The Flash

Now, onto everyone's least favorite part of the Justice League movie, The Flash. A movie that has spent over ten years in production hell combined with a star whose actions were unfathomably unproper combined with plot beats from Flashpoint and Batman Beyond. This movie was bound to not do well, but I surprisingly enjoyed a few things at least. That being said, not as much as others would think.

PLOT: Good... until it isn't.

The movie has a surprisingly strong first and second act with a wonderful ending that leaves the audience in a state of shock and dismay at what you might have just watched. However, the third act is rushed, bloated, and messy. The first two acts are held up by strong plot progression showing us how Barry cannot change the past and why he shouldn't, building up to the third act. However, where the film begins to mess up is with the inclusion of evil Flash and General Zod. The villains aren't done well and honestly grind a great story to a halt as the CGI clusterfuck of a battle ruins any emotion the movie had. I won't even mention the cameos yet.

CHARACTERS: The emotional core of the story.

Surprisingly, I really got into the Flash as a character. He's just a kid who wants to help his father get out of jail and at points bring his mother back. But, in doing so, he screws up everything and has to reset it. Younger Flash feels genuine in his attempts to save everyone and bounces off Older Flash brilliantly. Michael Keaton and Sasha Calle shine as Batman and Supergirl, both delivering stellar performances that bounce off the eccentric Flashes brilliantly. While Zod and Big Bad Flash are weak and don't do much for the story, interesting side characters/cameos from Affleck's Batman and his group of friends make the world feel that much more lived in and give Older Flash the needed guidance only Affleck could deliver. It's good stuff.

SHOTS: Uhhhhh...

Now the REALLY bad parts of this. There are some beautiful shots that absolutely go hard in this movie. However, where this REALLY suffers is in the cameos and certain shots out of context. There's a shot at the beginning involving a microwave that is very VERY unfortunate. But, that's not where it ends. While the distorted uncanny valley faces are quite interesting when they're portraying past events, the minute we get into CGI Christopher Reeve is when I checked out. Despite it being so cool to see Nicholas freaking Cage as Superman in the infamous Superman Lives premise from Tim Burton's cancelled film, the visuals become abhorrent and distracting in their disrespect to actors living and dead. It hurts a mostly good film that really needed a strong third act to conclude things.

SOUND: Really great.

Benjamin Wallfisch already earned my respect with Mortal Kombat back in 2021 and being the only good thing about the crappy Hellboy reboot in 2019. Here, he solidifies his unique soundtrack design and callbacks to former tracks. Additionally, sound design on the Speed Force as well as Flash's fast movement is fantastic. I really love it.

WRITING: Good... until it isn't...

The writing is stellar up until the third act when things become even more convoluted than before. I already understood most of it, but this movie tries to throw twists with no real effort or build-up and feels convoluted even at points where things should be far simpler. It would be a better movie if it just focused on one Ezra at a time, aka the older one.

CONS: Good... until it isn't... wait a second...

The biggest problem this movie faces is its incredibly sloppy third act combined with the writing choices in that act and its attempts to save face with the ending. While I really appreciate the ending and even got a little teary as Ezra said goodbye to his mother, it's too little too late for me.

LITTLE THINGS:

I will always respect throwbacks and homages that are tastefully calling back to the original properties. The ability to acknowledge Zack Snyder's Justice League is a good call, but the way they pay homage to Michael Keaton's Batman is by far one of the film's highlights. Shots like the Batwing forming a silhouette against the moon are exceptionally well-done. The shots that aren't bloated by bad CGI can actually be quite strong usually.

VERDICT:

I have avoided one point this whole time and that was Ezra Miller. As much as I disdain them and hope they aren't back in the future, I can appreciate that this was clearly an effort of love and care for all parties involved. With some stellar elements and solid character work for the first two parts, I'd say watch it to be honest. If you don't vibe with those, then this just isn't the movie for you. That being said, I kinda wish I could say I wanted more, but I don't. The Flash should be the end of the DCEU as we move into the James Gunn era of DC, hopefully a turn for the better.

SCORE: 6/10