After a long wait due to various delays, Andy Muschietti’s The Flash is finally arriving in theaters on June 16, and the first reviews are now out – and here’s what critics are saying about Barry Allen’s biggest adventure to date. While the DC Universe prepares to launch, the DCEU still has some projects waiting to be released, and the most anticipated one is The Flash. Originally scheduled for a 2018 release, The Flash came across a variety of obstacles that kept delaying its release, and once the COVID-19 pandemic calmed down, The Flash was given a definitive June 2023 release date.
Inspired by the popular comic book storyline Flashpoint, The Flash will see Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) using his powers to travel back in time in hopes of preventing his mother’s murder, but messing with time can have dangerous consequences across the multiverse. As a result, Barry becomes trapped in an alternate reality without metahumans, and with the help of his younger self, an alternate and older Batman (Michael Keaton), and Kryptonian castaway Supergirl (Sasha Calle), he will do his best to save this world from the restored General Zod (Michael Shannon) and, hopefully, return to his universe. The Flash is one of the most anticipated movies of the year, but will it be worth the wait? Here’s what critics are saying.
The Flash Movie Reviews Are Mixed
Unfortunately for The Flash, and based on different reviews, it doesn’t seem to live up to the hype – but that doesn’t mean there are no good things to say about it. The Flash became one of the most exciting and anticipated projects from the DCEU almost immediately after it was confirmed to happen and when Flashpoint was confirmed as the main source of inspiration, but fans of the Flashpoint comic book storyline will most likely be very disappointed when watching The Flash. Although it does take many elements from Flashpoint, The Flash fails to replicate what made the comic book arc so great, though in terms of action sequences, it does deliver what it teased in trailers and more.
Most reviews so far agree that The Flash starts strong with Barry Allen on a rescue mission that will surely satisfy those looking for exciting action sequences with the sense of humor that makes Flash such a popular character, but as the story progresses and both the audience and Barry get more and more involved in time-travel and the multiverse, The Flash slows down and even seems to get stuck at times. Surely, one of the most appealing aspects of The Flash are its cameos and the return of past DC superheroes, mainly Ben Affleck’s DCEU Batman and Michael Keaton’s Batman from Tim Burton’s movies, and in that aspect, The Flash certainly lives up to the hype, but in general, it all points at The Flash suffering from the over-exaggerated excitement that resulted from the many delays and the well-done trailers to market the film. Here’s what some critics are saying about The Flash:
“Ultimately, The Flash wants to have its cake and eat it too — and have a second cake and eat that as well. There are so many cool ideas in The Flash, from the two versions of Barry Allen and tackling the multiverse via Flashpoint to the return of Keaton's Batman and the introduction of Supergirl, but the movie fails to fully deliver on any of them. [...] As a result, The Flash is by no means a must-watch superhero movie, even for fans of The Flash character or the Flashpoint storyline.”
“The Flash clearly wants its audience to get caught up in the excitement of multiverse adventures, returning superhero favorites, and fun antics of Barry Allen, to the point that they never consider that the time travel aspects make absolutely no sense, and only hurts the larger story in the way that it’s handled here. Thankfully, those antics are enjoyable and hard not to get excited about, but unfortunately, this isn’t a story that holds together on a narrative level. Cameos and fan service are fine to have, but the story has to be there to back them up, and it’s not quite there with The Flash.”
“The thing is, none of it makes a lot of sense. In “The Flash,” the multiverse of possibilities that opens up by toying with the past becomes an excuse to throw everything but the Batcave sink at the audience. Despite the vividness of Ezra Miller, the movie steamrolls Miller’s personality as it goes along. The climactic battle against General Zod, with its kamikaze Batplane death zooms, its plumes of black smoke rising from the ground, its overblown sound and fury, is working too hard to engulf us after a story that did a nifty job of beguiling us.”
“For all its focus on fun and adventure, and its ability to sweep us away in a lightning storm of spectacle, The Flash ultimately runs too hard to achieve any real sense of narrative grace, and the result is a film that feels overstuffed, uneven, and a little frustrating.”
THR:
“If The Flash ultimately proves uneven, its wobbly climactic showdown far less interesting than the more character-driven buildup, the story’s core of a young man struggling to reconcile with the loss of his mother carries it through. [...] The early word on The Flash calling it one of the greatest superhero movies ever made was pure hyperbole. But in the bumpy recent history of the DC Extended Universe, it’s certainly an above-average entry.”
