Zooming into theaters this past weekend was The Flash. The first ever feature film for the DC superhero is helmed by director Andy Muschietti (Directed IT and IT Chapter 2). So, let’s head into the speed force and talk about this ambitious fast paced film.

 

We follow Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) who is trying his best to make it through life by balancing his personal life and superhero persona. Barry is also trying to find evidence to exonerate his father for being falsely accused of murdering his mother. While dealing with these issues, Barry helps Batman (Ben Affleck) save civilians from a botched robbery. Once that is dealt with, Barry goes on a run that results in him going back in time. With this ability, Barry talks to Bruce Wayne about the possibility of going back in time to prevent his mother’s murder. Bruce highly recommends not to change the past, but Barry doesn’t listen. This results in Barry creating an alternative universe where his mom is alive, but he comes face to face with a teenage version of himself. He then finds out that there are no meta humans in existence and General Zod (Michael Shannon) has just invaded Earth to turn it into Krypton. To save Earth, Barry will need the help of Batman (Michael Keaton) who isn’t the one he knows in his universe and Supergirl (Sasha Calle) not Superman. A darker entity looms in the distance, and that is the one pulling all the strings to make these events happen.

 

This film was a lot of fun, heartfelt, and action packed. I think Ezra Miller did a great job portraying Barry once again, and he had to not only play one version of the character but two. Michael Keaton was amazing as Batman. That’s all I can really say because it was like he never left that role since he was in Batman Returns (1992). I really enjoyed Sasha Calle’s portrayal of Supergirl, and I hope she reprises the role again in future DC movies. Even though he’s in it for a bit, Ben Affleck was great as Batman and Bruce Wayne. Some of the dialogue they gave him was extremely powerful, and it is sad to see that this will be the last time he’ll be in the cape and cowl. Kiersey Clemons is also in this film as Iris West, but I felt like her role could have been taken out. Her character didn’t serve as much of a purpose to the story, and that made her less intriguing. Aside from the acting, the CGI in this is rough, but I feel like it didn’t take me completely out of the film. I think the story and dialogue helped a lot, making the CGI issues less notable. There are some cameos in this that are fun to see and some that are questionable, especially the very last scene of the movie. If you want to stay to the end of the credits for the post-credit scene, you can, but it was not worth it.

 

This was a movie that followed a lot of your typical superhero movie tropes, but I think there were some new and creative features that made it somewhat unique. I think that this should have come out before Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Because of the multiverse aspect, it’s hard not to compare the two. Would I see this again? Definitely, either in theaters or when it’s out on DVD. I think that this is a fun superhero flick that the whole family can watch.

 

Rating: 3.9 out 4