Movie Review # 638: The Flash (2023)

Ladies, and gentlemen, today, we review a superhero film from the DC Universe that I surprisingly didn’t make it to the theater for when it came out back in June 2023. So, to make up for it, I finally got to borrow a copy of it from a friend of mine, and watch it this past week. So now, before 2023 comes to a close, let’s discuss the one, and only film, The Flash.

Plot: When Barry/The Flash’s (Ezra Miller) mother gets killed by an unidentified assailant, he attempts to use his powers to go back to the past, and prevent his mother from getting killed. Now, the question remains, will he succeed, or will there be negative consequences for Barry/The Flash attempting these actions?

So now, the question is, was this film good? Well, in the end, The Flash was alright. It wasn’t bad, nor was it good, but at least alright. Though the story wasn’t the best, nor was it too strong period, this film still had it’s high points. First of all, as far as negatives go, again, the story wasn’t all that interesting. Okay, not fully true. It was interesting with being creative with the whole concept of attempting to go back, and changing certain events in the past. There were also some very funny moments in some portions of the film as well. The visuals were also really good at points, especially when it came to scenes when The Flash character would move from place to place really fast, attempt to go back in the past, or things like that. Benjamin Wallfisch’ score was also good. It was also good to have some additional characters like Batman play a major role with The Flash as well. Oh, and certain shots, particularly the ones that occurred during the slow motion scenes, were really well done. I’m not sure if the technology they used, but it was really well done. Did I also forget some of the really amazing action scenes, especially during the climax near the end? Those are amazing too. In addition to these, the lessons from this film are really good, especially with the whole thing about realizing that attempting to change the past, or wishing that you could, isn’t exactly the best thing to do in life. The way that it was executed in this film is really smart, and creative.

Still, The Flash’s storyline, though thought-provoking, and creative, didn’t seem to feel as strong as it could have been. As a matter of fact, it seemed to drag on at times, and went on a little longer. At other times, it seemed like the story was a little fast-paced, and not given their due as much as they could have been. In fact, this is likely due to some scenes in this film overstaying their welcome. What’s more is the fact that a lot of these scenes, and transporting in time seemed to occur, and then, all of a sudden, the climax occurs near the end. I mean the villain of this film didn’t seem as well developed this time around, there aren’t as many scenes with him, and there isn’t a whole lot of buildup to the climax overall. Sure, there sort of is with the whole changing the past, and/or future, and things like that. It just could have probably been done better.

And that’s my review for The Flash. It was a fairly good film. Still, despite the way certain lessons were creatively executed, this film had a story that had more potential than it seemed to in the end. Again, The Flash was decent. It just could have been better, especially with how certain moments could have had more buildup, and development. Because of this, I can see why this film didn’t perform at the box office as well as it could have in the end. I would say still see The Flash if you can watch it On Demand at a fairly cheap price. Just don’t go in expecting something really, really good. On the brighter side, at least there were some good lessons to take away from this film, and there were creative ways in which those were well executed. And, of course, let’s not forget the cool action, the beautiful visuals, and things like those.

Final Grade: C+