‘The Flash’ review: Dir. Andy Muschietti (2023)

For a movie about a speedster, The Flash has been a long time coming. In active development for the best part of 10 years, the first big screen adventure for Barry Allen has been met with more than a few bumps on the way to cinemas. From a revolving door of directors to changing heads at Warner Bros and DC, to the pandemic, and further controversies well documented in the media, The Flash has been mired in more issues than most. 

Ahead of its release, however, anticipation began building as Warner Bros began hosting preview screenings well ahead of time, seemingly confident that they had a winner on their hands. Some tweets heralded it as one of the best superhero movies of all time, with Michael Keaton’s much-anticipated return as his version of Batman a highlight. It would seem Warners are hopeful that the final version of The Flash movie has come through this all unscathed, and while even more changes are afoot, this might just see the most recent run of DC movies end on a high. 

And y’know what, for the most part, that is pretty much the case. While far from the greatest superhero movie ever made – it’s not even the best one this year – The Flash is certainly one of the stronger entries to come from the DC slate since Man of Steel kicked it this narrative thread off 10 years ago. 

The story, which takes elements from one of the character’s most celebrated comic book arcs – Flashpoint – sees Barry (Ezra Miller) looking to find a way to clear his Dad’s (Ron Livingstone) name, who was wrongly convicted of the murder of Barry’s mother Nora (Maribel Verdu), all the while trying to balance his life as a member of the Justice League. When Barry discovers he may have the ability to go back in time and prevent his mother from ever being killed he goes ahead and does it, despite the warnings from Bruce Wayne/Batman (Ben Affleck). 

He should have heeded the caped crusader’s advice, as his actions completely rewrite his timeline. Barry ends up in an alternate dimension with a younger more naive version of himself not yet The Flash, and a world bereft of metahumans. When General Zod (Michael Shannon) arrives in this timeline and there’s no Superman to stop him, Barry realises the world-shattering consequences of his actions. But while there may be no Superman, Aquaman or Wonder Woman, there is a Batman (Keaton), who Barry seeks out for help in his efforts to set everything right. 

Multiverse stories are clearly all the rage right now, and The Flash emerges – perhaps unwittingly – as the perfect vessel to welcome in a new era of DC movies with its opening up of multiple ‘Elseworlds’ through a storyline that often threatens to steer into convoluted time-wimey nonsense. But thanks to a strong handle of tone from director Andy Muschietti and a witty script by Christina Holden that balances action with humour and a strong emotional hook, The Flash largely zips by on charm and a goofy sense of invention when it comes to its speedster action scenes (an early sequence involving saving multiple babies is both hilarious and pretty thrilling).

Miller balances the dual role nature of what they’re being asked to do very well, with the two different Barrys proving to be likeable for different reasons. Each role is cleverly written as well to demonstrate the impact that either the loss or presence of Barry’s loving mother has had on the respective version; it leads to moments of comical levity and some genuinely touching interactions. It’s a decent performance from the troubled lead, even if it can be hard to leave the baggage of their actions in reality at the door. 

Keaton’s Batman is truly a highlight as well, with there being much more consistency with his portrayal in the Tim Burton Batman movies than expected, with Keaton clearly relishing the chance to get nuts in the cowl once again. Sasha Callee also makes an impression as Supergirl, even if she isn’t given as much to do in the story overall. 

Where the film starts to burst at the seams is in its prolonged final act which sees the two Barrys, Batman and Supergirl have to take on Zod’s invading forces. Seemingly trying to trade on nostalgia for Man of Steel – if such a thing exists – the action gets at its most (albeit, intentionally) repetitive in these moments, and is also at its most annoying and lacklustre. It all starts to feel like a button-mashing video game after a while, just when things should be getting you amped up for the final victory lap. As the multiversal layers start to heap on top of themselves, the film does start to creak under its own weight, feeling messier and messier as it progresses, not helped by an overabundance of studio-mandated cameos. 

However, there are more strengths than weaknesses here. The first two-thirds of the film are packed with effective humour and an effective emotional throughline, one which does pay off when the film does start to wrap up all its threads. It is a movie that dumps the moody angst of its predecessors and aims for fun, colourful action and enjoyable characters – as comic book movies of this kind should. Who knows quite what the future holds for his version of the character of the DC slate as a whole, but there are some good lessons to take from this outing, with the paramount one being: just have some fun.