affected the release of a blockbuster, so I need to emphasize the lack of impact these matters have on my reviews. In addition, I won’t elaborate on spoilers, but consider anything that was shared by the studio in its marketing – from trailers to TV spots – as general knowledge.

The Flash should leave its target audience extremely satisfied. Fans of the comic books have plenty of chill-inducing moments and eye-boggling cameos, references, and callbacks, but for me personally, the biggest surprise is found within the screenplay itself. With much more heart and humor than anticipated, Hodson manages to create a captivating narrative about grief and the scars of life by bringing together two Barry Allen’s (Ezra Miller) not only at completely distinct stages of their lives but in thoroughly different worlds. The fact that the “other Barry” has both his parents alive is why everything happens to begin with.

Andy Muschietti’s The Flash follows familiar formulas from other time-travel flicks and theories about the “multiverse”, obviously explaining its own rules regarding the space-time continuum to the audience at a certain point in the film. The predictability of this narrative wouldn’t be as obvious if the movie had come out a few years ago, but Hodson is able to keep the story interesting through the dynamics between the two versions of the comic book protagonist. From the parallels between their two lives to their fleshed-out arcs, watching the titular super fast superhero’s origin story through the eyes of another, more experienced version of himself is indeed fascinating.

Ezra Miller is quite good in this movie, interpreting two variations of the same role, all the while delivering expressively complex, much more dramatic performances than what I’ve seen from them before. I never really believed that the actor had the ability to be more than the “silly sidekick”, but Miller demonstrates in The Flash that they’re capable of leading a blockbuster of this dimension. However, Miller shares the spotlight with two supporting characters who will drive many viewers crazy for different reasons: Michael Keaton reprises his role as Batman from Tim Burton’s movies (in 1989 and 1992), and Sasha Calle becomes Supergirl in the return of the Kryptonian character to the big screen.

Anyone who’s followed me long enough knows that I stopped watching trailers – even before watching films in theaters – over six years ago. I avoid, at all costs, going into a movie theater with any sort of knowledge about the film I’m going to watch. I understand the need for informative trailers that efficiently “sell” to the public what they will pay to see. I will even defend the idea that the making of trailers is an art in and of itself, and when these trailers are perfect, they’re capable of being engraved in any viewers’ memory forever. That said, I cannot hide the disappointment of not having had the opportunity to experience the presence of these two characters for the first time in the cinema.

If Keaton’s Batman has a more significant presence and impact in the course of the overall Flash narrative – and he appears relatively early on – and, therefore, his use in the marketing is understandable, Supergirl receives a tremendous build-up to something that’s treated as a shocking revelation. It doesn’t make much sense considering everyone knows she’s in the movie already. In fact, one of the biggest plot points of The Flash is based precisely on the search for this Kryptonian character. Fortunately, despite a non-existent surprise, Calle makes up for it with an incredibly powerful performance, being my own personal standout as far as the actor-character combo goes. I hope she can keep this role in the next DC cinematic universe.

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Burton’s Batman flicks, but they remain fun entertainment. I was hoping that The Flash would offer action moments worthy of this version of Batman, and the film does provide a few. From beautifully choreographed fight sequences with cool stunts to the typical blockbuster giant set pieces, as well as the return of Danny Elfman’s iconic theme, Batman has plenty of moments to shine, as does Supergirl and, of course, The Flash(es). The superhero costumes look dazzlingly epic, and composer Benjamin Wallfisch’s score also deserves much praise.

Surprisingly, The Flash’s biggest problems end up falling on the technical side, namely the visual effects throughout. If I were told at the entrance to the theater that I would have few criticisms to make of the narrative, I wouldn’t have believed it, not even for a second, but the truth is that apart from insignificant, even unnecessary nitpicks about the “logic” surrounding time travel shenanigans, there’s not really anything that negative to point out. Unfortunately, the visuals present huge issues that are practically impossible to ignore, with the over-reliance on absolutely terrible deepfakes being the film’s most prominent distraction.

For most of its runtime, The Flash puts two versions of Barry Allen right in front of viewers, using artificial intelligence technology to create a face identical to the real actor’s. This is where one of the major issues comes from: there’s not a single moment during the movie where there’s even a doubt as to who the false face is. It’s so incredibly noticeable that it even raises questions regarding Muschietti’s creative decisions – assuming that he had control over which character would be the true/false one – concerning whom to fake.

The same goes for all the other characters who suffer from these atrocious deepfakes. Join this visual flaw with inconsistent CGI, especially on humans & animals, and there are several sections of the film affected by visuals that divert viewers’ attention from what really matters. The Flash incorporates some interesting details into its action sequences, but overall, the VFX work leaves a lot to be desired – and yes, I watched the final cut. Bearing in mind that the respective artists are often bogged down, overworked and ridiculously underpaid, this is yet another wake-up call for Hollywood to start treating the VFX artists much better.

Finally, I was hoping The Flash would take advantage of the upcoming James Gunn-lead DCU reboot in a more explicit manner. I don’t consider the fan-service moments forced, but I don’t think the execution is as good as it could be. What should have been treated with a suspenseful build-up ends up being rushed and “glued” in a strange montage where the visuals, once again, lack consistency. The excitement of seeing that actor or that character doesn’t disappear, and it’s still a love letter to DC, but greater care was needed to really transform this particular sequence into an iconic, unforgettable moment.

Final Thoughts

The Flash contains excellent performances – Sasha Calle as Supergirl is mesmerizing – truly epic “super-speed” sequences, and countless moments of surprising humor. The interesting, profound parallels between Barry Allen’s arcs, the emotional moral dilemmas about life’s scars, and the return of Danny Elfman’s iconic Batman theme are some of the aspects that make this blockbuster a very satisfying, nostalgic viewing with more heart than meets the eye, despite not being able to escape the predictability of its narrative formulas. Too bad the visual effects are so inconsistent, and a dependency on dreadful deepfakes is such a negatively impactful distraction. That said, it’s still one of the best movies from the nearly-extinguished DCEU.

Manuel’s Rating: B+
Follow Manuel on Twitter – @msbreviews / Or Letterboxd – @msbreviews

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