Review- The Flash

 

I’ll say it right away- this is a great film. Funny, exciting, occasionally poignant and always visually arresting it is more or less what you want from a trip to the movies. However, there is of course a lot of baggage surrounding The Flash and superhero movies in general. If it flops it will be the fourth live action superhero film in a row to underperform after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol3, Shazam – Fury of the Gods and Quantumania. What may at first have seemed like unlucky coincidence is beginning to look like long term decline. The Flash has the extra hurdle in that after a catalogue of incidents and allegations, the film’s star is sort of cancelled but sort of not, an unsatisfactory half-life for all concerned. Still, I suppose superhero films thrive on excess of all kinds and the best thing is to watch a film with an open mind and try not to be distracted by the noise around it.

 

 

The film uses the Flashpoint story that is well known in comics circles and which was also adapted for the tv series. Barry travels so fast he goes back in time in an attempt to save his mother who was killed during a robbery. Only, as often happens with time travel, things do not go according to plan. Instead of spending load of times explaining the temporal paradoxes the narrative leans more into the comedic repercussions.  In a twist that really drives the film we end up with two Barry Allen’s having to work together to find a way out of the anomaly of them both being in the same time at once. The results are often laugh out loud funny and the addition of a different Bruce Wayne only adds to a lively mix that comes over as a hugely enjoyable time travel caper.

 We open with Barry Allen slightly fed up being as he calls it “the janitor of the Justice League” dispatched to tie up loose cables while Batman gets to do the more exciting stuff and Wonder Woman pops up for one scene—just like she did in Shazam 2 – to smile and sort things out. Barry does though end up doing some true superheroing when he must save several babies- and a dog- falling from a collapsing tower block. I remember we were all mesmerised by the iconic Quicksilver sequence in X Men Days of Future Past nearly a decade ago and this is a much more complex riff on that idea. It is such a surreal sequence, like some bizarre pop video and an early marker to show how visually interesting the film is going to be. And whereas Quicksilver’s sequence was really a bit of fun this is about saving tiny babies while a massive office block also tumbles down. The choreography of it is fantastic.

Throughout the rest of the movie there is a similar willingness to, like Barry, amp things up to the limit. The speedster scenes are colourful and give a real sense of movement, the action sharp and sweeping. Perhaps the greatest effects triumph though it in the way the dual Barry’s are achieved. Its traditional thing in films about doubles or where the same actor plays two roles to have lots of cuts where we only see one face in shot while we’re looking at the back of the other one’s head. Here though we see both Barry’s faces bantering and arguing in shot almost constantly and you cannot tell- certainly not on one viewing anyway- which is the `real` actor and which is the superimposed face or AI version or however they achieved it but it makes the narrative come alive.

I don’t know whether the accusations against Ezra Miller are true, false or somewhere in between. I do think it is a shame if it turns out to be true because this film shows what a breadth of talent that would be wasted. Often when a film has two versions of the same character interacting there is only a slight difference between them. Here, Ezra Miller delivers a clear differentiation not just in looks and mannerisms but in every aspect. It also allows the Barry’s to refer to themselves as `they` which is the pronoun Miller uses in real life. It all works terrifically well as matters develop especially when the younger, stoner Barry ends up with the speed powers.

Then an alternative Bruce Wayne is added to the stew and introduced in a spot-on sequence of physical comedy wherein the two Barry’s are attacked by an outrageously bearded Michael Keaton. Yes, that Batman is back. When the trio start working together the storyline ramps up even further with a new version of Supergirl an though she is slightly underused the four of them make quite a team. Keaton is understated and bonds well with the two Barry’s. Supergirl is more of an enigma and there is not quite enough room for her to establish herself before she launches into the action.

Time travel creates issues of course and towards the climax of the film it becomes apparent that however much he tries Barry is not going to succeed while the impending threat of General Zod leads to a more sombre final act. Amidst an effects laden finale matters do spin slightly out of control courtesy of nostalgic imagery involving multiple versions of superheroes which comics fans will either love or hate but which draws away from the intensity of the storyline. It just underlines a point already well made by an Eric Stoltz gag earlier. Yet the scene that really stands out in the last act takes place in a supermarket literally bringing the story back down to earth.

Because the movie retains its lighter tone as long as possible it largely avoids the over earnestness that dogged earlier DC movies. Like the Wonder Woman films it clearly has a sense of its own absurdity though never to the detriment of the storyline. For that reason, the obligatory bellowing villain, General Zod is very lightly sketched and just there to be defeated, the cramped running time allowing little time with him. I do not often say this about a film that is over two and quarter hours long but I think another fifteen minutes would have allowed for some of the supporting character to have more space.

For all the sound and fury this is a very human, relatable story at heart and thus wins out for me because the audience can identify with and understand it whether you get all the nods to superhero lore that pepper the film.  So, if you can, put aside preconceptions and enjoy The Flash on its own terms and for what it is- a heady romp packed with inventive energy. And don’t forget to buy that tin of tomatoes…