Why The Flash Reviews Are So Mixed
The Flash Has Too Many Characters
Multiverses are the biggest theme in the superhero genre at the moment, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe exploring it in different movies and TV shows, most notably in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and while the DC universe is no stranger to this concept, it hasn’t mastered the multiverse yet. The Flash could have benefited from its many characters, but instead, their presence seems to have backfired. Critics have pointed out that there are moments throughout The Flash where too much is happening and there are characters all over the place – two Barry Allens, Michael Keaton’s Batman, Sasha Calle’s Supergirl, and Michael Shannon’s General Zod. Too many characters in The Flash led to underdeveloped characters that should have had a bigger role, as well as their presence being a distraction from what actually works in the movie, such as when it focuses on Barry Allen and his personal struggles.
The Flash Is Mostly Nonsensical
One of the biggest risks of telling a multiversal story and, on top of that, using time travel, is that the story can reach a point where nothing makes sense, and unfortunately, this happened to The Flash. To some critics, the multiverse was used as an excuse to throw a bunch of possibilities into the mix, and the specifics of time travel don’t make sense either. The Flash seems to be better enjoyed without paying attention to the details of time travel and how the multiverse works, but then again, these themes are at the core of the film, and they are impossible to ignore and question.
The Flash Relies Too Much On Nostalgia
The Flash not only has too many characters, but it also relies a lot on nostalgia… also through a bunch of characters. Prior to The Flash’s release, the return of Keaton’s Batman, Affleck’s version, and Shannon’s Zod were confirmed, with Muschietti later confirming a cameo from Nicolas Cage as Superman. These are not the only cameos in The Flash, which according to critics is packed with nostalgia thanks to the presence of old and modern DC characters, but that’s not all. The Flash is also heavy on pop culture references, especially when Barry realizes that his actions in the past completely changed his present, and while all these cameos and references can be fun, The Flash ended up using one too many.
Ezra Miller’s Performance Is Being Praised – But It’s Also Controversial
One of the most praised aspects of The Flash is also one of its most controversial ones: Ezra Miller. While Miller had previously appeared as Flash in past DCEU movies, The Flash is their first solo movie as the title hero, which was exciting at first, but Miller’s various legal issues behind the scenes completely changed the audience’s response. Miller’s controversies and how Warner Bros. chose to handle them cast a big shadow over The Flash, which at one point was believed to not be released at all, and for many, Miller’s problems will definitely affect the way they see and receive their performance as Barry Allen. Although most critics are praising their performance as more than one Barry Allen, pointing out their charisma and ability to bring comedy and drama, certain scenes clash with their off-screen actions in a way that, for many viewers, it will be difficult to watch.
What The Flash’s Reviews Mean For Its Box Office
Prior to the release of the first reviews of The Flash, the movie was tracking for an estimated $75 million opening, and even though most reviews so far are mixed, it’s unlikely The Flash’s box office prediction will drastically drop. As mentioned above, The Flash is one of the most anticipated movies of 2023, and there’s also a lot of curiosity around it given Miller’s off-screen controversies, so it’s unlikely viewers will opt to skip the movie just because it hasn’t done well with critics. The Flash could even surpass predictions after the release of the first reviews, as the audience’s curiosity will surely grow after learning there are many more cameos and, of course, as they will want to see how wrong or right critics were.
What The Flash’s Reviews Mean For A Potential The Flash 2
The future of Miller and the Flash after, well, The Flash, is unclear. James Gunn has confirmed that The Flash will reset the continuity of the DCEU and along with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will lead into the DCU’s Superman: Legacy, and even shared at some point that there was potential for Miller to reprise their role in the DC Universe. In October 2022, it was revealed that a script for a sequel had been written in case The Flash performed well, but it’s unclear if that’s just for box office performance or critical as well.
If based on the critical reception of The Flash, the sequel’s future doesn’t seem very bright, more so given the mixed reactions to Miller’s performance due to their many behind-the-scenes issues, so their return in the DC Universe could also be at risk. The possibility of The Flash 2 is also unclear given that the DC Universe will kick off in 2025 and The Flash will be resetting the continuity of the DCEU, and so far, there are no confirmed plans for Ezra Miller and the Flash in the DC Universe.
