- Starring
- Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton
- Director
- Andy Muschietti
- Rating
- PG-13
- Genre
- Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Superhero
- Release date
- June 16, 2023
Overall Score
Rating Overview
Rating Summary
After a conceptually interesting yet horribly rendered and otherwise irrelevant opening action sequence, we find out that Barry’s (aka The Flash) dad, who, years before, was wrongfully convicted of his wife’s murder, is up for “another parole hearing.” Normally, The Flash wouldn’t hold much hope for his father’s release; however, thanks to some fortunate Wayne tech, the key piece of evidence that could clear his name —a previously scrambled video from a grocery store’s surveillance system —has been repaired. Unfortunately for him and our titular character, Barry’s dad is wearing a ball cap, and his face is never seen on film.
This revelation sends The Flash down memory lane, and we see the details of his mother’s murder. Then, in a burst of speed brought on by the unhappy memories, Barry finds that he can travel through time. So, after choosing to ignore advice on the matter given to him by Ben Affleck’s Batman, he launches himself, Delorean-style, backward through time, intent on saving his mother’s life and his father from a lifetime of incarceration.
This has the unfortunate yet predictable side effect of creating an alternate universe with a timeline significantly different from the one he remembers.
The Flash Review
Largely relying on coincidence and magical MacGuffins to further the plot at key moments, The Flash is far from breaking any new ground in the emerging big-budget sci-fi multiverse subgenre. In fact, as a plot device, Barry’s new and nearly effortless ability to travel through time presents as many problems as it does opportunities.
The film lacks emotional cohesion, as we’re not given enough time or reason to care about the characters who drive most of the plot. Further, thanks to the time/multiverse-traveling plot device, any feelings engendered by the events or characters are largely rendered meaningless by the film’s end.
As a matter of nostalgia porn, it was wonderful to see Michael Keaton suit up once again as Batman, but younger viewers have no reason to connect with this specific iteration of the character emotionally. It’s clear that this left the filmmakers feeling pressured to manufacture an arc for him in the hopes of generating that connection. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really work. Instead, it feels rushed and as artificial as most of the film’s CGI (and Keaton’s wig).
Keaton’s Batman isn’t the only character that suffers from the rushed yet simultaneously bloated second act. Sasha Calle’s Supergirl is shoehorned in with a character arc that needed an entire film to be properly developed, but was condensed into four minutes spread across two or three scenes.
These rushed arcs had the unfortunate effect of forcing the audience to accept a slew of illogical actions and elements. For instance, if Supergirl has been locked up and hidden away from most human contact since her crash landing on Earth and has never been exposed to the English language, how is it that she speaks English (it’s made clear that it’s not thanks to her hearing)? Also, if scientists are studying her, why was her super suit left in the room with her instead of being in a laboratory somewhere? These are just a few seemingly minor yet numerous logical inconsistencies that collectively serve as distractions from the overall narrative.
In a nearly two-and-a-half-hour film, many of these issues could have been avoided simply by keeping Henry Cavill’s Superman and dropping the subplot of Keaton’s retired Batman. Batman is an icon—his character needs no elaborate setup. Even younger viewers, unfamiliar with Keaton’s legacy, could have connected with him easily. Cavill’s Superman, meanwhile, already had an organic emotional motive to face Zod, no contrived backstory required. This change alone could have trimmed at least thirty minutes and produced a far tighter, better-paced film.
That being said, the performances are mostly serviceable. Ezra Miller pulls double duty as two versions of Barry Allen—one 18, the other in his mid-twenties. The older Barry is a dour figure who, despite being one of the most powerful beings on Earth (if not exactly respected by the Justice League), still can’t seem to connect with anyone. He stutters and fumbles his way through conversations like a bewildered ’90s Hugh Grant—minus the charm and charisma. At times, Miller appears oddly detached from a scene’s emotional through-line, raising the question of whether these moments stem from the extensive reshoots reportedly completed as recently as this January.
