Weekend Watch - The Flash
Welcome back to the Weekend Watch where each week we take a look at a new piece of film or television media and give it a rating, review, and recommendation. This week’s topic, as voted by the blog’s Instagram followers is The Flash, the latest offering (and last of the most recent iteration) from the DC cinematic universe. This film is the first to star Ezra Miller’s version of the speedster as its titular hero and also features Ben Affleck’s and Michael Keaton’s versions of Batman/Bruce Wayne alongside Michael Shannon reprising his villainous role of General Zod and the newcomer Sasha Calle playing Supergirl/Kara Zor-El. With an increasing amount of superhero fatigue around seemingly throwaway films and the coming reboot of the DC Universe with James Gunn and Peter Safran at the helm, the film has underperformed so far at the box office. Let’s get into it.
Letter Grade: C; this is a totally acceptable superhero film that you can see if you need to scratch that itch.
Should you Watch This Film? If you are firmly invested in seeing a Flash movie, I’m not sure when the next one will be coming on DC’s slate, so this might be your best choice. Otherwise, you can probably skip this and won’t be missing too much in the grand scheme of things – culturally and in the film universe.
Why?
The Flash offers audiences a film that, at this point, we’ve stopped asking for and only cared slightly about to begin with, doing a fine job of showcasing its characters and story but leaving everyone wondering why exactly it exists, particularly with its box office returns being as poor as they have been so far. It feels like a poorly informed cash grab in the vein of Morbius but with slightly better story, action, and characters. For a film that embraces the story of Zach Snyder’s Justice League, this film departs strongly from the vibes and vision of that drab, plodding superhero film. Instead, The Flash presents audiences with a brightly colored, poorly CGIed superhero action comedy with more unearned fan service than should be allowed in a single film.
Let’s talk highs first. As a standalone superhero comedy, The Flash works just fine. Ezra Miller has never really made it as a dramatic actor, so letting them go full manic comedy seems like the right choice for this film. It’s a film that never tries to be anything but itself, and for that I applaud them. The comedy hits most of the time even when it feels like a strong deviation from any superhero formula that we’ve yet seen. The jokes keep the whole film fairly light and keep the pace moving, rushing you through the film’s almost two-and-a-half-hour runtime at a pace that feels closer to an hour and forty-five minutes. Now, the levity does have one major drawback – it removes any feeling of drama and suspense that you might normally have given the situations unfolding onscreen. There’s so much humor that I never felt fully invested in any of the conflicts (that might also be because we know the universe is getting a reboot after this anyway) and the more emotional beats of the film only halfway landed.
Performance-wise, Ezra Miller does the best with what they’re given, leaning hard into the multiple Barrys thing and delivering well on the comedy. Are they the best iteration of Flash ever brought to screen? No way, but I found them enjoyable enough to keep the film watchable in their role. Ben Affleck’s limited screentime works out fine, as this might be his most phoned-in Batman/Bruce Wayne performance yet, understandably so with it being his last time in the role as far as anyone knows. Michael Keaton is a welcome addition to the cast, and his Bruce/Bat makes a lot of sense in the film, given its lighter (borderline campier) tones. He gets to do more than Affleck, and that’s not a bad thing. If anything, The Flash actually helps cement Keaton’s take on Batman as my second-favorite behind Robert Pattinson’s. (That’s not a statement about any of their films, just how I feel about their interpretations of the Caped Crusader.) Calle’s Supergirl and Shannon’s Zod feel almost more like throwaway plot points than actual characters, through no fault of the actors, more due to the writing, but they work in their roles. Obviously, Shannon is a great actor, and his Zod is probably the best villain from this saga of DC films. Calle does great in her action sequences but isn’t given much to do in terms of character work, so I’m curious to see whether she gets to come back in the new universe or not – it could be good.
The Flash is a bit of a mess narratively and tonally that works best when it’s not taking itself too seriously – not the worst superhero film of the year but nowhere near the best either. If you need that itch scratched or are just deeply committed to seeing Ezra Miller’s Flash on the big screen, this is the film for you. Otherwise, you can definitely skip its theatrical run and might even be okay avoiding it entirely. Tragically, in a world full of superhero universes, films that lack legitimate consequence within those universes end up being fairly skippable.
