Review by Nicholas Porteous for Mr. Will Wong
The Justice League–DC‘s answer to The Avengers--has had its share of trouble getting off the ground with some successes, but patience is a virtue. So here we are. The Flash has found its way into theatres, and Ezra Miller‘s moment has arrived. And of course, Michael Keaton is back as classic 1989 Batman! You thought he returned in Batman Returns?? Well, you’re not wrong, but he returns here too and if anything there’s that!
We join Barry Allen right where we left them at the end of The Justice League–their dad’s in jail for the murder of their mom (he didn’t do it!), and they’re the goofiest and arguably least-respected member of their superhero squad. Batffleck doesn’t want to hang out and he can’t even be bothered to come up with an excuse. In short, their life’s a total mess. The ONE thing Barry has going for them is they can run so fast, they seem to have discovered a form of time travel. Do you see where this is going? Barry‘s going to fix their present by diving into their past. But it’s never that easy. Changing one mistake has a lot of unintended consequences, and when their trip back to the present is interrupted by a mysterious force–locking them into an alternate timeline–they must join forces with their obnoxious 18-year-old self to restore the universe to its original state without destroying everything in the process. Also, Zod’s back to lay waste to the planet and Superman is MIA!
Now we have the delicious context for this extremely specific contribution to the DCEU and the question remains–is it any good? The answer, much like everything leading up to this sentence, is complicated. If you found Ezra Miller more awkward than hilarious in The Justice League, I don’t think you’re going to shake that feeling, but a decent chunk of Barry’s jokes land this time around. As difficult as it is to root for Miller with all their offscreen baggage, this multiverse time travel conundrum of Barry Allen‘s is a compelling obstacle at the movie’s core, though it may not have the most satisfying resolution. If you wanted a Keaton-Batman encore, this is a rousing one. Supergirl shines! This is a ‘throw-everything-at-the-wall’ kind of movie, and even though half of the things being thrown are utter nonsense–there’s a laundry list of hyper-convenient beats that only happen because they need to, and most of the story’s internal logic and motivation unravel in the final act–The Flash somehow manages to loop all the way back around, through all its messiness, absurd set pieces, endless cameos, unhinged narrative decisions, and into an entertaining, one-of-a-kind ride. Abandon all hope that this Movie will do anything to elevate the genre, imagine it more as an extravagant demolition, and I think you’ll mostly enjoy The Flash!
Warner Bros. Pictures Canada release THE FLASH June 16, 2023.
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