In contrast, the 18-year-old Barry is a hyperactive, drug-addled simpleton who treats everything as a joke—until the plot suddenly requires otherwise. After a single heartfelt conversation, he pivots from clown to crusader without missing a beat. In short, young Barry is whatever the film needs him to be at any given moment, and the script never bothers to hide it.
Sasha Calle does her best with very little. She’s neither distractingly bad nor explosively engaging, and she’s not given enough screen time to develop in order for us to tell if she is better than the weak material she’d been given.
That brings us to Michael Keaton. Though saddled with a weak and unnecessary arc, Keaton slips back into Batman—and Bruce Wayne—like Michelle Pfeiffer into a catsuit. At 41 years Ezra Miller’s senior, he still delivers the film’s most effortless, natural, and energetic performance.
Keaton aside, with a production budget hovering around $220 million, one would expect this superhero tentpole to be a visual spectacle. It isn’t. The designs themselves are strong—often strong enough to compensate for the dismal execution—but the digital effects rank among the worst in recent memory. It’s as if the technical limits of 2003 time-traveled with The Flash, leaving us with visuals the uncanny valley’s drunk uncle puked up. From nightmarish, rubbery babies falling through the sky to chaotic time-travel sequences, The Flash sets a new benchmark for CGI incompetence.
Adding little to the film’s overall aesthetic, the cinematography is adequate but uninspired. Henry Braham—no stranger to big-budget, effects-heavy productions and best known for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3—spends much of the film seemingly content to point and shoot. One notable exception is the Flash’s first major display of speed, which momentarily suggests a more creative eye at work. Yet, given that the sequence is almost entirely CGI, it’s hard not to wonder if its visual flair owes more to the art department than to Braham himself.
As a side note, there’s a not insignificant amount of cursing in this PG-13 film, including but not limited to a single f-bomb. Virtually every curse seemed out of place and was an unnecessary distraction from an already busy film.
A key criticism, one that best embodies the inherent issues with The Flash’s narrative, is that its main antagonist, with the exception of a blink-and-you-miss-it moment early on, is only truly introduced in the closing minutes of the film and is on screen for fewer than five minutes before he is dealt with, and then mostly via exposition dump.
None of this is to say that The Flash doesn’t offer up a couple of fun or emotionally impactful moments. Barry’s interactions with his mother come across as sincere and tug the intended heartstrings of anyone who has lost someone close to them. Furthermore, there’s a brief cameo that will almost certainly choke up fans of the genre who are of a certain age, and others that can’t help but make you smile.
When the credits roll and the third-rate after-credit scene blessedly comes to an end, most of The Flash just sort of exists and will take you from A to B without necessarily boring you, but it won’t move you either. It’s worth renting once, but little more.
WOKE REPORT
Disclaimer:
- If the news stories are to be believed, it’s pretty clear that Ezra Miller is a deeply troubled man and likely a dangerous criminal. That being said, this film’s principal photography was wrapped before accusations of Miller’s alleged conduct were known. Furthermore, we rate movies on their own merits independently of what is going on in the background.
Mamasita
- For some reason, Barry’s mom is now Spanish, even though Ezra Miller is of Ashkenazi Jewish, Dutch, and German descent.
- I thought that it was verboten/racist for a person (especially a white person) to play an ethnicity of which they were not in real life. How exactly does Miller get a pass?
Kryptonite Pearls
- Everything about Supergirl’s inclusion in place of Superman.
- Her ethnicity checked off one DEI box while her gender did another.
One-Legged Flash
- Barry Allen is a whiny beta male when it serves the narrative or sets up a joke.
- Barry Allen, in the comics (at least in the comics from years past), was assertive and brilliant. This Barry Allen is inexplicably mealy-mouthed.
James Carrick
James Carrick is a passionate film enthusiast with a degree in theater and philosophy. James approaches dramatic criticism from a philosophic foundation grounded in aesthetics and ethics, offering insight and analysis that reveals layers of cinematic narrative with a touch of irreverence and a dash of snark.
30 comments
Philip
June 16, 2023 at 9:36 am
I think you mean ‘dour’, not ‘dower’. Otherwise well-written as usual. I enjoy these.
