
Bruce Wayne: If you were to go into the past, you have no idea what the consequences would be.
Barry Allen: Bruce, I could fix things.
Bruce Wayne: You could also destroy everything.
Let’s be honest, our exposure to the Flash character, cinematically speaking, has been such that I wasn’t too sure that he could carry a movie as the title character no matter how much I particularly love that character. I mean I love all things that are fast speed. I thoroughly enjoy watching airplanes of all sorts, sports cars are my weakness, and my favorite animal is the cheetah. Ezra Miller’s Flash just seemed too silly, too wired, and a hint of immature to warrant a movie about him specifically. Then again, the Shazam movies haven’t been too bad with a similar formula. So, you guessed it, I was totally wrong. Now let’s go ahead and get the purple elephant in the room out of the way. I realize there is a lot of controversy with Ezra right now and many of you might be turned off to the movie because of it. I really don’t want to get into all that. I figure to leave that up to you to decide and reach your own conclusions about the actor and this movie. I just want to focus on the movie and I got to tell you, Ezra was excellent. Arguably one of his better performances to date. He is a very good actor, regardless of his personal life issues. While on the subject of performances, Michael Keaton, wow, Michael Keaton, what a treat to have him reprise his most beloved role. He was fantastic and prompted a few well-deserved cheers from the audience. I also want to mention a touching performance given by Maribel Verdú as Nora Allen, Barry’s mom. She plays the kind of mom that none of us would mind having as mom ourselves. Lastly and most powerfully, we have Sasha Calle in the role of Supergirl, Kal-El’s cousin. Perfectly cast for this role, she’s the right combination of looking fierce and exotic. I mean she looks like she came from a different planet, but in a very good way. Oh yeah, can’t forget about those special cameos that we are treated to, look out for them.
Don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for two aspects that a movie can have, nostalgia as in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and when separate movies are linked or at least referenced as in several Marvel movies like No Way Home, or even Mr. Glass. The Flash has all of that and so well done. The nostalgia is turned up in this film and it links many DC movies too. I’ll tell you that it put a smile on my face while watching. These aspects were needed though because the storyline is all too familiar. The whole “You mess with time, it tends to mess back,” (Tony Stark) story is overdone but I for one don’t really mind. This time it’s the Flash’s plight and how he’s going to handle it. This film has a good blend of action, drama, and humor. The special effects are eye-popping, one of the better ones yet from the DCU. Priscilla also pointed out that the imagery in the film is very well done and appropriate. Director Andy Muschietti, known for Mama, It, and It Chapter 2, has made a nice transition to the superhero genre. Knowing that the DCU has had its ups and downs in theaters and critically, I’ve gotta say that this is an up.