Is “The Flash” Really the Next Best Superhero Movie?
My answer is: no. Read on to find out why.
“[This is] the kind of movie we need right now.”- Tom Cruise
“…this one is special.”- Stephen King
Beware: spoilers lay ahead.
If I could use one word to describe how I feel about The Flash and its reception, it would be confusion. I will admit that I was anticipating the film after seeing the first trailer, mainly because of how fun that footage made it look like it was going to be. But then more and more trailers kept dropping, revealing more and more information that I would rather not know until watching, and I slowly started to become worried.
I, for one, have always been on the side of Marvel. Disregarding a few exceptions, including Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Matt Reeves’ The Batman, and Todd Phillips’ Joker, I believe Marvel is doing superhero stuff a whole lot better. Plenty will disagree, and I won’t fight them, but to me, it has been obvious from the start that Warner Bros. has been trying to catch up to the MCU for some time now.
And now, DC has James Gunn, who has developed a completely new direction for the new DCU to go. But how do you properly traverse from Zack Snyder’s world to a completely brand-new one? Well, based on the state of superhero films today, the answer is simple: use the multiverse.
Multiversal Problems
Just because the answer is simple doesn’t mean everything will turn out well and good. The Flash, directed by Andy Muschietti and starring the problematic Ezra Miller in the titular role, seeks to use Flash’s newfound ability to travel through time as a way to dive into the multiverse, which will help make DC’s else world stories like The Batman and Joker make more sense (i.e. here is their explanation for why those movies don’t sit within the wider DC narrative that James Gunn is developing). Even with that, however, The Flash runs into a few issues. Firstly, the multiverse has been done before, with movies like No Way Home, Multiverse of Madness, and the recently released Across the Spider-Verse acting as examples. The Flash does include its own take on the multiverse — which will probably help it stand out in the long run — but it still is dealing with the same concepts that Marvel and Sony tackled before.
Secondly, The Flash actually doesn’t feel like set up for anything. In fact, I was pretty baffled by the cameos that the movie included — not because they were bad (I actually enjoyed quite a few of them) but because they don’t tie any existing franchises into the fold. Sure, it’s fun to see Christopher Reeves’ Superman again, as well as Nick Cage’s Superman we never got to see, but both of those are series that are no longer relevant. Hell, Nick Cage’s Superman was never relevant. If DC really wanted to use this movie as a link to all of the DC movies that currently have zero links at all — like The Batman and Joker — they should have opted for relevant cameos. Even just a quick shot of Robert Pattinson or Joaquin Phoenix would have done the trick. At least those actors are relevant — and will continue to stay relevant — within the current state of DC. Again, the cameos were fun, and it was great seeing some familiar faces, but those franchises are dead and have been dead for quite some time. If DC really wanted to set up a new future, they should have at least hinted toward it instead of sticking to the past.
The Quality
But those were just my complaints about the context of the film. How does The Flash fair as a film in general? Well, compared to other superhero films, it doesn’t really stand out too much. Now, it’s not a terrible movie. The action was enjoyable, and the movie really picks up once Barry Allen lands in the universe the majority of the film takes place in, but there’s nothing about it that screams fantastic. I don’t understand how Stephen King, who has openly discussed his indifference towards the superhero genre, can say that this movie “is special” when movies like The Avengers, Civil War, and No Way Home exist. Sure, opinions are opinions, but this? This is the superhero movie you think is “special?”
Again, this was a fun movie with a lot of enjoyable aspects, but it does nothing new. Bringing back actors who played older versions of famous characters? Marvel did it first. Having two versions of a character meet each other? Yup, Marvel beat them to it. Having shoddy visual effects? Yes, even Marvel did that first (but even then, the VFX in The Flash were some of the worst I have seen in years). There was an obvious attempt here to make a mind-blowing, multiverse-traversing world, but it seems like DC forgot that Marvel and Sony were doing the exact same thing. The Flash had potential, but it ultimately fumbled in the end.
The Verdict
I’m keeping this review short and sweet because I don’t want this to feel like a hateful rant directed toward a movie I actually had a lot of fun with. I just think the flaws are laughably conspicuous, making this film feel more like a joke than the next-best superhero movie that so many people are claiming it to be. Ezra Miller’s Flash is outshined by every other hero within the narrative, including the ones I mentioned above that feel pointless but are at least, on some levels, fun. If you ignore that idea and are able to forgive the studio for its poor visual effects and lack of originality, then you may end up loving The Flash. I, for one, didn’t love it, but at least I can say it’s not even close to being the worst thing I have seen from DC in recent years.
Ultimately, I’m going to give The Flash a very low:
6/10
Here’s hoping James Gunn can bring DC to a better state.