James Carrick
June 16, 2023 at 9:44 am
Lol. Thanks. I wrote it at 3-3:30 in the morning. So, I’ll count myself lucky if that’s the only typo.
Dave
June 16, 2023 at 10:51 am
Not that lucky…..you wrote “when the credits role” towards the end.
Get some ZZZZZ. Love your work.
James Carrick
June 16, 2023 at 11:01 am
Lol. Thanks. Fixed it.
Scott
June 16, 2023 at 4:05 pm
He gets a pass because he calls himself a they/them. He can get away with anything.
Ginger
June 16, 2023 at 4:51 pm
Good, fair review! The only appealing bits in the credits for me are Batman and Supergirl. Keaton’s delivery of his famous lines came off as flat. Did they pack a nostalgic punch in the actual film? The CGI looks so horrendous. I can’t take it seriously. Knowing what i know of Miller, and having not been a fan, I don’t desire to see it. I didn’t fall in love with any of the DCU films. I’ve probably had Superhero fatigue since Captain America Civil War. The ultra wokeness in more recent superhero films and shows killed everything for me. I will retreat back to my comic book and 80s-90s, early aughts memories.
James Carrick
June 16, 2023 at 8:22 pm
Ironically, Keaton’s trademarked lines did fall flat and felt artificially injected in the moment.
Psychomic
June 17, 2023 at 3:16 pm
About to go see it today. Thank you so much for your reviews. There’s been a lot of movies I haven’t seen because of you. And that’s a good thing.
Victor
June 17, 2023 at 7:39 pm
This website is very needed tired of renting or buying a movie and having to quit watching when the wokeness became unbearable I will support however I can!
James Carrick
June 17, 2023 at 11:54 pm
Thanks! The best thing you can do to help is share share share our stuff.
TrulyWoke
June 20, 2023 at 1:28 pm
This site has to be satire, right? The reason Superman wasn’t included is because Barry was in an alternate universe. Do you not understand the concept of an alternate universe? It would be extremely lame if the only difference in the alternate universe was Keaton as Batman.
How insane do you have to be to think that including a long-established female comic book character in a comic book movie is a example of negative wokeness? I guess anyone who thinks that equality between the sexes and races is a negative thing is insane by default.
Andrew
June 21, 2023 at 5:35 pm
Unfortunately, there are conservatives against actual wokeness (which entails forcing your views onto others and hating conservatives while claiming to be accepting of everyone), and then there are conservatives who think all anti-racist messaging is inherently woke (he has called Zootopia ultra-progressive; he doesn’t back it up because he probably can’t; he merely says it), who think ANY inclusion of a female character over a male is woke, and who believe all men need to be type A, macho “alphas” (this is a toxic mindset; unlike a woke person, I have no problem with type A alpha males, but this guy cannot tolerate non-alpha males, which makes him intolerant by definition). This website is a good idea, but unfortunately, this is the wrong kind of conservative (the negative stereotype of a conservative that progressives try to claim represents the majority).
James Carrick
June 21, 2023 at 6:20 pm
“Where 2016’s Zootopia used a giant cannon rammer to shove down such ridiculous progressive nonsense like a fox can be an elephant if it has a strong enough case of the feelsies, at least it was a well-paced, well-structured story in which the ever-present ideology was only the driving force behind the plot but not the plot itself.” – an excerpt from my review for Elemental (which is what you are erroneously referencing in this Flash review for some reason).
James
July 7, 2023 at 1:41 am
Excellent riposte. There’s a reason some people make accusations without offering quotes or other evidence to back them up.
stan
June 29, 2023 at 5:31 pm
yawn, next…
stan
June 29, 2023 at 5:36 pm
i love how idiots like yourself think your making a point by commenting on a site that will shoot your pointless and woke-based drivel down quicker than you can get laid. And also commenting just adds more fuel to those of us who believe people like you are deluded and need to get out of your mommy’s basemen and get a real job and actually contribute to society and waste value oxygen.
