The Flash

I was hesitant about watching this film. DC has always left me a bit skeptical, although my doubts are slowly fading with each new release. Plus, Ezra Miller, who’s not exactly Hollywood’s most beloved face, plays the lead. But I was wrong. DC is rising from the ashes and might just be digging Marvel's grave. Flash turns out to be an incredibly enjoyable, laid-back movie that truly earns its blockbuster status. Despite his controversies, Miller delivers a surprisingly likable performance in a dual role. The film is packed with fantastic references to various parallel dimensions that will thrill any fan, especially with the return of Michael Keaton. Overall, this movie is an unexpectedly good superhero adventure with the classic time paradox theme, making it even more delightful if you didn't see it coming. It certainly delighted me. (07/09/2023)

A film that ultimately didn't take as big a bite as I feared, it isn't only waiting for the Batmen and all the possible cameos to show up. It’s a truly good and, more importantly, fun Flash story. Nothing profound, nothing I'd remember for a long time, but I guess that wasn't the point. It's "just a pity" that this film is actually of no use and that the studio itself had already killed it before releasing it by a series of decisions. (23/06/2023)

Visually, it often looks worse than excrement, the quality of the humour highly surpasses the bar of awkwardness already in the opening sequence with the babies and doesn't dip below it for the rest of the film, and Ezra Miller is the most annoying, sleazy superhero I can remember, and as if that wasn't enough, he's here twice. And perhaps because of this off-kilter combination of strange creative choices, I actually ended up enjoying it more than I ever dared to expect. I just can't see The Flash as being another rank-and-file comic book film, it feels more like a parody, like the Hot Shots comic-book adaptations (thanks to which it’s not a problem that it doesn't make much sense). God forbid that someone would follow it up in style to set a trend (which won't happen given the box office flop), but as a one-off, for me, it’s quite the guilty pleasure. (18/07/2023)

A Flash movie where Flash himself swears the fuck out can’t be that bad. The farewell to Snyder's world, full of winks and various mini-movies, shatters the multiverse and unfortunately leaves the worst thing in it: Ezra Miller. While his older version is quite passable, his younger drug-addled self is awfully annoying. Even his running style is terrible, and that’s why he’s at his best when he’s mentoring instead of running. Muschietti casts his spell, building the story around saving Flash’s mother. It works perfectly, and, despite the blatantly CGI time travel (of course it was on purpose, after all the pretense there was no money for anything better) the whole universe stuff works well, even if it doesn’t make sense and has lapses in logic – why does Kara speak English instead of Russian? The final clash is quite boring compared to the dynamic opening. The Batmen are all great, and Keaton is really enjoying his comeback. It's a solid popcorn flick that does have a few issues, but it's the fist DC movie I'm happy to watch again after a long time. The closing credits scene could theoretically help Aquaman a lot. PS: Sasha Calle is awesome and I hope we will see more of her on screen. (17/06/2023)

The Flash is a highly unorthodox superhero movie that defies standards and is so unpredictable plot that it won me over and I'm satisfied! The Flash, thanks to his ability to run faster than light, goes back in time to rescue his mother, but as it happens, everything goes wrong and he gets caught up in a different world. Most of the superheroes don't exist, Michael Keaton is Batman (nostalgia!!), we have Superwoman flying around, and we get a new Flash from the present day of that line. On the one hand, I initially remarked that even DC couldn't avoid the parallel multiverse idea, but in the end they played with this one very well and I enjoyed all those ideas, characters, cameos and changes. The first half of the film runs purely on the comedy side and it's in the second half that we get the bad guy, the action and the unexpectedly engaging multiverse and everything in it, right up until the final shot that suggests there's still more to watch in a sequel. The idea of "walking through walls" and going back in time are fine fleshing out of a "basic" character like the Flash and show that he's a far more important character to DC's version than he originally seemed, and when you add in the backstory reveal of how and when he got his powers, we have another superhero I definitely want to see on screen! Well in the end, a perfectly satisfactory enough popcorn movie, I'm not sure why everyone is hating on it like this. Oh, and the cameo by Nicolas Cage and George Clooney are great! For a director of three horror features, definitely a quality first film in the genre! (15/06/2023)