The Flash (2023)

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With the DC film universe going through some major shake-ups (to say the least) and changes over the past year, The Flash was always one of the films that I couldn’t wait to see but was unsure on how it would fare after these changes or would ever be released at that. Given the spotty track record of the DCEU, it seemed like it wouldn’t take much to trip up their speediest hero.

Thankfully despite the changes as well as star Ezra Miller’s string of personal troubles, the final product turned out to be a surprisingly fun and action-packed treat that longtime DC fans will want to speed to theaters to see.

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The story starts with Barry Allen/The Flash (Ezra Miller) helping out Batman (Ben Affleck) take down some bad guys, and then proceeds to work where he uses his forensic scientist skills for the police to study evidence and video footage to exonerate his dad Henry (Ron Livingston), who’s been languishing in prison after being found guilty for killing Barry’s mom Nora (Maribel Verdú).

After running faster than he normally does out of frustration of not being able to help his father, Barry gains access to a multiverse of sorts and decides to go back and save his mom from dying at all. At first things seem to be going ok, until he realizes the Barry in that timeline is still there and that lots of small things have changed, such as Eric Stoltz being the star of the Back to the Future films. It’s not the first BTTF reference, but still a fun gag.

The worst part is this timeline also doesn’t have any superheroes or metahumans in it, and without Superman in the picture, General Zod (Michael Shannon) has come to Earth to terraform it into another Krypton with no one to stop him. This leads Barry to help the version of himself in this new timeline to get his powers and become the Flash, but ends up losing his own in the process.

He also seeks out any of the heroes from his time, namely Bruce/Batman which he does find, only now is the famed 1989 Batman played once again by Michael Keaton, now a homeless-looking recluse in a dilapidated Wayne Manor. In what might be the simplest, yet engaging explanation of time travel and the metaverse since Back to the Future (wink) involving spaghetti, the two Barrys manage to talk Bruce out of his funk and help them track down Superman. Instead they find his cousin, Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl (Sasha Calle), locked underground in Russia.

With their mini Justice League team assembled, they all agree to take on Zod and stop him, while Barry hopes to find a way back to his timeline and fix everything before it gets worse. I’ve noticed a lot of negative reviews on this film, especially around its visuals and (no spoilers) choice of cameos, but I had a really good time with it. Perhaps it was because I went in with little to no expectations and was pleasantly surprised.

Is it a perfect comic book film? No. Does it finally nail depicting time travel in a believable fashion? Not by a long shot. But what it does nail is having fun with itself while delivering an action-packed and flashy (pun intended) comic book adventure to boot. I liked the goofy yet sometimes cringe humor, and seeing Michael Keaton as Batman again made me squeal in delight.

I also enjoyed how dark and emotional the film became at times, which was a nice plus outside the humor strung throughout the story. The cast was also great as Miller nails being the quirky and socially awkward Barry in both timelines, and there’s pretty amazing cameos from across the DC universe throughout the film I dare not spoil as you literally have to see it to believe it.

If you’re looking for a nice popcorn blockbuster to see at the theater, look no further than The Flash. It’s not Shakespeare, but it is a really fun, action-packed good time with the right flash of coolness we need right now at the movies. It’s also a great way to see off these characters as the DCEU (in its current incarnation) isn’t long for this world, or any other. After seeing this, I’m curious to see what director Andrés Muschietti does with his next DC film project, The Brave and the Bold.