The Flash stood every chance of being a great comic book movie. After Zack Snyder's divisive approach to the Scarlet Speedster, filmmaker Andy Muschietti looked set to get the hero back on track and team him up with Michael Keaton's iconic Batman.
Unfortunately, the movie didn't work. Whether it was Ezra Miller's personal issues overshadowing the character, his zany performance/s, or a lot of bad CGI, The Flash failed to strike a chord with audiences. Even after decent reviews, it flopped with $271 million worldwide.
While it would be incorrect to say The Flash movie was in the shadow of The CW's The Flash, there was an awful lot that TV show did better than Warner Bros.' big screen effort.
After playing Reverse-Flash and a multitude of different characters during his stint working on the series, Tom Cavanagh knows his stuff when it comes to the Fastest Man Alive (don't forget that he also directed multiple episodes).
Talking at Fan Expo Portland (via Screen Rant), he shared his honest review of The Flash movie...
"I saw it! A) I did see it, B) I liked it! Here's what I think...I know they had all sorts of things, off-camera issues, and stuff going on. They do a remarkable job - the first half of that movie, in my opinion, and as somebody who's protective of Grant Gustin as The Flash, I thought they were so very winning... They played him like they took the IQ level down and I thought that was good. No, but they did it purposely, and I think that's going to make The Flash more innocent and different. Good call!"
"Because you don't want to repeat what a guy did for a decade on television. When Keaton shows up - spoiler alert! - you're like, "Holy c--p!" It's so funny if you look at The Flash DVD cover, what's on it? Batman, which tells you a little bit of something. Then the end of it, it's a massive digital thing. That's not always easy to accomplish, but if you watch the first half of that movie, and you watch its genesis story, it was a little slightly different than ours and I thought it was extremely well done."
"I remember talking to Geoff Johns about this, he's DC, and Marvel's kicking ass, I'm like 'What do you think about their success?' and he's like, 'What's good for comic books is good for all of us.' And I sort of feel that way."
There was some unhappiness that The Flash didn't acknowledge the TV show, particularly as it was a Multiversal story. Still, it's refreshing to hear this level of positivity from Cavanagh; Arrow star Stephen Amell, for example, has never shied away from sharing his displeasure with how Warner Bros. treated the Arrowverse.
You can hear more from the Reverse-Flash actor in the video below.
Worlds collide in The Flash when Barry uses his superpowers to travel back in time in order to change the events of the past. But when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, Barry becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation, and there are no Super Heroes to turn to.
That is, unless Barry can coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian...albeit not the one he's looking for. Ultimately, to save the world that he is in and return to the future that he knows, Barry's only hope is to race for his life. But will making the ultimate sacrifice be enough to reset the universe?
The movie stars Ezra Miller, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdu, Kiersey Clemons, Antje Traue, and Michael Keaton.
The Flash is now available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, Digital, and can be found streaming on Max.