Film review: The Flash

Well, it’s taken them literally years, but they’ve finally done it. After many many complete failures and near misses, the DC stable have managed to release a movie that’s a near match for a Marvel flick. I say “near” as in “almost, but not quite.”

The Flash is DC comics resident speeder. Following a lab accident involving lightning and shelf full of chemicals, our hero gains access the Speed Force: an extra dimensional energy field that allows him to move at superhuman speed.

The Flash

So how fast is he? Faster than Wonder Woman? Why, yes. Faster than Superman? Hell, yes. In fact (and, yes, I know it’s not an actual fact), he can run faster than the speed of light … and this is where the trouble starts. Young Barry (his real name is Barry Allen) discovers that when he breaks the light barrier, he can travel back through time. So, ignoring Bruce Wayne’s sage advice, Barry travels back to the day of his mother’s murder and tries to prevent it.

Okay, that’s enough spoilers from me. All you need to know is that this the best film from the DC line so far. The special effects aren’t that great, but they’re passable. (I much preferred the high speed effects from The Eternals). But that’s a very minor point, because what it lacked in visual effects, it more than made up for in plot and cameo appearances. They borrowed from multiverse storyline from the Spider-man: No Way Home playbook and brought us Batman from the Tim Burton era, with Michael Keaton reprising his role as the Dark Knight. But that’s not all; we had some hilarious slapstick moments from Ezra Miller as the Flash, who brought comedy and heart to the movie like nothing I’ve seen from DC movie since … well, I haven’t to be honest.

I just hope Miller gets a second outing.

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