The Flash Review: No Way Home for Barry Allen

Ken Jones, OnScreen Blog Chief Film Critic

The DCEU is in the midst of a massive overhaul at Warner Bros, and The Flash is one of the last remnants of the current iteration that began with Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel in 2013. There have been a lot of ups and downs since that movie came out a decade ago, more downs than ups, I’d say. But the addition of Ezra Miller’s The Flash was a positive, a character that was well-received by audiences and brought some needed levity to a dour universe of films. After many delays and difficulties, the character finally gets his standalone movie.

Like most superheroes, Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) struggles to balance his personal life with his superhero life. While working as a forensic scientist at a day job, he also assists Batman (Ben Affleck) as a member of the Justice League. Barry became a forensic scientist to try to clear his father (recast with Ron Livingston) of the murder of his mother (Maribel Verdú), but things continue to look bleak. 

In an emotional outburst, Barry somehow travels backward in time using his speed powers. With time travel an option, he ignores Bruce’s warning and goes back to try and change the events of the day of his mother’s death, but changes everything as a result and ends up stuck in the year General Zod (Michael Shannon) invades Earth. His meddling causes him to meet his younger self from a different timeline and encounter another Bruce Wayne (a returning Michael Keaton) and a Supergirl (Sasha Calle) variation instead of Superman. 

So, here we are again with another multiverse story, all the rage now. Every franchise that takes a stab at a multiversal story needs an explanation for how their multiverse works and The Flash chooses to use spaghetti as a metaphor to explain how the multiverse works (and why Keaton’s Batman instead of Affleck’s and why his Batman is so much older). It more or less works, at least better than some of the time travel paradox stuff they put into the story. There is food for thought about accepting fate and learning to live in the present rather than dwelling on the past.

Miller portrays two versions of Barry, one from the “present day” that is out of college, working, and The Flash; the other is his 2013-ish self, around the events of Man of Steel, which also happens to be about the same time that he acquired his lightning-fast powers. While they are the same character, they are two different, nuanced performances, distinguished by more than just an age gap of a few years.

Older Barry has lived most of his life with his mom dead and his father wrongfully imprisoned, while Younger Barry has had them the whole time. There is tension and simmering resentment from Older Barry at Younger Barry taking certain things for granted and also being unable/unwilling to explain to Younger Barry why he is here.

Miller has been a problematic figure in Hollywood over the last few years, and it is a shame that the offscreen news events of the past few years threaten to overshadow the acting talent on display here. The Flash, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman were welcome additions to the DCEU and were characters that worked in no small part because of the actors cast in those roles. 

Seeing Michael Keaton back in the cape and cowl is also welcome. I did not rewatch Tim Burton’s Batman or Batman Returns ahead of this movie. Still, I vividly remember the action of those films being muted and limited by the movement of the suit that Keaton was forced to wear compared to how outfits in superhero movies have progressed in the 30+ years since those movies were released. This is by far the best Keaton’s version of The Bat has looked on screen, with him able to duke it out in some quality fighting sequences.

Sure, some are leaning on nostalgia here, but it never crosses over into being egregious. Also, as this is likely Affleck’s send-off as Bruce Wayne, it is somewhat bittersweet because I thought it was perhaps his best performance in the role to date.

Supergirl’s inclusion is well crafted; her time on Earth plays out very differently than Clark Kent’s in Man of Steel. It is more than just the initial subversion of expectations that they are looking for Superman and instead find a girl in his place. She has a purpose for being there, a reason to assist Flash and the gang, and a reason to fight Zod.

To his credit, director Andy Muschietti packs a whole lot of movie into his 144-minute runtime here. Some of it is good; some not so good. The jokes are a little hit or miss, and some feel forced. There are a fair number of jokes related to Barry constantly being late, which is supposed to be ironic since speed is his superpower. 

The special effects in some places feel subpar for such an expensive blockbuster. In particular, when Barry enters the Speed Force to go back in time, it is like he enters an arena filled with bad CGI of events and people from his life. Another bad instance of CGI involves babies in the film's opening scene, a scene I was, frankly, kind of shocked about that a major movie studio allowed being in a blockbuster film like this and that the film dubs a literal “baby shower.” The babies are obviously computer generated, and the less said about that entire scene, the better.

Muschietti and company cram a lot of cameos and inside jokes into this movie with deep fake CGI and, apparently, the use of AI to bring to life past moments of DC lore; again, this is with mixed results. Getting things back full circle by returning to Zod is a nice touch, but sadly, Michael Shannon appears to be going through the motions here. As for in-jokes, fans familiar with Kevin Smith’s history of almost making a Superman movie will surely be in for a treat. I was unsure about a few other AI/deep fake returns. It also felt like there was some shared storyline DNA with Spider-Man: No Way Home in more ways than one.

There was some hype coming out of early test screenings that The Flash was the best superhero movie ever made. This is decidedly untrue. At times, it feels a bit overstuffed, and at other times, it feels rushed. But it is entertaining, fun, and has some thematic stuff about dealing with the past that can have some resonance. And it’s willing to take Bruce Wayne up on his offer when he says, “Let’s get nuts,” because it is indeed nuts. 

I don’t know what it portends for the future of the DCEU in the hands of James Gunn and Peter Safran; in many ways, this felt like a graceful send-off for a few characters. I also don’t know what it means for Ezra Miller’s future with the character or if factors beyond their control will dictate what the studio decides with the character of Barry. Still, The Flash will at least end up in the upper half of DCEU movies from this 2013-2023 period. Wonder Woman remains the pinnacle, but it’s on that next tier below, alongside Aquaman. 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars