DC fans waited patiently, then anxiously, for the release of “The Flash,” featuring Ezra Miller in the title role. Trailers looked exciting, but with the legal troubles Miller has faced, would the movie suffer for it? The answer… is a resounding NO.
I had the pleasure of watching the movie at a special pre-screening event. It wasn’t quite the final version, and eagle-eyed watchers could see where the CGI hadn’t quite been polished to perfection. But the movie blew me away. The humor, the action, the acting… this was the kind of movie DC should have been putting out from the start of the DCEU. I dare to say that it is the best movie since they started this quest to catch up to Marvel. If the previous movies had been more like this, DC wouldn’t be playing catch-up. Only Wonder Woman (the first one, not the sequel that left so many fans wondering if they imagined the first one) comes close to this film. It has it all. A great story. Great homages to previous DC movies. An ending that is both logical and unexpected.
It is not perfect… there are a couple of elements that could have been fleshed out more. But considering the time constraints of the movie format, they did an excellent job.
Now I’m not going to spoil things for you. Mainly because I’m not an asshole (though one certain site revealed one of the surprise cameos a few weeks back and I was mad on behalf of those who hadn’t seen it yet). And yes, there were cameos. One made my eyes well up with tears… and one was so exciting and unexpected (and now spoiled – if you missed the spoilage, I’m not going to tell you) that I felt joy and amazement that they would showcase such a deep dive into DC movie lore.
Miller played two versions of Barry Allen, and they were both distinct as characters. The parts were played to perfection and certainly highlighted the talent Miller has at their beck and call. Now if they could only rein in the emotional outbursts and avoid the confrontations that have generated so many articles and threaten to end their career early.
Keaton was back in his element. His Batman was so good, it’s like he never left the role. Some feared that his presence in the film would overshadow Miller’s performance, but in my opinion, they worked well together and it was still a Flash movie, not a Batman one. And seeing elements of Tim Burton’s original film felt like coming home.
Sasha Calle was an excellent Supergirl who didn’t seem like a clone of Superman. I would love to see her in this role again in another movie. Mainly because this was one thing I felt the film lacked. More development of her character. But it is called The Flash. And with two versions of Barry, Keaton as Batman, and appearances by other DC super heroes, something had to give. Unfortunately, it was Supergirl’s development. Hopefully, they’ll rectify it in the future.
The appearances by Affleck (who is also a good Batman, when provided with the right script) and Gadot were nice. And Jeremy Irons is always a treat to watch and listen to. They definitely contributed to the story, but didn’t steal any thunder from Miller. There is no doubt about it. This was THEIR movie.
Many elements will be familiar to fans of the “Flashpoint” storyline from DC Comics and the animated telling of that tale. And a smidgeon of me is disappointed we didn’t see Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Thomas Wayne (at least in the version of the movie I saw). But it also diverges enough from the inspirational material that it becomes its own story that is well worth watching.
Speaking of which, I plan to see it again. Sure, I want to see if there were any minor changes and how they refined the CGI. But after I saw it, I wanted to see it again. And not many movies nowadays give me that kind of feeling.
Rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars.
Have you seen The Flash? What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments or on our socials.
