Director: Andrés Muschietti 
Starring: Ezra Miller, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdú, Kiersey Clemons, Antje Traue, Michael Keaton
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 144 mins

The Flash is the solo film for the superhero that can travel at the speed of lightning, although its production journey has been anything but rapid. Although there were plans for a film as far back as the 1980s, as far as the DCEU (DC Extended Universe) is concerned, there were tentative plans for a 2016 release, with duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller writing a treatment. That then changed to Seth Grahame Smith after Lord and Miller vacated the project, before creative differences led to Rick Famuyiwa jumping on board. He then left and the Game Night duo of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein took the mantle, who then they also departed (but receive a story credit) before we arrive at Andrés Muschietti who managed to get the project to the finish line.

Muschietti is, by far, the least interesting pick of the bunch. His debut horror Mama was pretty dreadful and he then went on to helm It and It: Chapter Two. Both It films were very watchable, but their downfall was resorting to cheap, mechanical jump scares – Muschietti just doesn’t do darkness very well, and I was more than a little trepidatious for The Flash as this has always been the DCEU’s winning ingredient.

In the film, Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) continues to reel over the death of his mother and against Batman’s (Ben Affleck) advice, travels back in time to try and prevent the tragedy. It wouldn’t be a spoiler (given the trailers have revealed this already) that Barry’s actions mean he rewrites history and finds himself in a different multiverse where members of the Justice League don’t exist and he finds an older Batman (Michael Keaton reprising his role from Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns).

The Flash is a mixed bag – there’s some fun to be had in the middle with Keaton’s Batman but it’s bookended by fairly turgid first and third acts. The multiverse is an increasingly worn concept and it really plagues this film as it lessens the stakes for the characters. Despite a carousel of cameos from stars all over the DC canon, the result is a film with an episodic quality akin to watching a Saturday morning cartoon than the series-defining reset The Flash was intended to be.

There’s a burgeoning theme of ropey visual effects affecting big-budget films recently due to artists being overworked and under-resourced. Many were quick to pick up on the inexcusably poor CGI in Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Adam and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania for example. Unfortunately, this problem has also infected The Flash, despite Muschietti going on the record and saying it was intentional, as the sequences are shot from Allen’s perspective. “Yeah, right”, I say. A spectactularly misjudged opening action sequence involving a group of babies will surely be an example used in future classes in film schools of what’s not fit for cinema release.

Despite the 144 minute run time, most of the supporting characters aren’t particularly well-developed. Ezra Miller makes for a fine, if schizophrenic lead, although the character arguably received a more meaningful arc with less screentime in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Sasha Calle makes her debut as Supergirl and has zero charisma. Both Ron Livingston (replacing Billy Crudup) and Maribel Verdu play Allen’s parents and offer reasonable performances but aren’t particularly well-developed, and this is also true of Kiersey Clemons’ Iris West.

The three bigest casualties are Ben Affleck, Michael Shannon and Antje Traue, all reprising their roles from previous films. Affleck’s Batman appears in the film’s first act, in what is designed to be a poignant send-off for the actor, but his appearance in the poor opening sequence and brief scene later in the first act have more of an embarassing effect. Shannon and Traue reprise their roles as villains General Zod and Faora-Ul from Man of Steel and both get absolutely nothing to work with. In fact, I’d need to rewatch the film to determine if Traue even gets a line in the script. I can’t say I’m surprised Shannon’s recently gone on the record to call his series return “unsatisfying”.

The film finds its feet when Keaton’s Batman arrives and the treatment of the character is somewhat satisfying.  He receives some good character development, a grizzled version of his former self and there’s an entertaining scene with him explaining what the multiverse is using a bowl of spaghetti. There were times in the second act I thought I was watching a sequel to Batman Returns rather than a film about The Flash and that’s somewhat troubling. Still, despite the good work, I wonder if Keaton could have received an even more satisfying treatment under a different director as Muschietti neglects to lean into the character’s darkness.

Benjamin Wallfisch’s score is utterly forgettable and his decision to include Danny Elfman’s Batman theme but ignore Junkie XL’s Flash theme is criminal. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 cinematographer Henry Braham lenses the film and while he’s battling with poor CGI, there are some interesting shots such as the camera panning to Siberia from Wayne Manor via an inversion.

Despite a fun second act, it’s a shame The Flash isn’t the triumph it ought to have been. It’s plagued by a poor beginning and end, shoddy CGI and a script that short-changes most of its characters, while including some frankly baffling cameos. In fact, The Flash is the closest DCEU entry to feeling like a Marvel Cinematic Universe film with its throwaway humour which really reduces any impact of the narrative. That’s not to say all Marvel films are guilty of this but the humour and lightness are certainly some of the series’ defining traits. I’m also gravely concerned Muschietti has been given the gig of directing the upcoming The Brave and the Bold and do not see him as a proper fit for a Batman project.

⭐⭐ (Poor)