From the opening title scene of the titular speedster zipping by the old school Warner Brothers and DC logos, to the overblown and overstuffed finale, The Flash is a blast. The opening sequence where The Flash (Ezra Miller) comes to Gotham City to back up Batman (Ben Affleck) is simply awesome, and the scene where he uses his super-speed to save an entire NICU ward from a collapsing hospital while simultaneously eating breakfast has a fun tinge of Buster Keaton-style humor. This stretch of the movie culminates with a fun mini-Justice League reunion, which is nice, seeing how this is probably the last time we’ll see them on screen together.
The plot is busy, but breezy. The Flash discovers if he runs fast enough, he can go back in time. He decides to use the power to go back and save his mother from being murdered. Naturally, he saves her but winds up screwing up the space time continuum in the process.
Despite his offscreen antics, Miller is terrific in this, especially during the scenes where he plays off of a younger version of himself. Some of his scenes together are hilarious, like when The Flash 2.0 gains his powers and immediately abuses them. Other humorous touches (like the Back to the Future references) offer up big laughs as well.
Oh, and let’s talk about how good it is to see Michael Keaton as Batman again. He never received a proper trilogy, and we were swindled out of seeing him in The Batgirl movie, so this is likely his swan song as the character, and he doesn’t disappoint. Sure, a lot of the time the script is trading on our nostalgia for the character, but honestly, I have to say it was a fair trade.
The main flaw is that the finale is a bit too chaotic and overblown. While the brief glimpses of the Multiverse versions of your favorite DC characters are fun, they don’t really amount to anything more than fan service (and most are rendered with chintzy CGI). At least the final stinger is good for a laugh.
Sure, it may have a few missteps down the homestretch, but The Flash is still in the running as one of the best comic book movies of the year.
DC EXTENDED UNIVERSE RANKING:
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: ****
Man of Steel: ****
The Flash: *** ½
Aquaman: *** ½
Wonder Woman: *** ½
Justice League: *** ½
Shazam!: ***
Suicide Squad: ***
The Suicide Squad: ** ½
Black Adam: **
Shazam! Fury of the Gods: **
WW84: * ½
Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn): * ½
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