Review of 'The Flash'

Barry Allen (Ezra Miller), aka the Flash, discovers he has the ability to travel back in time. He uses this power to prevent the murder of his mother, Nora (Maribel Verdú) but when in the “Speed Force” while returning to the present a mysterious figure pushes him out into 2013. In 2013 he discovers his mother is alive but the 2013-Barry is much different and unlikely to experience the accident Barry had that gave him his superhero powers. Determined to help his 2013 self he takes him to the lab where the lightening strike that originally gave him his powers instead has taken them away and given them to his 2013 self. The two learn that General Zod (Michael Shannon) is preparing to invalid Earth so they attempt to find the rest of the Justice League to assist but this does not go so well: Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) is a wasted and tired vigilante long since given up on Batman. They convince Bruce to become Batman again and go in search of Superman…but he does not exist in this 2013, instead, they find Kal-El's cousin Kara Zor-El (Sasha Calle)…in a Siberian prison….Things don't look so good.

A silly but quite fun action hero flick that never takes itself too seriously. Particularly memorable is where Barry, stripped of his superhero powers, attempts to run fast, miming the slow-motion style running used in the film but not going anywhere. There are a number of excellent sequences including the collapsing building at the beginning of the film where Barry attempts to save a number of infants from crashing to the concrete. Despite this the film does tend to suffer a bit from being too full of itself relying a fair amount on viewers being familiar with the DC universe (particularly the film and TV franchises) and many scenes just seem way too overcomplicated and confusing (such as the final battle sequence, good vs evil, ya, ya, you know the drill). I am a viewer that is reasonably familiar with the TV series and I have to admit it was great to see a big-screen outing of the Flash even though it did not use the same cast. It really looks great. Even with this familiarity I still found it difficult to follow in parts. The ending is quite satisfying with a slight twist that will please many, largely tying up the DCEU (DC Extended Universe) franchise.

An entertaining, though overlong, big screen film that, confusingly, takes it both seriously and not at the same time. Superhero fans should be fairly happy, others sit back and enjoy the ride.

Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”

Review Date: 2024-05-11

Directed by: Andy Muschietti

Studio: DC Comics

Year: 2023

Length: 144 minutes

Genre: Action/Adventure

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0439572/

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