"I've seen it three times. It's the best superhero movie I've ever seen." - David Zaslav, Warner Bros. CEO
"I will say here that Flash is probably one of the greatest superhero movies ever made." - James Gunn, DC Studios co-CEO
Talk about high praise, eh? Since The Flash was first screened at CinemaCon in April, Warner Bros. has attempted to create the narrative of it being a shining example of the very best this genre has to offer. Opinions are, of course, subjective, and someone's least favourite superhero movie may well be another person's all-time favourite. That's just the way it goes.
To say these comments don't feel entirely genuine doesn't seem unfair, though, and many have already ridiculed two studio executives for trying to sell a blatantly troubled movie by telling audiences it's actually the best one ever. Gunn, in fairness, does seem mightily impressed, something that's evident from his decision to tap Andy Muschietti as The Brave and the Bold's director.
Chances are The Flash will just be a movie that divides opinion; on this site alone, you'll have seen a glowing 4* review for the film and another 2.5* verdict that really wasn't quite so kind. Both, however, agreed it's not "one of the greatest superhero movies ever made."
As we write this, The Flash has 66% on Rotten Tomatoes. The score is likely to continue fluctuating over the next two or three days, but love or hate the review aggregator, it does make a big difference to a movie's opening weekend.
The site recently shared a list of the 87 best superhero movies of all time according to the critical response they received. At #1 is another Multiversal adventure, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse with 97%. Right behind is The Incredibles, the 2004 Pixar movie - that's not based on a Marvel or DC comic book - with 97%.
In terms of the highest-rated MCU titles, you're looking at Black Panther (96%) and Avengers: Endgame (94%). Logan takes the crown for the now-Disney-owned 20th Century Fox with 94%, while critics have chosen The Dark Knight (94%) and Superman: The Movie (94%) as the best DC Comics has to offer. Oh, and the highest-rated DCEU titles? Wonder Woman (93%) with Shazam! and Gunn's own The Suicide Squad right behind it at 90%.
Looking at both the critical response and the fact all but a couple of those are genuine classics, we can surely agree they're the best this genre has to offer, right? According to Zaslav and Gunn, though, The Flash is right there alongside them.
That's interesting, especially when with 66%, it would fall in the bottom 10 places of this list, sitting alongside the likes of The Incredible Hulk and Thor: The Dark World.
So, from a purely critical standpoint, no, The Flash is not the greatest superhero ever made. The two executives may well believe it is, as will plenty of you (and that's okay!), but this disastrous marketing decision shows just how dangerous it can be to build expectations to a certain point only to fail to deliver on them.
Ultimately, the box office will matter more than a Rotten Tomatoes score, but make no mistake about it; 95% and a "Certified Fresh" badge would have made a huge difference this weekend, especially after years of delays and the continued controversy surrounding star Ezra Miller.
Plus, when you have people heading into theaters expecting what Zaslav and Gunn have promised, only to get something else entirely, word of mouth will inevitably suffer, something we've seen kill many blockbusters when that all-important second weekend rolls around...