The Flash

#13 DCEU. After a decade since Man of Steel, I finally got to see a live-action Flash(point). The animated The Flashpoint Paradox was not bad at all, and in the sequential art world it was a significant event in 2011 designed to restart DC, which was followed by the famous era of The New 52. And of course, we also saw a television crossover on the same topic in the world of the Arrowverse. But such a complex theme came simply too late. Superficial movie viewers who refuse to read the comic book originals, and who normally fill the box office, are lost. Those who reject cartoons and series do not understand half of that interconnected world. And that's why it's not doing well in movie theaters. Speaking for myself, I must say that I am thrilled with the return of Batman 89 (and Batman 97), I have absolutely no problem with Ezra Miller, I am completely satisfied with all the plots around Michael Shannon, I enjoyed another scene with Gal Gadot... There are many things that I liked, including the million nods to the film past of DC. I will skip the collector Barbie with Sasha Calle's face this time, because there is only one Supergirl. For me, this was very good, though it could have been brilliant if it was the planned peak of the entire DC movie decade from the beginning, but it is definitely not a defeat. (18/08/2023)

Visually, it often looks worse than excrement, the quality of the humour highly surpasses the bar of awkwardness already in the opening sequence with the babies and doesn't dip below it for the rest of the film, and Ezra Miller is the most annoying, sleazy superhero I can remember, and as if that wasn't enough, he's here twice. And perhaps because of this off-kilter combination of strange creative choices, I actually ended up enjoying it more than I ever dared to expect. I just can't see The Flash as being another rank-and-file comic book film, it feels more like a parody, like the Hot Shots comic-book adaptations (thanks to which it’s not a problem that it doesn't make much sense). God forbid that someone would follow it up in style to set a trend (which won't happen given the box office flop), but as a one-off, for me, it’s quite the guilty pleasure. (18/07/2023)

I'm not enchanted, but I had a great time. The Flash has pace, action, humour, but also awkward moments. One of the driving forces of the film is Ezra Miller, who, although he proves to be a problematic actor, works perfectly in his role, in this case a dual-role, as he has made the Flash a character that is simply impossible not to root for. His grimaces are simply the sparkle in the entire Flash picture. At times, though, the film is also terribly awkward, which is due to some of the lines and really bad visual effects. CGI babies will be a part of my nightmares for a long time, as will some elements of the final battle. I'm sure some will point out that 144 minutes is a long running time. I don't think so. The whole story has momentum and rather than watching the time on the clock, one has the urge to follow all the timelines. In short, The Flash deals with questions about the flow of time and fate, which makes it a thought-provoking film and not "just" a popcorn movie. (13/06/2023)

The bells are tolling for this phase of the DC universe and The Flash almost feels like a swan song. But don't worry, we still have Aquaman 2 and Blue Beetle to look forward to! Comparing this to Marvel is a waste of time nowadays, but here Spider-Man: No Way Home is literally screaming. Although it's quite entertaining, the plot, which mixes several timelines, has to be kicked off with the main character acting like the world's most irresponsible moron, and everything that happens after that is just mindless action for effect. The excessive fan service will captivate many, on the other hand, the very bad digital effects may surprise some, but otherwise it's a pretty average comic book film, whose existence you will probably forget two days after the screening. (14/06/2023)

A film that ultimately didn't take as big a bite as I feared, it isn't only waiting for the Batmen and all the possible cameos to show up. It’s a truly good and, more importantly, fun Flash story. Nothing profound, nothing I'd remember for a long time, but I guess that wasn't the point. It's "just a pity" that this film is actually of no use and that the studio itself had already killed it before releasing it by a series of decisions. (23/06/2023)