James
July 7, 2023 at 11:41 am
I read your post twice just to double check, but nope–it was still completely incoherent. You shouldn’t call other people idiots when you cant even string a few sentences together in a way that makes sense.
Compensate much?
Liberalism is a Disease
June 21, 2023 at 4:10 pm
This question made me laugh:
“I thought that it was verboten/racist for a person (especially a white person) to play an ethnicity of which they were not in real life. How exactly does Miller get a pass?”
Because he ticks that queer box, period, end of story. Don’t you know the double standard rules? Straights are not permitted to play gays, but gays can play anyone they want. Whites are not allowed to play any race, but any race is welcome to play white. Men are not allowed to play women unless they are or heavily support the trans movement, but trans are allowed to play any role they like.
And, as we have been made aware of, the academy awards won’t even permit a nomination unless you have prominent queer, prominent minority and prominent female roles because a good movie is defined by it’s agenda and not its actors.
Jacob
July 11, 2023 at 12:41 am
About some things you said, modern family cam isn’t gay irl, same with captain holt from b99, these people were chose because they did a great job as actors. Same reason why NPH was chosen for barney role in HIMYM. And about whites playing other race, it’s not that they aren’t allowed to (maybe they aren’t) but the non-white characters are very less, take the comics for example, there’s less non-white characters than white ones. But in manga adaptions, they take whites often.
Morris Devereaux
June 23, 2023 at 12:08 am
Good review. I just saw this movie three days ago and the review pretty much nails it. Good job.
Tia
June 23, 2023 at 12:30 pm
Huh, this movie sounds less woke than I expected. Still not a great movie (the special effects sound like they’ll be disappointing), but I think I’ll now be willing to watch it. If the library gets a copy. Thanks!
louis bahr
June 29, 2023 at 10:54 am
After reading up on Ezra Miller’s criminal allegation and after Googling images of Ezra Miller, I have no desire to see “The Flash.” I have no desire to be entertained by criminal weirdos and perverts; I’ll stick with actors and actresses with depth of character and virtue, which is a tough commodity to find today.
Brad Becker
July 24, 2023 at 3:10 pm
I was about to leave a similar comment only after reading everyone elses. I agree with your point of view. This actor Ezra is a weirdo.
Difficult to watch his movie character while simultaneously processing knowledge of his real life character. Same applies to the gay actor Jake Gyllenhal after reading a synopsis about Broke Back Mountain and that it’s about two dudes exchanging “peanuts”. And his co-star, forgot his name, the one who shot himself. Other actors with gayness are Daniel Craig, Tom Hardy… John Travolta, Will Smith, Bruce Willis (what he did at Studio 54 in NYC to get a job there when he first got into the business)..whatever. I can’t watch any of these actors knowing how disgusting they are.
ChoketheWoke
July 1, 2023 at 10:46 pm
Sorry, but the primary writer of this movie is the woman responsible for the execrable ‘Birds of Prey’. She was hired for her sex and ethnicity, not her talent, ability or resonance with the source material. That’s a VERY Woke thing to do.
James Carrick
July 2, 2023 at 9:15 am
While I agree that it is an incredibly woke hiring practice, if we rated films on the wokeness of the people making the, there wouldn’t be a movie that wasn’t rated completely woke.
Mark Perry
July 2, 2023 at 6:50 am
Best movie of this year so far. Zero woke and the story was awesome.
Jacob
July 11, 2023 at 12:46 am
I’m still wondering how Erza was recruited even after their, jk, his criminal history, while Johnny Depp lost a lot of opportunities, got kicked out of projects because he was ACCUSED.
Nathan
September 12, 2023 at 8:56 pm
I always check here before buying or renting a movie, since this one is non-woke I will watch it now, thank you very much for the work you do!
bulmab
October 17, 2024 at 5:43 pm
The superman is a girl….sure shes from the same planet but these days putting a woman in a spot where shes strong and independent ticks the woke box.
JRR
January 24, 2025 at 10:32 pm
Ug. One look at Supertranny is enough to make me pass – and puke.