No Surrender Cinema: The Flash
The Fastest Man Alive. The Scarlet Speedster. The star of this edition of No Surrender Cinema! Even if you don’t read comic books, you’d have to know that I’m talking about The Flash, the superhero with super-speed that has been a cornerstone of DC Comics for decades. This weekend, The Flash went from comics to cinemas worldwide when his self-titled film hit theaters, and yours truly spent Father’s Day taking in all of the superpowered action! How does The Flash compare to its predecessors in the superhero genre, and what implications did it have on the DC Extended Universe? Read on to find out!
(Don’t read too fast! Since this is a new film, this is my usual spoiler warning for those who don’t want things ruined for them. If you haven’t seen The Flash yet, you may not want to scroll any further!)
Inspired by the Flashpoint storyline that took place in the pages of DC Comics, The Flash film focuses on Barry Allen (Ezra Miller), aka The Flash, who despite being a part of the Justice League alongside heroes such as Batman and Wonder Woman, is somewhat lacking in the confidence department. After an opening sequence that sees The Flash called in to aid his fellow heroes in preventing a catastrophe, Barry’s focus turns to his father’s imprisonment, due to the fact that he was accused of murdering Barry’s mother. Barry’s grief pushes him to use his power to run back in time and prevent his mother from dying, an act which lands him in an alternate reality where he meets “himself”. The Barry of this Earth is much more immature and obnoxious, but Barry #1 still ensures that the lightning strike responsible for his Flash powers hits Barry #2, although it causes Barry #1 to lose his super-speed in the process.
While Barry #1 copes with the annoyance and stupidity of Barry #2, General Zod (Michael Shannon) is in the process of invading Earth. Since relying solely on Barry #2 probably isn’t the best idea, Barry #1 tries to round up his friends from the Justice League, only this Earth doesn’t have an Aquaman or a Superman, and Victor Stone isn’t a Cyborg. This forces the Barry’s to travel to Stately Wayne Manor over in Gotham City to talk to Bruce Wayne, but when they get their they find…The Dude? Everybody knows that Michael Keaton would be reprising his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman from the beloved 1989 film, but when he first shows up, he’s an unshaved, flip flop and cardigan wearing recluse. In this world Batman did his job so well that Gotham City is now one of the safest cities in all the world, leaving him with no purpose. During this encounter, Bruce explains that Barry’s time-traveling has caused various realities to branch off from the main universe, while the Barry’s are able to convince Bruce to don the suit once again in the scene that we’ve all seen play on TV 1000 times as part of the hype for this film’s release.
The trio band together in hopes that they’ll find Superman, but again, in something that was given away in the lead-up to The Flash‘s premiere, they find his cousin Kara instead. It’s not exactly smooth sailing for our heroes, but the soon to be Supergirl is saved and returns to Wayne Manor with her saviors. With the threat of Zod looming over them, Barry #1 is able to recreate his origin story with a little help from his friends, his powers are returned to him. With Barry #2 donning a makeshift Flash costume made out of Batman armor, the heroic quartet charge into battle against Zod’s forces, but despite their best efforts, Zod and his army manage to overwhelm them and claim a few casualties en route to victory.
Witnessing the deaths of his allies proves to be too much for Barry #2 to handle, and he tries to reset the timeline again and again and again, becoming more battle worn and insane with every new reset. This leads to the revelation of the Dark Flash, who has been spending years trying to undo the tragic events, evolving into a monstrous version of himself. Barry #1 and the Dark Flash battle each other as the multiverse shatters around them, but Barry #2 takes the Dark Flash’s deathblow, effectively erasing both of them from the timeline and allowing Barry #1 to reset things to the way they were once he comes to terms with the fact that some tragedies are necessary, no matter what universe they take place in.
I don’t think it’s divisive to say that the DC Extended Universe has been a huge letdown, and truthfully The Flash was not an exception to that rule. I hate saying that, because The Flash has been my favorite DC hero for as far back as I can remember; when the Kenner Super Powers action figures were all the rage in my childhood, The Flash was the first one I chose. I’ve got a collection of comics spanning the character’s evolution through the years. I love pretty much anything to do with The Flash, but I couldn’t even allow a little bit of bias to show here. This is a film that is loosely based on one of my favorite stories of the modern era, and it didn’t win me over. The Flash television show did a better job at using Flashpoint as inspiration for its plotlines over the years, not to mention that Grant Gustin (star of the CW show) was a WAY better Flash than Ezra Miller. Even if you separate the actor from his personal troubles, his portrayal of Barry (both the standard and alternate reality ones) is childish and grating. Barry Allen should not be as suave as Bruce Wayne, but Miller plays him (and I’m guessing the writers had a hand in the characterization as well) like the nerdy character in an 80’s comedy. He’s one step above Eddie Deezen.
Speaking of comedy, there were times watching this film where it felt like I was watching a parody of a superhero film. Babies go flying out of a collapsing hospital, and Barry uses his ability to move fast to eat food and take his sweet time? Using a microwave to catch a baby? Focusing on a falling dog, eyes bugging out and tongue wagging in slow motion? And this was the OPENING SCENE. You’re trying to set the mood for a film that is supposed to have consequences, and you start with this? I know many people knew going into this that the idea of using Flashpoint was to “reset” the cinematic universe that we’ve become familiar with these past few years, but any hope of going out in a blaze of glory ended up as a dumpster fire. This is a film that succeeded in two areas; action and nostalgia. The battle against Zod’s forces was fun, and the ensuing encounter with the Dark Flash inside the speed force was done well, but everything else that’s positive can be attributed to Michael Keaton’s appearance. This is a film sold on nostalgia, and Keaton isn’t the only piece of it either. At one point, as Barry is exposed to the various corners of the multiverse, we get a glimpse of many other heroes, including a few famous portrayals. I won’t spoil them all here (and some were already spoiled by the director himself), but it was a pretty cool (yet brief) part of the film that will pop diehard comics and superhero fans such as myself.
Should you run to the nearest theater to see The Flash like I did? If I were you, I’d save your energy and hold out for MAX or the physical media release. Keaton as Batman (which, let’s be honest, was a shameless bit of stunt-casting to draw the nostalgic crowd), the cameo appearances, and the action in the second half all entertained me, but for a film about The Flash, he was the least likable part of it. With the CW show now over I don’t know if there’s a push to bring Grant Gustin into the fold for any future Flash films, but whatever happens, I hope that Ezra Miller never gets near the famous red suit again. I don’t want Barry Allen to be a whimpering wuss or a slacker talking in bro-slang. Whatever James Gunn has in store for The Flash as he looks ahead to his reboot of the DCEU is practically guaranteed to be better than this.
