Year of Release: 2023
Director: Andy Muschietti
Starring: Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Maribel Verdu, Sasha Calle, Ron Livingston, Michael Shannon, Jeremy Irons, Ben Affleck, Kiersey Clemons, Temuera Morrison, Antje Traue, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Rudy Mancuso, Sean Rogers, George Clooney, Nicolas Cage, Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot
Genre: Action, Adventure
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
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Synopsis and Review
After directing the successful two parter adaptation of Stephen King's "It", director Andy Muschietti has returned with the long gestating solo film focused on the Flash character, which has made appearances in the Batman and Justice League films directed by Zack Snyder. This time around the narrative focuses on Barry Allen's discovery that with his speed, he can actually travel back in time and change the outcome of events that took place. Barry is focused in particular in changing the outcome of his mother's death, and the wrong imprisonment of his father. Though Bruce Wayne warns him of the possible unexpected consequences that can stem from changing the past, Barry decides to do so, and effectively does change the outcome of what happened with his mom. However as he navigates through time, he gets derailed by another opposing force, which drops him in a reality and on the day where he is meant to have the accident which transforms him into the Flash. As he contends with a younger and enthusiastic version of himself, he has to take that version of him to the crime lab where he was interning, so the accident that turned him into the Flash can happen again. He does manage to do so, but in the process loses his powers. The Barries suddenly become aware that in that period in time General Zod has invaded Earth and is looking for a Krypton survivor who has the genetic code of that race. They seek out the help of Bruce Wayne/Batman, though the original Barry suddenly realizes this Batman is quite different than the one he knows. It's up to them to convince Batman to help them locate the Krypton survivor, and try to defeat Zod's forces.
Andy Muschietti's films thus far have had a common thread where its central heroes find themselves in situations where they're not ready to tackle the challenges that are forced upon them, but have to come to terms with their own selfishness and fears, and overcome them in order to save themselves and what they cherish the most. That was the case with Jessica Chastain's character in "Mama" and the kids and their adult counterparts in "It": insurmountable odds that are vanquished by these unexpected heroes. The same happens once more with "The Flash", where Barry's good intentions are thwarted by unexpected consequences of his actions, which noble as they may be, don't account for the implications it has for everyone else in these multiple realities. The film smartly tackles the topic of time travel with humor and levity, bringing together the multiple versions of the Flash in a way that plays them both as the odd couple, with one brimming with enthusiasm and joy, versus the older version who is more dour and focused. The film also succeeds in the marriage of the nostalgia factor of bringing Michael Keaton's rendition of Batman with the notion of creating a time and space for what happened to that character since we last witnessed it onscreen. This part of the narrative of the film allows for that particular interpretation of the Batman character to continue in a way that feels like an organic continuation of what Michael Keaton did in the Tim Burton films of the late 80s and early 90s. The central characters are given enough bandwidth to exist beyond typical clichés, though the supporting ones, including Barry's parents and even Sasha Calle's Supergirl, aren't given that much to do. There's still quite a bit to enjoy in this film in the sense that it plays with multiple realities and versions of these well known characters, and though at times Andy Muschietti almost falls prey to the lingering effects of Zack Snyder and his third narrative arcs filled with empty visual and bombastic noise, he manages to restrain himself to allow for some of these characters to have a bit of some humanity to them. It's a film that does try to go in many directions, and though not all threads and characters are properly tackled, it still manages to create a fairly watchable and entertaining comic book film that does not fall prey to all the typical clichés and formulas. The cast manages to keep the film engagingly entertaining, with Ezra Miller doing a great job tackling multiple roles, with great support from the alway fantastic Michael Keaton, and additional great work from Maribel Verdu, Ron Livingston and Michael Shannon. The production team is a bit all over the place, with great cinematography from Henry Braham and score from Benjamin Wallfisch, though the visual effects are at times not very polished (the 3D renderings of certain characters in particular, reminded me of "Matrix Reloaded" which came out 20 years ago). Entertaining.
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