'The Flash' wipes out at the theaters ... but is it good?
Although the first weekend proves a disappointment, there is light for this flashy tunnel
Ezra Miller bolts onto the big screen as Barry Allen, a.k.a. The Flash, in Warner Bros. Pictures’ action adventure 'The Flash.'
[Courtesy image | Warner Bros. Pictures, © DC Comics]
"The Flash" was troubled with production issues from the very start. It took almost 15 years to get this movie made: Several scrapped scripts, multiple director changes and the many civil and criminal allegations against lead performer Ezra Miller have put production in a tough spot. Even worse is that it bombed during its opening weekend (the estimated $220 million production only brought in $55 million in its earliest days), and critics are not happy with the final product.
So is it still worth watching? Surprisingly, yes! This film ended up with a more-than decent product that has fans and audiences overjoyed.
"The Flash" adapts one of the most famous D.C. comic book arcs of all time -- the Flashpoint storyline. After the events of "The Justice League" and the realization that Barry Allen's powers are capable of time travel, he sets off on a "Back to the Future"-like quest to save his mother from her untimely death, not realizing the huge ramifications his decision has on the multiverse.
Not only did he change his reality to a completely new one, he accidentally resurrects one of the D.C. Extended Universe most powerful and famous villains, General Zod. Now Barry has to race against time to prevent the apocalypse and try to save his parents from an uncertain future.
As a movie lover, I know that people make mistakes and I try to separate the art from the artist. Once I did that, Miller's performance in "The Flash" is excellent and solidifies them as a great adaption of Barry Allen. Not only do they have to play two different versions of the character, they also have to adapt one of the most difficult versions of Barry Allen as the movie goes in depth of the complicity of the character.
They are the standout performance of the movie and even though there are some supporting characters people may gravitate to rather than Barry, they still remind the audience that this movie is a Flash movie, through and through.
Micheal Keaton takes on the role of Bruce Wayne once again, playing an older version of the Tim Burton character from the '80s. He packs a powerful performance that serves up a lesson for Barry about the dangers of time travel and multiversal manipulation.
Sasha Calle ("The Young and the Restless) doesn't get much to do, but still proves herself a worthy Supergirl. She had me cheering in the theaters, fighting Zod for then first time. Supergirl is also the MacGuffin of the film as in this universe, she is the only one strong enough to defeat Zod.
As for some of the negatives, the bad press behind the movie weighed down my enjoyment of the film a bit. Some of Miller's alleged actions are unacceptable, and some of the CGI in then last acts of the movie is really wonky and uncanny. Some cameos are completely CGI, and it's very off-putting. I also thought the time travel scenes looked weird at first, but I grew to like them and the surprise-twist villain by the end of the film. Supergirl also doesn't get as much screen time as she deserves.
Overall, I think this movie is overly hated; I really enjoyed my time with it. Director Andy Mushietti pulled off the impossible and made what should have been a horrible movie into great one! I'd give "The Flash" an 8.5/10.
Carter Salley is a broadcast & cinematic arts major and host of the Central Michigan Life podcast "Raving Geeks
