The Flash (2023)


Although technically Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was the last of the pre-James Gunn D.C. Cinematic Universe, The Flash is where things came to an end.  Both films suffered fan apathy as by this point everyone knew that the original DCCU run was finished.  The Snyderverse was dead, none of the myriad plot lines that directors were dreaming up were ever going to take shape and the nearly completed Batgirl was cancelled and used as a tax write-off.  Not to mention Ezra Miller, the star of The Flash, spent a good run up to the release of the film as a wanted fugitive that seemed to be expressing their inner Joker.

With actors getting cancelled left and right there was pressure to replace them and the entire movie remade or written off.  Only a few things seemed to prevent that.  The main one is that Warner Bros. definitely didn't want to dump any more money into this project.  Another is that Miller uses "they/them" pronouns, which throws them into the fringes of the LGBT community.  In Hollywood that gives some level of immunity as long as one doesn't become a full-on predator like Kevin Spacey or Bryan Singer.  The main thing that kept this from disappearing into the ether, however, was the return of one of the most popular versions of Batman.

Barry Allen (Miller) typically finds himself being a second-string member of the Justice League, often called by Alfred (Jeremy Irons) to assist other heroes such as Batman (Ben Afleck) when the need arises.  In his personal life he is looking for a way to absolve his father (Ron Livingston), who has been accused of his mother Nora's (Maribel Verdú) murder.  While trying to run off his frustration Allen finds that he can run faster than the speed of light, thus allowing him to travel back in time, which he decides to do in an effort to save his mother's life.

Instead, he ends up in a parallel universe, where he meets a slightly younger version of himself.  At first not understanding what is going on he arranges for this version of him to get his powers and, in the process, loses his.  The timing is unfortunate as General Zod (Michael Shannon) arrives and begins terraforming the planet while searching for a Kryptonian whom Allen believes is Superman.  In order to find Superman he enlists the help of Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton), who turns out to be an older version of Batman.  The one they rescue, however, is not Kal-El, but Kara Zor-El (Sasha Calle), who arrived on Earth instead and was held prisoner by the Soviet Union.  Filled with rage, both at Zod and the human race, she becomes a reluctant ally.  However, events may be too much for the two Barrys to handle. 

Michael Keaton, to great controversy at the time, was cast as Batman in Tim Burton's 1989 adaptation.  Before that it had been Adam West in the campy 1960s television version.  It turned out that Keaton was a great choice, and it was a pity he only got to do Batman and Batman Returns.  After that the role went to George Clooney and Val Kilmer and the movies went quickly downhill, resulting in a proposed Superman movie directed by Tim Burton and starring Nicolas Cage never seeing the light of day.  I make mention of this as director Andy Muschietti, working with an incomprehensible number of writers and scripts over the nearly decade-long attempt to bring a Flash movie to fruition, decided to not only reference Burton's Batman but pretty much every iteration of Batman and Superman they could get rights to.  

This would be wonderful and heartwarming in a way if only for one major problem.  Other than the return of Michael Keaton, in which he pretty much becomes the most interesting character in the whole film, The Flash is now known for its horrible special effects.  I am sure that Warner Bros. left many of them unfinished, but it was the effects that ultimately undercut all the good that Muschietti did in adapting It.  They are horrible from the beginning and they only get worse as things go on.

General Zod returns, but he is not the main villain.  There is a villain of sorts that shows up at the end and admits somewhat to manipulating things, but in the scope of the film there never is a true adversary that shows up to challenge any of the heroes.  There is a big battle between Kara and Zod, while Batman gets to go back into action to help defend Earth, but this time around no one even bothered giving us someone to hate.  

In the end that is the movie in a nutshell.  Keaton does what he can as there was originally going to be an entire series of movies bringing his version of Bruce Wayne back, but for the most part Warner Bros. couldn't be bothered to promote the film, it feels like Andy Muschietti phoned the whole thing in and there was never any reason for audiences to get invested in it.  It is an example of what happens when a franchise is disowned by its creators.

The Flash (2023)
Time: 144 minutes
Starring: Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon
Director: Andy Muschietti

 

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