The fastest man on earth has taken a long time to arrive on the big screen.
In the almost nine years since Ezra Miller was cast as Barry Allen and his Scarlet Speedster alter ego, DC’s Extended Universe has imploded, with James Gunn now drafted in to reboot following multiple crises.
It’s an eerily similar comics parallel with The Flash, the character who is both the architect of the print and, in this instance, cinematic world-resetting events. What may be a well told story at this point is still an effective one. Upon discovering the speed force and the ability to travel back in time, Barry Allen does so to prevent his mother’s murder and free his imprisoned father but not without untold consequences that ripple through time.
This sets up an inventive, propulsive first half of film that gets sadly bogged down with DC star-stuffing and fan service to the point of absurdity. One ridiculous cameo will mean so little to so many but got a resounding applause in the fanboy packed screening I attended.
The strong first act sees the B-tier Justice Leaguer called upon by Alfred (a returning Jeremy Irons) to assist with a collapsing hospital (Superman, Wonder Women and Aquaman were initially preoccupied). It’s a fun sequence that allows both Ezra Miller and director Andy Muschietti to establish the breezy tone and vibrant visual template, which is more along the lines of Fox’s Quicksilver than the MCU’s.
The bulk of the story unsurprisingly takes place in the past, and it’s here that Miller pulls double duty as both ‘present day’ Barry and a younger, college-bro version of himself. It’s a difficult acting and technical task that’s usually reserved for comedies from the likes of Eddie Murphy and Mike Myers. Miller however is fantastic in both parts, infusing each with humour and giving them individual emotional journeys. Muschietti blends the two performances seamlessly and keeps the action differentiated, with Barry junior fashioning a discount homemade suit and outlined in blue lightening when battling.
Michael Shannon returns as a one-note General Zod, relegated to a plot device rather than a fully-fledged foe. The threat he possesses though is palpable and displayed on newsreel and a flashback that puts a newly powered Barry at the centre of the Metropolis destruction and grounds the emotional stakes.
More prominently is Michael Keaton’s Batman in a full circle turn that’s saw him embrace his superhero roots from the self-aware Birdman to becoming a villainous clog in the MCU and Sony-verse machinery as Vulture. It’s an unsurprisingly charismatic appearance that will delight the original class of big-screen superhero fans and his dialogue knowingly leans into that, with call-backs and air punching quips to Keaton and the film's detriment.
An initial scepticism leads to a team up in true comic book form. Sasha Calle’s Supergirl is the weak link in that trio (quadrant?), as her character development plays out in super speed. Also given short shrift is Iris West, though Keirsey Clemons has an easy chemistry with Miller. Barry’s friends Patty Spivot (Derry Girls breakout Saoirse-Monica Jackson) and Albert Desmon (Rudy Mancuso) are given one good scene.
It’s fitting then that the DCEU narrative is ending (aside from the likely self-contained Blue Beetle and Aquqman sequel) in a film that highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the prior entries. Miller, like Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot and Jason Momoa, is brilliant casting and they likewise give a brilliant performance that surpasses the story they’re in. Behind the lens, Muschietti like Snyder, James Wan and Patty Jenkins knows how to deliver a blockbuster.
But these are performances that are thrown in the DCEU blender, alongside aimless world building, underdeveloped side players, and egregious fan pandering. The result is a sugary milkshake that leaves you feeling initially pleased but later slightly nauseous.
A worthy big-screen solo debut for The Flash, anchored by two super performances from Ezra Miller, a charming but unsubtle Michael Keaton reprisal and a solid story that’s let down by a messy third act cameo-fest.
[⭐⭐⭐]