No. 56 The Flash (2023) 94 of 100

 

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy ‘The Flash’ due to its troubled production and so-so reviews but I really did.

It was a bit long and possibly confusing (I’m not totally sure) but it was good fun with plenty of surprises and some decent action, albeit mostly CGI.

I bailed out on the Justice League film and haven’t watched The Flash TV series, apart from that 90’s one, so I went into this somewhat cold. I do have a good idea of the comics but the Flash was never really a character I liked. Initially he could run fast but once he could travel through stuff and time it seemed a bit far fetched. I know!

We meet Barry – the Flash’s alter ego - as he’s helping the Ben Affleck Batman sort out some Gotham based hassles. Gotham, which looks a lot like Glasgow, is under attack and whilst Batman does the heavy lifting the Flash saves some babies in a hospital in a funny sequence. Wonder Woman shows up too in a largely pointless cameo but she does generate a few laughs with her golden lariat.

Back at home Barry has some problems as his Dad Ron ‘Loudermilk’ Livingston is going to jail for killing his wife, Barry’s mother. He thinks Dad is innocent but the CCTV in the shop where he claimed to be doesn’t conclusively back him up. He went to the store to buy a tin of tomatoes that his wife forgot so Barry hatches a scheme to go back in time to make sure the tomatoes are bought first time so that Dad will be home to prevent the murder.

The plan initially seem to work, but as any time travel film will tell you the paradoxes soon add up. Barry meets his younger self and loses his powers just as General Zod from ‘Man of Steel’ shows up. In this alternate reality there are no superhumans, so the two Barrys set out to find Batman who is now the Michael Keaton version and retired. Of course they get him in the suit and the original Barry gets his powers back after they rescue Superman’s female cousin from a Russian gulag.

With a partial Justice League established they head off to fight Zod. Can our heroes thwart the evil General’s plan or can too much time travel be bad for all concerned?

This was a fun offering and although initially I didn’t like the slapstick elements, I soon went with it and enjoyed the film as a whole. DC films can often be described as po-faced but this one didn’t take itself too seriously with a funny script and some good action making for an enjoyable outing.

It did get a bit bogged down in the climatic battle but it was fun when worlds started to collide and we saw some other Super and Bat men including a flowing locks Nicholas Cage.

The ending was well done and brought a tear to the eye, but also a big laugh as Barry exclaims ‘Who the fuck is that’ when a different Bruce Wayne to that which he expected shows up.

Shannon has a very small role and most of his stuff looked very CGI – basically his face mapped onto a video game character. He did get a few good snarls in and was pretty brutal to the lady Superman. He didn’t get a proper climax as the bloody Flashes kept rewinding the fights but it did end up with him securing the win, in one reality at least.

The summaries I’ve read of this film, including mine, make it sound more complicated than it really is. It flows along quite naturally and you won’t get confused by the multiple iterations of the various characters unless you’re really slow – unlike The Flash!

When is Shannon-On? - 52.21

Outcome? Probably destroying an alternative Earth

Film 4/5

Shannon Stars 2.5/5