So after being in development for years, multiple re-writes and director changes, the drama behind the film's star and with the current DC shakeup THE FLASH somehow still manages to be an okay comic-book film.
You would think with all the change ups between the writers and the directors there would be some inconsistency within the film, but for the most part there wasn't. Now the hype train dubbed this as one of the greatest superhero/comic-book films ever made, and it really does not reach those heights, but it is a good entertaining film with some depth and layers.
Putting aside all the Ezra Miller wrongdoings, they are very good in the film. Miller's performance in the theatrical cut of JUSTICE LEAGUE to me came off as a buffoon who made lame jokes about brunch. ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE however, that performance was more akin to what I wanted as a comic-book fan who's read Flash comics. Miller plays two versions of Barry, one older who shows more maturity and experience and one as a young teen, who is a more immature version of himself. There is a nice balance between both performances, but I will admit young Barry's antics and jokes kinda did get annoying after a while.
Maribel Verdu's Nora Allen serves as Barry's motive to go back in time to save his mother. She has some good tender moments at the end when Barry does realize he needs to let her death play out. Ron Livingston replaces Billy Crudup and does a good job with the scenes he had.
I've been on record saying Ben Affleck is my favorite Batman because I loved his brutality, his rage, and his merciless attitude. To me a Jim Lee drawing come to life. He's only in it in the beginning of the film where an incredibly fun action set piece takes place. If this is the last time I'll see him (which it probably will be) as the character then I'm happy I got to see him just once more.
Michael Keaton definitely brought back the nostalgia. In his old age he hasn't lost a step and has a solid role within the film. Anything with him is basically fan-service on overdrive, especially the Elfman Batman score and his memorable lines from the 89 BATMAN film. Since it is the mutliverse keep an eye out for some cameos near the climax. Sasha Calle steps into the role of Supergirl and I didn't mind her presence or performance but she was just kinda there. She plays an important part, but it never marinated enough for it to feel any true weight, but to mainly be there to serve the action at the end. She does have a nice fight with Michael Shannon's Zod.
Piggybacking off that, I really did like how director Andy Muschietti honored what came before with what Zack Snyder did. He didn't blatantly ignore it which I appreciated. So even if seeing Affleck, Shannon, and some other familiar Snyder-Verse cast members for just a quick bit, it was nice that there was an acknowledgment of what came before.
Now the VFX are very questionable. I know Muschietti said that the VFX was meant to look weird on purpose and I get his reasoning behind it, but it just looked way too wonky. Distractingly wonky that it took me out of the film from time to time.
As for the future of DC, that's all up in the air, it feels. Original set photos showed Supergirl and Keaton's Batman showing up at the end, but that has changed. Anything can happen now, and we'll see whether that's a good thing in time.
To sum it up, THE FLASH is an overhyped film that just happens to be a good/entertaining spectacle with a narrative that isn't exactly new, but the nuances give it that extra flare that prevents it from being a total nostalgia bait/fan service.
7/10.
You would think with all the change ups between the writers and the directors there would be some inconsistency within the film, but for the most part there wasn't. Now the hype train dubbed this as one of the greatest superhero/comic-book films ever made, and it really does not reach those heights, but it is a good entertaining film with some depth and layers.
Putting aside all the Ezra Miller wrongdoings, they are very good in the film. Miller's performance in the theatrical cut of JUSTICE LEAGUE to me came off as a buffoon who made lame jokes about brunch. ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE however, that performance was more akin to what I wanted as a comic-book fan who's read Flash comics. Miller plays two versions of Barry, one older who shows more maturity and experience and one as a young teen, who is a more immature version of himself. There is a nice balance between both performances, but I will admit young Barry's antics and jokes kinda did get annoying after a while.
Maribel Verdu's Nora Allen serves as Barry's motive to go back in time to save his mother. She has some good tender moments at the end when Barry does realize he needs to let her death play out. Ron Livingston replaces Billy Crudup and does a good job with the scenes he had.
I've been on record saying Ben Affleck is my favorite Batman because I loved his brutality, his rage, and his merciless attitude. To me a Jim Lee drawing come to life. He's only in it in the beginning of the film where an incredibly fun action set piece takes place. If this is the last time I'll see him (which it probably will be) as the character then I'm happy I got to see him just once more.
Michael Keaton definitely brought back the nostalgia. In his old age he hasn't lost a step and has a solid role within the film. Anything with him is basically fan-service on overdrive, especially the Elfman Batman score and his memorable lines from the 89 BATMAN film. Since it is the mutliverse keep an eye out for some cameos near the climax. Sasha Calle steps into the role of Supergirl and I didn't mind her presence or performance but she was just kinda there. She plays an important part, but it never marinated enough for it to feel any true weight, but to mainly be there to serve the action at the end. She does have a nice fight with Michael Shannon's Zod.
Piggybacking off that, I really did like how director Andy Muschietti honored what came before with what Zack Snyder did. He didn't blatantly ignore it which I appreciated. So even if seeing Affleck, Shannon, and some other familiar Snyder-Verse cast members for just a quick bit, it was nice that there was an acknowledgment of what came before.
Now the VFX are very questionable. I know Muschietti said that the VFX was meant to look weird on purpose and I get his reasoning behind it, but it just looked way too wonky. Distractingly wonky that it took me out of the film from time to time.
As for the future of DC, that's all up in the air, it feels. Original set photos showed Supergirl and Keaton's Batman showing up at the end, but that has changed. Anything can happen now, and we'll see whether that's a good thing in time.
To sum it up, THE FLASH is an overhyped film that just happens to be a good/entertaining spectacle with a narrative that isn't exactly new, but the nuances give it that extra flare that prevents it from being a total nostalgia bait/fan service.
7/10.