The Flash

The Flash is a junk food movie, but sometimes junk food hits the spot. I think in this case, it kind of did, and I had fun. There are problems here for sure, and maybe it'll all fall apart in my mind the more I think about it. But I had a pretty good time with this, and while it might not have been as filling or satisfying as a proper piece of cínèmá, I feel like as far as unapologetic crowd-pleasers go, this is one of the better ones.

It has fun with a time travel plot, and also dives right into all that multiverse stuff that's all the rage at this point. We may be at a breaking point soon with movies that spiral off into different universes/timelines, in the process bringing back actors to roles they haven't occupied for years or even decades, but I know I still get some enjoyment out of this kind of thing. In a couple of years, who knows - there's a good chance fatigue will set in around this latest trend, but unlike a lot of cinematic trends/sub-genres, this one has at least inspired universally loved movies and even Oscar winners (like Into the Spider-Verse and of course Everything Everywhere All At Once).

The Flash is a movie that's desperate for you to like it, and I can see that turning some people off. But others are probably going to like it a lot, and I imagine it'll do well at the box office. As for the future of DC, that's all up in the air, it feels. Anything can happen now, and we'll see whether that's a good thing in time. I'm also interested to see how fans of previous DC movies react to this, given how divided the fanbase is (and how fractured all the different DC universes are, what with the extra worlds of Robert Pattinson's Batman and Joaquin Phoenix's Joker).

But The Flash? It's fun. It's entertaining. It panders sometimes. It looks a bit like a video game at points (also plays out like one at times). Its humour generally lands, but not always. I'll probably never watch it again, but I had a good time watching it just this once.

Finally after the early screening on 6th June which showed the unfinished print, I get to watch the final cut on IMAX today. One major drawback is that a movie this big has both really good and really bad VFX. Apart from that, this complete fan service aims at not taking the story forward into the DCEU's newly planned future, instead takes Barry Allen on his usual time travel to save his mom and him learning the repercussions of his action, the hard way.

This harmless PG-13 movie sticks to the basics and plays safe to the core. Adds a bunch of cameos from DC universe to get us fans riled up. The narrative ranges from meh to "oh that's fun" and the director Andy Muschietti hardly fails in hitting the mark. He clearly knows what he intends to do with this script and plays to it's strengths. Ezra Miller indeed is good as The Flash is an added advantage and rest Michael Keaton's return as Batman takes care off.

Special mention to all the cameos as they simply were that good. Needless to say, the film is worth watching for them. Sasha Calle's Supergirl has very little to do and she tries to make most of what is offered to her. The visuals during the time travel and the reveal of multiverse was well done. The humor ensures to lighten the tone while keeping the mother-son sentiment intact. Not sure what DCEU's future holds for us fans, The Flash succeeds in entertaining for most of those 2.5hrs.

I just got out of The Flash

OK. So it does not live up to the positive buzz from the early screenings. It's nowhere near being one of the best comic book movies of all time. It's not even in the conversation for being one of the best DC movies. But I did have a lot of fun with it.

A lot may depend on your feelings of Ezra Miller. Younger Barry Allen was really annoying, but I think that's the point. I had no issues with them in the role.

The stand out for me, was Michael Keaton. When Batman is doing his things and Danny Elfman's iconic score is booming, it's a joy. But make no mistake this is not Batman 3, it's a Flash movie that features Keaton's Batman.

Supergirl was good, I enjoyed her, and if she gets a stand alone, I'd watch it. There were some surprises, that I'm amazed have not leaked.

It feels it's run time at times and some of the CGI is very dodgy, especially during a certain moment. Considering what they were going for, I can't believe they released it like that. The CGI at that moment is my biggest complaint.

They get away with a lot with its rating including nudity and a fair amount of bad language, including the F bomb.

I'm not sure if I'll watch it again, but I had a good time, watching this one time.

Much better than I thought and reviews led me to believe. Superwoman really worked for me. Michael Keaton was good. Ezra Miller wasn't hyper annoying. I could've done without the updated flash effects and the suit but not too bad. It's funny, fairly interesting and the plot isn't super convoluted or especially ridiculous (for a superhero movie).

Saw reviews complaining about inconsistent CGI quality. For most of the movie I couldn't figure out why; clearly an artistic choice. But then Chris Reeve pops up and yeah, that was pretty bad. I think it's the result of applying the stylistic effects they'd been using on the still-alive actors to an already not awesome deepfake but whatever the reason it was jarring and not necessary. There were a lot of nods and Easter eggs they would've been fine skipping.

So not perfect but nothing ruined it for me. Batman in the beginning really didn't sound like Affleck to me. They gave their Batman a healthy dose of Christopher Nolan Batman that I could've done without (what possible reason is there for having vents on your breastplate. Do his pectorals generate too much wind resistance when he flexes?)

Anyway worth seeing. Stands up well with the other DC movies, such as they are. I really don't see what the problem is if you liked all they other stuff. This is easily better than Aquaman and Justice League and Snyder-bloat Justice League. Yeah Ezra Miller is going through an annoying as all hell/total trainwreck phase lately. But hey, who hasn't sorta kidnapped an Indian and hoarded guns and acted like a total b!#h@$$ after they got arrested for something stupid and avoidable.. yet again, then whined about it/their/thouest pronouns to someone that made the mistake of addressing them with respect? That old chestnut. Just a steaming hot mess of human being but considering all that he's gotta be pretty talented since I was still able to enjoy his character in the movie.

I wouldn't be expecting a sequel though. Oh yeah, Michael Shannon was predictably good also, though not utilized all that much.

Ok so for me the Grant Gustin will always be my live action Flash. So Ezra Miller took some getting used to. But by the end of the movie he had grown on me enough that I could appreciate his version of the Flash. I enjoyed the movie ultimately but I think that overall enjoyment was greatly subsidized by getting to see Michael Keaton as Batman again. Overall, I think it's a good movie that was let down a fair bit by the CGI used throughout. It's just a shame that when the subject matter of the movie is the Flash it's going to be very CGI dependant. Ultimately I can imagine that there some talented and passionate CGI artists out there who did their best despite having their wings clipped by management.