Review

The Flash and the Multiverse of Madness – for real this time

14/6/2023

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

The Flash should be a train wreck. Especially with all the scandals and shenanigans surrounding production. But opposing all logic, the film isn’t just good. It’s fantastic. Maybe even one of the best movies the old DC universe ever delivered.

Let me start off by saying that my review contains no spoilers. Any information stated here is featured in trailers that have already been released.

Possibly the most remarkable thing about The Flash is that it actually exists. On the one hand, the studio behind it is undergoing epochal changes. Ever since Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn took the helm at Marvel’s archrival DC, nothing’s the way it used to be – Gunn is rebooting the entire franchise this very moment. The Flash is merely one of the last loose threads from the old cinematic construct – the DC Extended Universe – that needs to be cut. And yet, this film amazes.

On the other hand, there’s the elephant in the room: Ezra Miller. Like a dark storm cloud, the repeated arrests and court hearings of the lead actor threatened to halt production. Fans feared the film might even be cancelled altogether because of Miller’s antics. But the actor has since shown remorse and is undergoing psychological treatment. Maybe he’ll come to his senses.

Still, I wonder, how can a film be good when everything around its creation was so disastrous? I have no clue. But to my surprise, The Flash isn’t just good. It might well be the best film the dying DCEU ever produced.

What The Flash is all about

Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) isn’t particularly adept at balancing his double life as a Central City Police Department forensic investigator and superhero Flash. When he’s not running (tee-hee) late for work, he helps Batman (Ben Affleck) put criminals behind bars. As if that wasn’t enough, Barry is still trying to prove his father’s innocence in what little spare time he has left. See, back when Barry was a child, his mother (Maribel Verdú) was murdered by a burglar and his father (Ron Livingston) was wrongly convicted for it.

Just as Barry reaches rock bottom, he discovers he can do more than just run fast. He can turn back time. All the way back to his mother’s murder. So why not do just that and set the record straight? «The scars we have make us who we are,» Batman warns him. After all, who knows what kind of multiversal hurricane the flap of a single butterfly’s wings can unleash?

Warner Bros., a history of failure

Time. It’s what The Flash is all about. About changing the past, correcting mistakes. Something studio Warner Bros. knows all too well. When Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel hits theatres in 2013, it’s expected to become the mighty equal to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. Nearly ten years – and 14 movies – later, the studio has to admit to itself that its films have rarely been anywhere near as popular and successful as Marvel’s.

What went wrong? Maybe the studio’s biggest flaw was a lack of patience. Man of Steel was followed by Batman v. Superman, the first crossover between two iconic superheroes. And shortly thereafter, the rest of DC’s superhero lineup was spurted out all at once with Justice League. In one movie. Too much when half the characters still need introducing, even with a 2-hour runtime.

Marvel was cleverer here. First, they patiently told the story of individual characters before letting them clash in big action set pieces. DC did it the other way around. Presenting the team first, and only then exploring the story behind each character. The thoroughly passable Wonder Woman and Aquaman, for example. It seemed the studio had learned its lesson. Or maybe not. Warner Bros. barely managed any true DCEU hits. In exchange, they offered duds such as Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman 1984. Most recently, Black Adam seemed like the studio’s final declaration of bankruptcy.

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Accordingly, I had little hope for The Flash. The over-the-top trailers seemed to confirm my fears. Namely, of the studio just throwing anything they could still find in the DC archives at fans to see what sticks.

Not that I was wrong; The Flash does just that for most of its 144 minutes. What surprised me, however, was how much stuck. Batman above all. And not just one. Two! Michael Keaton’s Batman!!! You know, the one from Tim Burton’s Batman movies. 1989 and 1992 are calling, and they want their Batman back. Not that they’ll get him. I just like him too much where he is now, in The Flash.

The nostalgia has overtaken me.

Fan service? I’m a fan, service me!

Oh yes. When it comes to Michael Keaton, The Flash swings the nostalgia club with full force – and hits its mark. Keaton is still quick-witted, even mischievous, on the one hand. On the other hand, growling in a menacingly deep Batman voice, he throws rows of enemies against the wall in impressively choreographed fights. Danny Elfman’s famous Batman theme in the background finishes me off. The child in me rejoices. I definitely lost the bet that Keaton’s performance would degenerate into a mere cameo for the trailer – I wagered on it with a good friend. This round goes to you, Dominik.

