Well yes. Already in the title I put a couple of spoilers, if they can be called that: time travel and different universes Surprise? Not at all, right? Well, let’s go with the criticism, without spoilers, of Flash (The Flash, 2023).
Y this is the main problem of flash, the latest film in the DC Cinematic Universe, which comes as no surprise (beyond some fun and interesting winks). The movie is a mixture of good ideas with others too crazy, of dramatic tension well carried with childlike humor, magnificent visual effects along with others… let’s say debatable. But the final result is entertaining and more than acceptable.
Worlds collide in “The Flash” when Barry uses his superpowers to travel through time and change events in the past. Barry tries to save his family but unknowingly alters the future. and is trapped in a reality where General Zod has returned and threatens annihilation, but where there are no Super Heroes to turn to.
Ultimately, in order to save the world he finds himself in and return to the future he knows, Barry’s only hope is to fight to stay alive.. But will this latest sacrifice be enough to restart the universe?
Flash or the reboot of the DC Cinematic Universe
We all know the (external) problems Warner/DC movies have had. Now we have here what could be your salvation as a restart…. With permission from James Gunn, of course..
And this film is ideal to solve all problems. With Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert’s comic, Flashpoint (by the way, you have this comic available in a cheap edition in DC Pocket from ECC, I recommend it) in mind (only in mind), Barry travels through time and this will inevitably create one (or several) paradoxes that will have unexpected results for our protagonist. After all, Barry is a Back to the Future fan. And you know that time travel never goes wrong, right?
The fact is that we have before us an interesting action movie, well directed by Andy Muschietti (Mom, It), with a plot that, despite various paradoxes and doppelgangers, is not too intertwined (which plate of spaghetti) and is quite understandable.
No, Flash’s problem comes neither from the address nor from the interpretation of its absolute protagonist, Ezra Miller. No. The problem comes from several sides, both internal and external to the film.
As for the interns, we find ourselves with a story that is too hackneyed. Although the script (by Christina Hodson and Joby Harold) is coherent, it is full of overly predictable acts. The main “surprises” lack interest precisely because they do not surprise (except for a cameo that will make more than one smile), they are “telegraphed” from minute one and it could almost be said that they are somewhat artificial, with the sole (and excessively visible) objective of shocking fans (among which I hallo) in the purest fan-service style, but without real value in the plot or in the narration.
Another problem (internal, let’s remember) are the “guest characters”. If you haven’t wanted to see the trailer or the names on IMDB, I’ll try not to name them here, although I find it difficult that you haven’t seen any photos.
The “guests” to this play (I’m talking about the two main ones, not the cameos) they are charismatic and well written… but they are completely expendable in the plot (despite the inescapable fate of one of them). Let’s say they “passed by” and little else. I understand (because I’m still a fan) that we can enjoy the presence of the two Flash companions, but if you look at it coldly, you’ll surely agree with me. They are not excessive, they do not bother at all, but they are certainly not necessary for the development of the story.
However, what is well done is that by bringing one of these two fellow superheroes from the past (from one of the past), They have managed to rewrite it and give it a new character that, although it matches the one we already knew, is a fresh character and not simply a carbon copy of the one we saw years ago.
The other companion has much less screen time and is so well written that we see how his character develops in just a few minutesin a masterful way that many others already wanted.
And, of course, I must return to Flash, to Ezra Miller. Outside of his behavior in real life, on screen he is a great professional. Here, having to play two Barry Allen allows him to show his acting skills and his two versions of the character are absolutely believablewith clear nuances in both his physical performance and his tone of voice.
At first, the “other” Barry is a parody. Due to his tics, his body language and his way of being, he is very reminiscent of Jerry Lewis, but soon this character evolves and matures in a coherent way (although too visible), Without a doubt, Ezra Miller is the best of the movieand the best scenes are in which we have the interaction of the two Barry, even forgetting that it is the same actor.
Little to say about the secondary ones except that they take advantage of the fact that the mother is played by a Spanish actress (Maribel Verdú) to highlight Barry’s Hispanic sideemphasized with some expressions in Spanish and with a few songs in our language.
And the multiverse? Well, not as “multi” as it should be and, of course, it suffers from some visual effects that, although I think they are deficient due to the director’s will (this is my opinion), the truth is that it “takes us” out of the film, when it would have been so easy as using stock images (in most cases) or striving to improve technical results (again, I believe this “deficiency” has been premeditated).
yes, they are small windows to what we could see (or have seen) in the DC Universe on screen (it will be for characters and plots in DC!). But there are other films, even very recent ones, that have been able to take better advantage of the concept of the multiverse.
In summary, it is a film that stays in the middle zone, temperate, with several very interesting aspects and some others that lower the note. It is enjoyable despite its duration (2 hours and 24 minutes… more a post credits scene) and we’ll have an entertaining time, squinting at some visual effects but ultimately enjoying it. And with a certain feeling of nostalgia for what could have been and (surely) will not be.
