It's impossible not to talk about The Flash movie without talking about Ezra Miller. The actor plays not just one version of Barry Allen in The Flash, but two, sharing the screen more with themselves than with any of their co-stars. However, in the last few years, attention has been drawn to Miller's off-screen activities, ranging from the actor physically attacking a woman in 2020 to facing charges of burglary and being accused of grooming in 2022. The actor issued an apology in August 2022 and has kept a low profile since, not participating in the press lead-up to The Flash, leaving much of the promo to director Andy Muschietti (IT) as they attend to their mental health.
Because of Miller's actions, there are those who have decided not to see The Flash. This review will not attempt to change their minds as everyone is entitled to their own decisions about what they view as ethical consumption of media. Miller is intrinsically linked to The Flash movie and, for many, the real world context of their actions will affect the way the movie is viewed—it affected the way I viewed the movie. It was impossible to forget the accusations of child endangerment as Miller's Barry Allen saves a group of babies onscreen, or the reports of their violent outbursts when Barry has his own angry outburst. These parallels were no doubt an accident, but they color any viewing of The Flash. It was impossible not to think of Miller's victims while watching the film. The Flash is a passable multiverse superhero movie, but no amount of DC cameos can make audiences forget Miller's awful off-screen actions.
The Flash is loosely based on the Flashpoint storyline from the DC Comics, which sees Barry Allen (Miller) travel back in time to prevent the death of his mother, Nora (Maribel Verdú) and wrongful arrest of his father, Henry (Ron Livingston). However, Barry ends up not only changing the present, but the past, and he finds himself in an alternate universe where Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) looks a little different from the Batman he knows (Ben Affleck). Along with his alternate universe self, Barry attempts to save the timeline in which his mother survives from General Zod (Michael Shannon) with the help of Supergirl (Sasha Calle).
Muschietti directs The Flash from a script by Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey) and a story by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Spider-Man: Homecoming) and Joby Harold (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts). The movie attempts to put a new spin on Flashpoint, which has been adapted before in live-action with The Flash TV show and in animation through the 2013 movie Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. It's, unfortunately, neither the well-developed character study executed in The CW's The Flash, nor is it the violent, mature and more comics-accurate adaptation of the animated movie. The Flash movie is, instead, the weakest adaptation of Flashpoint, with a script that focuses on all the wrong things and a breakneck storyline that doesn't allow for much character development.
The Flash is meant to be Barry's story, but doesn't make a compelling argument for actually caring about him. He's rude, awkward and unlikable, made worse by the movie clearly banking on Miller's charm and charisma to appeal to audiences, which fails to land if you have any knowledge of their off-screen actions. Instead, The Flash attempts to make Barry likable through his relationships with others, most egregiously with Iris West (Kiersey Clemons). Iris' only traits revolve around Barry—she exists entirely as an object to be coveted by him and, on occasion, as a force to drive the story forward. Similarly, Nora is an archetypal mother, one who supports and loves her son unconditionally. There are, at least, glimpses of personality to the character thanks to Verdú, but they're arguably only included for plot reasons or to create emotional callbacks later on. Though Barry's relationship with Nora is the emotional crux of Flashpoint, The Flash doesn't give it enough focus or time to make it anything more than a one-dimensional mother-son dynamic.
As for the other members of the cast, it is delightful to see Keaton back embodying Bruce Wayne. He's also tasked with explaining the multiverse to both versions of Barry, which he manages admirably, but it's the fight scenes that really elevate his return as Batman. They're sharp and fresh, while at the same time feeling nostalgic, and they're much more grounded than the rubbery CGI action displayed by both The Flash and Supergirl. Calle holds her own as Kara Zor-El, though she isn't given much to work with. Still, her fight scene with Zod offers some of the more brutal action in the movie. But The Flash is Miller's film and at the heart of it is Barry Allen's relationship with his other self, which would be a strong central throughline if it wasn't half-baked, and if it wasn't so quickly resolved in the third act. The third act is rushed, as if the filmmakers realized too late that they spent too much time on the first two acts and needed to wrap things up quickly. So The Flash doesn't end on a very strong note.
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. Miller's off-screen actions overshadow his performance as both versions of Barry, which isn't very strong to begin with. Keaton's Batman and Calle's Supergirl are fine, but are very much supporting players to The Flash. All three leads have some fun action sequences, but not enough to justify the film's two hour and 24-minute runtime.
As for The Flash movie's multiverse storyline, it allows for some fun cameos, but it pales in comparison to more well-executed multiverse stories like the Spider-Verse movies, Spider-Man: No Way Home and the Arrowverse's Crisis on Infinite Earths. Miller had a cameo in the latter, crossing over to meet Grant Gustin's Barry Allen. That scene was more well-done than the majority of the cameos in The Flash, which feel shoe-horned in for excitement factor alone. While some are genuinely exciting, overall The Flash's multiverse cameos end up being lackluster, especially after what other movies and Crisis accomplished.
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. DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn stated The Flash will "reset" the universe ahead of the franchise's soft reboot as he and Peter Safran usher in a new era of DC movies. However, the future of The Flash is currently unknown, and calls for DC to recast Miller have grown steadily since 2020, so the movie's actual importance to the franchise is unclear, but seems negligible. For those who still want to check out The Flash, I'd recommend keeping your expectations low. It's, at best, a middling superhero movie and, at worst, another reminder of how rare real consequences are in Hollywood.
The Flash releases in theaters on June 16. The film is 144 minutes long and rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, some strong language and partial nudity.