In fact, the now 71-year-old actor doesn’t look a day older since he last wore the 25-kilo latex bat costume. On the contrary. Thank modern movie magic (no, not de-ageing … I think).

Michael Keaton makes a triumphant return as the Dark Knight in The Flash.
Source: Warner Bros./DC Studios

I’m happy that he’s also been given a medium-sized role in the film. Ezra Miller’s Flash needs it for character development, even though Affleck – the actual DCEU Batman – could’ve played the role just as well. The fact that it’s nevertheless Keaton who does the honours in the meantime is justified by the writers with Barry’s multiversal journey. His actions change the past and future so much that even new characters slip into old familiar costumes – and not just Batman. Keaton compares this to a plate of spaghetti: some noodles run parallel. Others cross. Still others go in completely different directions. He then prods around in it and explains using Keatonian dryness that the sugo is the mess Barry made by changing the timeline.

Who needs science when you have a plate of spaghetti?

But let’s not kid ourselves: yes, Keaton (and others) is pure fan service. The studio knows. Keaton knows. Even Batman knows in the film, when he winks at the camera and quotes himself. «You wanna get nuts? Let’s get nuts!» It doesn’t bother me, even if fan service is still smiled at by some as a cheap trick to gain undeserved brownie points. These people accuse the writers of taking credit for other ideas. For me, on the other hand, fan service is a loyalty reward for comic and movie nerds who enjoy every little detail. I am a fan, after all. I want to be served. It’s why I buy a movie ticket. At least as long as the film doesn’t forget to tell a good story beyond fan service. With characters I care about, of course.

A new old and an old young Flash – or something like that

This was probably the biggest challenge for screenwriter Christina Hodson, who also wrote the screenplay for Birds of Prey and Bumblebee. In previous DCEU films, Barry was always reduced to the role of quippy sidekick. Even in Zack Snyder’s epic 4-hour cut of Justice League. Now making Barry the main character of his own film also means rewriting his character. His powers. His quirks. Yes, he still drops quips. But way fewer. A new sidekick takes over: a younger and rather dim-witted version of himself, dangerously close to the stereotypical pain in the neck.

Another trick to «promote» the old sidekick in terms of content as well.

Yep, sidekick Flash looks this dorky most of the time.
Source: Warner Bros./DC Studios

But Hodson’s script demonstrates a deep understanding of Barry. Mostly because it keeps his motivations simple yet emotional. Add to that Miller’s acting, which sells it well. I feel the loss Barry has suffered from his mother being murdered and his father’s unjust incarceration. I’m also beginning to understand why he found a surrogate father figure in Ben Affleck’s Batman. Why the orphan Batman took Barry under his wing in the first place. This crafts the emotional core that carries me through the overflowing action, especially in the final third. It would’ve otherwise fallen abundantly flat – as in Black Adam I mentioned above, for example.

Speaking of action: the fact that it doesn’t degenerate into a pure CGI thunderstorm is also thanks to director Andy Muschietti. He already balanced action and special effects extremely successfully in the two-part It remake. He succeeds again in The Flash. Most of the time. As I said, the last third gets a bit too colourful, even for me. However, this did little harm to the overall impression.

Verdict: yep, more please

The Flash isn’t a perfect movie. But one that finds its own twist. Mainly because the important characters are given just enough depth to carry the surprisingly straightforward but nicely told story. The rest are either lost in the CGI thunderstorm of act three or have such little screen time that their presence neither helps nor hurts.

Sasha Calle, unfortunately, makes a rather brief but incisive appearance as Supergirl.
Source: Warner Bros./DC Studios

I have little to complain about in terms of production. Andy Muschietti usually guides the audience through the action with finesse, always coming up with creative camera angles and movement. The special effects are solid for the most part, too. And that’s not a given. There’s only one thing – right at the beginning of the film – that must’ve come directly from that special effects hell where Dwayne Johnson’s Scorpion King was birthed in 2001. I won’t say what. But I’d like an explanation of how this happened.

In the grand context of the now dying DCEU, The Flash earns a spot on the winner’s podium. I’d put it right behind Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Even though I have to say that the cheap nostalgia pop with Michael Keaton’s Batman might’ve worked better on me than I want to admit.

The Flash is in cinemas from 15 June 2023. Runtime: 144 minutes. Age rating: 12.

Header image: Warner Bros./DC Studios

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Luca Fontana

Senior Editor

Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.ch

I'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.»

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