‘The Flash’ might not be the best film to emerge thus far from the DC Universe, but you’d be hard pressed to find any previous offering that tries harder than this one.
Of course, I’m not going to get very far into this without acknowledging the coolest aspect of ‘The Flash’, and that is the return of Michael Keaton’s Batman. How is this even possible, you ask? Simple. The ‘easy button’ of comic book cinema, and suddenly very utilized, the multiverse. Y’know, the same concept that allows three Spider-Man’s from different era’s to hang out in one spot? Yeah, that’s the one. ‘The Flash’ employs this idea brilliantly, not only to throw a treat like Keaton’s caped crusader our way, but to gift the audience’s thirst for nostalgia a heartfelt and ambitious tap. But more on that later..
Ezra Miller, an actor who has, let’s just say, hit some rough waters off camera, returns as the titular hero, and to give credit where credit is due…..he’s good. This character has largely been comic relief thus far in the DC neighbourhood, and Miller is tasked with a challenge in the speedster’s first solo project; play two versions of the same character. And again, he’s good.
In ‘The Flash’, we find the Flash’s alter-ego, Barry Allen, shuffling through his career as an oft-disregarded forensic scientist in Central City, occasionally bolting from work (literally) to, as he puts it, help clean up bat messes. Coincidentally, the film opens with the Flash assisting Batman (The Ben Affleck version, not the Keaton edition) in a Gotham heist gone wrong, only while Batman gets the glory of nabbing the bad guys, Flash is relegated to saving patients from a crumbling hospital, the aftermath of the botched crime job. Without a doubt, it’s a rousing and very funny sequence to kick off the show.
Unfortunately, our hero isn’t laughing. On the eve of the trial of his imprisoned father (Ron Livingston), wrongfully accused of killing his wife, Barry’s mother, Flash discovers that if he runs fast enough, he can break through time. And despite warnings from his buddy Batman (again, the Affleck one, not the Keaton one just yet), Barry speeds back to a moment in his past and makes one tiny revision to history that will, conceivably, save his Mom and keep his Dad out of jail. But as Doc Brown always cautioned (and, to only increase the cool factor, the team DOES give multiple nods to ‘Back To The Future’ in this movie), messing with time can be disastrous. And Flash finds out just how much.
Instead of a quick fix, Barry is launched into another dimension where his 18-year old self (also played by Miller) has not yet received his super speed powers, Superman, Aqua Man and other Justice League members don’t seem to exist, and evil Kryptonian General Zod (Michael Shannon) is back to destroy the earth, the same mission he was on in ‘Man Of Steel’. Thank goodness the world’s greatest detective, Batman, is in the phone book. Only it ain’t Affleck, it’s Michael Keaton, and he’s old, tired and would rather sit around his mansion eating spaghetti than get out the dusty bat suit to assist. Well, at least at FIRST….
The return to Wayne Manor and Tim Burton’s vision of the Bat Cave is a serious rush. The implementation of Danny Elfman’s Batman score only adds to the goose bumps. But if that isn’t enough, the home stretch of ‘The Flash’ delivers the ultimate nod to die hard followers of the DC Universe. It’s seriously worth the price of admission. Not that you weren’t getting your money’s worth up until that point.
Oh, and did I mention Supergirl (Sasha Calle) is in this?? Like I said, it might not be overly brilliant….but dang, does ‘The Flash’ try hard to get there.