I am not exaggerating when I say this is one of the best DC movies so far. It perfectly adapts the source material to the current characters of the Snyderverse and bridges the gap between the old and the new DC universe that began with a more colorful and characteer-driven Aquaman and Wonder Woman movies (in spite of the flaws these may have).
The screenplay in this movie, that is the story and character arcs, is absolutely gold. It is witty, funny and splendidly well-rounded. All the jokes land perfectly and it is all thanks to the great performance of Ezra Miller, which would be more acclaimed if it weren't for the bad reputation that preceeds him.
And perhaps a bit surprisingly, every other character introduced and "returning" do a fantastic performance, elevated by their characterization. Audiences should be really satisfied with the directions they took every main character in this film.
I don't want to get into spoilers so I will just mention that the costume and set design is incredibly imaginative. The story is inspired by a famous Flash comicbook but it is modified enough to be more relevant to the current iteration of the Flash while maintaining the core messages and themes. And in some aspects, actually improve the story itself. All amounting to a climax where the emotional payoff is earned.
It is obvious the care and effort that was put into this movie in almost all aspects except one. One that seems to be the weaker link in all DC movies: the subpar CGI. I don't doubt the talents of the CGI artists at Warner Bros, but there's something happening behind close doors. Either time constraints (which seems unlikely given DC doesn't pump out as much content as Marvel), lack of workforce or simply budget constraints? (again, highly unlikely given the budgets these movies have). It's unfortunate because it is subpar enough to break the illusion (is very noticeable when you see shots of Flash's costume switching from CGI to physical costume on a close-up). But is imaginative enough to be overlooked.
And again, the heavy lifting is done by the story and characterisation, which is stellar. Add there the performances and visually stunning action set pieces and you have great entertainment. The relationships between the characters is well defined and come full circle in the end, I applaud the use of every character and their comic book iteration and I thank the good and restraint use of the easter eggs and references which the nature and trailer of this movie clearly disclosed there would be (so that wasn't really a spoiler)
All in all, this is a great direction to take DC on and in some ways, this movie feels kind of James Gunn-y: the characters are compelling, some wacky and hilarious, others more subdued but also witty; the relantionships between them are earned and emotionally satisfying and the story is character driven; and things like the editing and music-heavy montage scenes (not saying they are uniquely Gunn, but they reminisce of GUnn). And most importantly: the movie has something compelling to say. Which may sound obvious, but a lot of superhero movies lately have lost track of it. Surely they are visually stunning and action driven, but we can't forget the characters and their flaws and strengths, and exploring both is always a great idea! So more, please, more of this quality of DC.
The screenplay in this movie, that is the story and character arcs, is absolutely gold. It is witty, funny and splendidly well-rounded. All the jokes land perfectly and it is all thanks to the great performance of Ezra Miller, which would be more acclaimed if it weren't for the bad reputation that preceeds him.
And perhaps a bit surprisingly, every other character introduced and "returning" do a fantastic performance, elevated by their characterization. Audiences should be really satisfied with the directions they took every main character in this film.
I don't want to get into spoilers so I will just mention that the costume and set design is incredibly imaginative. The story is inspired by a famous Flash comicbook but it is modified enough to be more relevant to the current iteration of the Flash while maintaining the core messages and themes. And in some aspects, actually improve the story itself. All amounting to a climax where the emotional payoff is earned.
It is obvious the care and effort that was put into this movie in almost all aspects except one. One that seems to be the weaker link in all DC movies: the subpar CGI. I don't doubt the talents of the CGI artists at Warner Bros, but there's something happening behind close doors. Either time constraints (which seems unlikely given DC doesn't pump out as much content as Marvel), lack of workforce or simply budget constraints? (again, highly unlikely given the budgets these movies have). It's unfortunate because it is subpar enough to break the illusion (is very noticeable when you see shots of Flash's costume switching from CGI to physical costume on a close-up). But is imaginative enough to be overlooked.
And again, the heavy lifting is done by the story and characterisation, which is stellar. Add there the performances and visually stunning action set pieces and you have great entertainment. The relationships between the characters is well defined and come full circle in the end, I applaud the use of every character and their comic book iteration and I thank the good and restraint use of the easter eggs and references which the nature and trailer of this movie clearly disclosed there would be (so that wasn't really a spoiler)
All in all, this is a great direction to take DC on and in some ways, this movie feels kind of James Gunn-y: the characters are compelling, some wacky and hilarious, others more subdued but also witty; the relantionships between them are earned and emotionally satisfying and the story is character driven; and things like the editing and music-heavy montage scenes (not saying they are uniquely Gunn, but they reminisce of GUnn). And most importantly: the movie has something compelling to say. Which may sound obvious, but a lot of superhero movies lately have lost track of it. Surely they are visually stunning and action driven, but we can't forget the characters and their flaws and strengths, and exploring both is always a great idea! So more, please, more of this quality of DC.