The Flash (2023) June 27, 2023

The world seems to have rejected one of the last remnants of the Snyderverse and officially deemed The Flash a box office bomb. With a 200-220 million USD budget, the film has apparently only grossed 265 million globally. 40 or so million dollars might not seem like a loss to you but rarely does a film’s budget include the marketing and advertising costs which could easily overshadow that slim margin. I’m far from a market expert but I did see The Flash which puts me in a different kind of educated minority, the kind who can and will pontificate.

I don’t know what’s wrong with you people. Maybe it’s Ezra Miller’s offscreen scandals, maybe you’re tired of giving DC movies more opportunities to dissapoint you, or maybe you’re too young. I wouldn’t fault anyone for skipping The Flash for those reasons but I’m a person who’s just the right age for the promise of Michael Keaton returning as Batman to overrule all other concerns.

Multiverses are the current big thing and The Flash was DC’s attempt to establish all former projects as canon a la Spider-Man: No Way Home. I’m assuming no one saw The Flash so here’s a courtesy SPOILER warning. The plot of The Flash concerns Barry Allen’s realization that he can run fast enough to travel through time and change the past. This is especially convenient and motivating for him because it means he can go back in time and save his mother before her murder, a crime for which his father is wrongly imprisoned. Barry is reasonably tempted to timetravel and save his parents but as with all tales about taking responsibility for your actions, there are consequences. Time gets disrupted all over the place and now in the timeline where Barry’s mom survives, Superman never makes it to earth and no one is around to stop Zod’s invasion from Man of Steel. Barry recruits an obnoxious younger version of himself, Michael Keaton’s Batman, and Superman’s cousin Supergirl to battle Zod and save the world.

The journey is more fun than the destination in this movie so I won’t spoil much more should you actually take a chance at happiness and see The Flash. Instead, I’ll hit you with the bullet points. There were many moments in The Flash when I thought it was jumping the shark without shark repellant, but every time I had that thought a few minutes later something would provide an explanation for my concern. I don’t know how they anticipated all those questions but I’m so grateful they took the time to answer them because so few movies seem to give a shit about justifying their premises or assertions. Sometimes a film will try to provide explanations that feel like oversimplifications or condescension, I never felt that way with The Flash.

At one point I worried that young Barry was too annoying and his performance hurt the film, until I accepted that he’s the Barry that went through the rapid responsibility acceleration brought on by the loss of both his parents and suddenly it seemed like his characterization was perfect. Obnoxious laugh and all. Once I made that acception I could fully enjoy Miller’s dual performance and appreciate it for the likely once-in-a-lifetime treat it was.

I enjoyed the cameos in The Flash, despite most of them being shoehorned in. Besides Michael Keaton’s Batman, there’s a big sequence where Barry can see many different timelines featuring Adam West, Christopher Reeve, and even the never produced Nicholas Cage as Superman. As a Kevin Smith fan the Nicholas Cage as Superman parts felt like a dream come true. I’ve heard some people argue these inclusions hurt the film, were in poor taste, or were cheap nostalgia bait. To that I say yes, probably, but who’s the victim here? Me? Thank you, sir may I have some more The Flash, please?

Overall The Flash was a well-written, well-performed, well-directed nostalgia fest that fit perfectly into what I wanted from a movie. It’s a real tragedy so few people gave it a chance. It is nice to know that despite the forthcoming Gunn-Verse wiping the DC slate mostly clean, The Flash happened and it was good even if it won’t have much effect on the further overarching storyline. But let’s be honest, the only thing lower than the bar for James Gunn’s DC universe is the public’s collective interest.