‘The Flash’ Speeds Into a Multiverse Adventure Fueled by Nostalgic Escape

Alci Rengifo

The idea of a multiverse has quickly proven to be a convenient tool for studios to tap into audiences’ nostalgic hunger. DC’s “The Flash” is two movies compressed into one entertaining package. As the studio’s first major solo film for the title character, it has comedic charm and convincing dramatic heft. But it competes for space with an obvious cash grab tactic of bringing back a big name from a classic movie, pushing the idea until the finale which even features a few CGI-generated resurrections of other familiar faces. To be fair, this admittedly is probably the best of the entire recent DC output. At its best it speeds along with its own style and a strong ensemble. Most importantly, it’s genuinely fun. Despite boasting a big premise, the ideas get through beyond the special effects.

The star is also the elephant in the room this time around. Everyone knows Ezra Miller is at the moment highly controversial, to the point where Warner Bros. has been careful in distancing its marketing from the actor. However, Miller delivers with outcast gusto. They play Barry Allen, who we first met in 2017’s “Justice League” and with a much better introduction in 2021’s extended “Zack Snyder’s Justice League.” Barry works at a lab but remains consumed by the case of his murdered mother and wrongful imprisonment of his father, Henry (Ron Livingston). He’s also best friends with Bruce Wayne aka Batman (Ben Affleck). In classic time travel story format, Barry becomes obsessed with a detail involving a can of tomatoes and how it impacts his mother’s trip to the supermarket on the fateful day of her death. If he can run just fast enough and break through time, maybe Barry can make an important change that will save his mother and exonerate his dad. But when he goes through the time-shredding lap, Barry is instead thrown into another dimension where his 18 year-old self (also played by Miller) has not yet received his super powers. 

By now the ads have basically spoiled much of what follows in the central, multi-verse premise, but if somehow you are not aware, proceed with caution. Director Andy Muschietti, the atmospheric filmmaker who made “Mama” and the excellent, two-film adaptation of Stephen King’s “It,” has made both a genuine comic book film and a time travel adventure worthy of comparisons with movies like “Back to the Future Part II.” Barry’s trip isn’t about revisiting an exact past, but an ulterior version of it. In this new reality, his obnoxious teenage self never lost his mom and crime is so low in Gotham City, that Bruce Wayne is now a recluse making spaghetti in his mansion. And here is where “The Flash” cheerfully chases after its famous Marvel counterpart, “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” When the two Barry Allens make their way to Wayne Manor they do find Bruce. Except here Wayne is played by  Michael Keaton, who introduced Batman into the modern era in Tim Burton’s classic 1989 “Batman.” 

Bringing Keaton back to his famous role may seem like a cynical marketing ploy, and maybe, in many ways, it is, but Muschietti and writers Christina Hodson and Joby Harold make sure not to overplay the nostalgia winks. The twin Barrys wander around familiar Batcave corners from the Burton film, now moldy and dust-covered after years of being unused. Keaton’s hair has the same cut from the movie, now gray. The writing also works like good pulp fiction, linking Bruce and Barry through the pain of having lost a parent and wishing the past could be changed. Where the plot does get faulty is in its central villain and crisis. It turns out that this timeline also repeats the event from 2013’s “Man of Steel,” when Kryptonian warlord General Zod (Michael Shannon) lands on Earth, threatening of course to take it over. Narrative-wise, it’s a bit of a letdown that the filmmakers forgo an original crisis to simply revisit a scene from a previous movie from a decade ago. The one gain is that this also leads to the introduction of Supergirl, played so well by Sasha Calle as a warrior presence, that we hope she gets her own movie soon. 

The other main plus within this swirl of action and special effects is the rather impressive performance by Miller as two versions of the same character. Their present-day Barry Allen is more mature and cautious, after having gained experience with his powers. He can’t believe how selfish and naïve his 18 year-old self is, having not endured the losses and emotional turmoil of his timeline. This allows Miller to balance giving Barry depth and also getting to play around with slapstick humor. Like “Back to the Future” and “Happy Death Day 2U,” the time travel material allows for fun and real character development. Barry’s determination to save his mother is so involved, it makes the whole General Zod storyline feel like bloated filler meant to deliver the required massive action sequences. Even then, the filmmakers find a way to make the cataclysmic showdown explore the theme of younger Barry suddenly becoming obsessed with also manipulating time to prevent another tragedy. Keaton, who has been followed by his Batman role, despite great performances in films like “Birdman” (a virtual riff on his superhero career) and “The Founder,” also gives his return to Bruce Wayne some subtle flourishes. He’s an older, gentler Bruce who still has that spark of madness. Too bad he also gets turned later into a CGI fighting machine, as if Batman were filtered through “The Matrix.”

“The Flash” visually is an achievement over the other DC titles in developing its own aesthetic. Despite a few visual continuations, it’s the first one that truly feels unchained from the Zack Snyder look first established in “Man of Steel,” which has been the norm through other titles like “Wonder Woman” and “Black Adam.” Muschietti indulges in some grand set pieces, like Barry as Flash in slow motion desperately attempting to save infants from the flying wreckage of an exploding hospital. But for the most part he sticks to a colorful, measured tone to capture the sense of Barry returning to an altered, suburban past. More fun are the moments where older Barry teaches younger Barry on the do’s and don’ts of his powers, which can include traversing walls and the constant need to consume calories after all of that super-fast running. How Barry even attained his abilities is pulled off with suspense and also hilarity. A tooth soon becomes a funny victim of the fateful lightning strike that, combined with chemicals, turned our hero into the Flash. Muschietti has a few song selections from bands like The Cult, but avoids overloading the movie with another generic playlist. 

As for those nostalgic nods, they do threaten to overload during a major showdown in the third act, when other universes become visible but are really just excuses to give us a CGI Christopher Reeve resurrected as Superman for a brief moment. There is also another Superman appearance that is not only a curiosity, but truly feels like a gimmick to throw meat at the geeky lions in the audience. The one final cameo from the ‘90s at the very end of the movie is however fun and is a better example of good fan servicing. “The Flash” has many good things that cancel out DC’s more desperate attempts to compete with Marvel, which is beginning to lose steam in its own bag of tricks. It taps well into how good comic book stories combine the fantastical with more human concerns. Barry just wants to stop the nightmare that derailed his life as a child. There are many things we wish we could back and change, with the lesson always being that it would only open a whole new level of problems. With memorable performances all around, that theme is strong enough here to stand out amid all the rubber suits, masks and cosmic threats.

“The Flash” releases June 16 in theaters nationwide.