So here we have the official farewell to the Snyder-Verse, and like it’s print counterpart this film is bringing a close to one DC continuity and ushering in a new one. The story this film is based on, Flashpoint, closed out the DC Universe’s post Final Crisis world and gave birth to the New 52 era, and The Flash brings the Zack Snyder created DC film universe to a close to make way for James Gunn’s endeavors in the world of DC comic book movies. If you were a fan of the Snyder-Verse like me then this is bittersweet; I wished Snyder’s creation hadn’t gotten railroaded into an early ending but I am happy that it got to go out with a final story and not just some cancellation in a board room.
As for this film there was a lot of negative buzz around it, mostly stemming from Ezra Miller’s actions but also from the general unhappiness a lot of people had with the whole Snyder-Verse. To be honest the Snyder-Verse never recovered from the critical beating Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice took, and having a lead actor who has been racking up allegations for all sorts of bizarre and downright awful behavior only made things worse. And now in 2023 it appears that the moviegoing audience at large has bailed on the final round of films in this world, be it because they’re punting until Gunn’s world begins or they just gave up on the DC film brand altogether for now.
In eegaeds to the Ezra Miller sized elephant in the room I’m not here to argue as to whether or not Miller is reason alone to refuse to go see this movie. If it is for you I understand, I just want you to realize that’s an unsustainable path to stay on if you’re gonna apply that standard to all movies. But if you’re here reading this then I assume what you want to know is what I think of the movie, so here we go. The short answer is I thought it was very good. Good enough to overcome Miller’s offscreen problems? Let’s find out.
The Good
First on any list of positives has to be Michael Keaton. No matter what you think of the movie if you don’t pop for Keaton’s return to donning the cape and cowl, then you the Feds plain and simple. Keaton settled once and for all who was the best big screen Batman in his appearance here. Contest is over, everyone else is playing for second place. Having Keaton come back as the OG Batman was the best story change from print to film and I can’t see any iteration of the comic stories’ Thomas Wayne Batman that would have come close to achieving what they did here. This was a victory over all the middle age dudebros who keep trying to give us an R-rated, homicidal caped crusader.
No amount of superlatives can do Keaton’s performance justice. It alone makes the movie worth watching, and is the difference between this movie being watchable and being good. If this was the last time we see Keaton as the Dark Knight then it was a hell of way to go out. Seriously it made you want to go home and watch the 1989 film again, and made you wish we got more than two films out of him back then. Keaton plays the role with a genuine joy that most people don’t give us, and displays what we all thought as kids – that dressing up in that in that suit and fighting bad guys would be f@#! awesome.
The rest of the cast was a plus, too. Sasha Calle did a good job as Supergirl, so much so that I wish we had more time with her and I hope Gunn keeps her around for whatever he does next. I thought Kiersey Clemons, in the time she had, did a good job as Iris West. As for Ezra, well….. Ezra is playing two Barrys here, one that I’ll call Serious Barry and the other one Silly Barry. I thought they did good as Serious Barry. Grant Gustin is the standard bearer for playing Barry Allen of course, and John Wesley Shipp from the OG TV series is second. Miller did not change the rankings here, but Serious Barry did what was needed for his role in the movie in my opinion.
Another plus for me was how they adapted the story. The print version has alternative versions of dozens of DC characters to go along with the completely changed timeline that has multiple subplots; there was no possible way to include even half of that and make anything resembling a coherent movie, so they did the right thing and kept it simple. Barry goes back to save his Mom, messes up the world and has to fix it. And focusing on the Zod Invasion from Man of Steel, as the apocalyptic event that needed to be fixed was the right call because it didn’t need a big setup to explain to us. Lastly the opening scene was a nice send off for this version of the Justice League as we got to see at least some of the group in action one more time.
The Bad
As for negatives, I found Silly Barry to be annoying. I don’t know why they were going for comic relief but it just did not work for me, and almost took me out of it a few times. I get that you don’t want a two hour doom and gloom fest but there are ways to avoid that without forced attempts at humor. Keaton balanced that just fine in his performance. In general having two Barrys instead of one and virtually any other character felt like a cheap shortcut. Ray Fisher would have been perfect here given that Cyborg and Flash did strike up a bit of a friendship in the Justice League film and Cyborg did have a big role in the comic.
On that same note I wish they’d kept the Henry Cavill cameo, whatever it was, in the film. We got to see Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot and Jason Mamoa again so why not Henry? Their given reasons, that they didn’t want to strike up false hope to see him again, doesn’t hold water with me. We know this is essentially the end of it all, one more shot of Henry would have been fine.
Other Stuff
I saw some people bashing the CGI and…..I got nothing there. I’m not a CGI stickler at all, and I find CGI snobbery to be something people tack on when they’re looking for something to criticize about a movie they want to pick apart. That being said the Flash’s running style, whatever they were trying to do with it, stinks like it did in the previous films. And for those people who care, no Miller is not playing the Barry Allen we know from the comic or the TV show. That was a dealbreaker for some before Miller ever got into any trouble; I’d prefer something more comic accurate but judging this on it’s own with the understanding that this is the Barry Allen of this world I think it’s fine. It’s not the first time a comic book character was written the way the people who made the movie(s) wanted them to be and not how they were written in the books.
Final Grade: Overall film quality 4.5/6, Enjoyability 3.5/4, total grade 8/10.
This is about as good a big screen adaptation of the Flashpoint comic story as one could hope for. In a way it was better that they didn’t have all the pieces from the comic version established on film because there are just too many people and side plots to properly include in a two and a half hour movie. Andy Muschetti made the right decision to stick to the core elements of the story and then make editorial choices that he saw fit. As an endpoint for the Snyder-Verse I think it’s a very good one. And let me just say that while everyone is entitled to their opinion and it’s perfectly fine to not like this movie, a lot of the negative reviews and comments I’ve seen read like they were written long in advance of anyone ever seeing this movie. Objecting because of Miller’s actions is fine but calling this movie bad when all you have are a bunch of rehashed talking points to back you up is just off base to me. So if you’re curious and to check it out I do recommend it.
Stroke of Genius 