The Flash (2023) is the latest installment of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), set to follow the events of Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021). It is also one of the remaining three movies of the universe as Warner Bros has already announced the upcoming soft reboot, which would be orchestrated by Marvel’s The Guardians of The Galaxy franchise director James Gunn, replacing the DCEU with DC Universe (DCU).
The Plot
Barry Allen/ The Flash (played by Ezra Miller) is working as a forensic chemist for the police department, in the hope of gaining evidence to prove his wrongly convicted father’s (played by Ron Livingston) innocence in murdering his mother (played by Maribel Verdú) when he was a kid. The story is set a day before the appeal of Barry’s parents’ case, in which Barry has obtained a new piece of evidence with the help of Bruce Wayne (played by Ben Affleck). However, the security camera footage, digitally restored by Wayne’s technologies, would be of no use to act as Barry’s father’s evidence of absence since it did not record the father’s face. Deeply disappointed by the fact, the superhero ran as far as he could to vent out, accidentally discovering his time travel ability. Despite the warning from Batman, the Flash used his new ability to return to his childhood and saved his mother, believing that would alter the original future. However, it turned out that he had created an alternative universe, in which none of the original members of Justice League exists, except for Batman (played by Michael Keaton), but with another face and age. Discovering that he also changed the past, the Flash had to take up the responsibility to prevent the catastrophic invasion of General Zod, which originally took place in the Man of Steel (2013) and was beaten by Superman, in the world without the world’s strongest Kryptonian.
Refreshing Hero Debut
DCEU’s The Flash made his first appearance back in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2015) and has since featured in other DCEU’s movies and TV series. However, the audience is missing the character’s origin movie for years. So how does one re-introduce a character that has been there for a long time? The Flash (2023) explores the origin of its superhero in an untraditional way. The story focuses on the events in an alternative universe faced by the original Barry. In that timeline, Barry is able to meet his 2013-self, who has yet to gain his superpower. The 2013-Barry grew up with the love of his parents and has a more reckless character. The original Barry met the 2013-Barry on the day he was supposed to be struck by lightning, which also gave him his superspeed. Barry had to mentor the 2013-Barry about his new-gained power. With two versions of the same character, we get a proper introduction to our hero through the 2013-Flash while also getting new character development for the original Flash.
“Let Go”
The movie centers around Barry’s regret of losing his mother during his childhood. To save his mother from being murdered and protect the world she is living in, he and the 2013-Barry used the ability of time travel multiple times respectively in order to change the events that had already happened. However, no matter how many times both Barrys went back, it was impossible for the duo to achieve the outcome they wanted. By then Barry remembered what his mother once said -
Not every problem has a solution. Sometimes you just have to let go.
Even the power of time travel grants him the ability to undo things, there will always be something that he cannot control. Reflecting on his actions and his mum’s advice, Barry finally decided to go back to the day his mum was murdered, undo what he tried to fix, share one final moment with his mum and let go.
But if the idea of the movie is about letting go, then why would the Flash rearrange the tomato cans shelf to the top to save his father? In the present day, the court has not yet begun, which means the verdict of his father has not been concluded. There is still a possibility for the future while his mother’s death is already in the past. The point is about letting go of the past and focus on the future.
The Good
Ezra Miller’s performance is the best part of the movie. Most of the interactions of the movie comes from these two characters - Barry and 2013-Barry, both played by Ezra Miller. The same character with two different characteristics, due to different upbringing and life stages. One came from a family shattered by tragedy with years of experience of his superpower, the other one grew up full of love and just had his first taste of meta abilities. Ezra delivered a brother-like chemistry through these two characters. The scene where Barry returns the tomato can so that the event of his mom getting killed can take place is also heartbreaking.
The Bad
The action scenes of the movie are a little bit disappointing. It is expected to see more of the Flash in action from his standalone movie. However most of the Flash’s action scenes are already shown in the trailer, and there is only one more solo scene from the actual movie. The VFX itself also looks kind of rubbery. Sasha Calle’s Supergirl and both Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton’s Batmans’ action scenes turned out to be much more engaging than the main hero. The final battle is also rushed when compared to the original one from Man of Steel (2013).
Another missing piece is that if the Flash can go back in time but cannot save his mother, then why cannot he just stay there for a while and identify her killer? It is impossible for the character to not want to know who the killer really is after suffering from the tragedy that broke his family apart and this would also be crucial in getting his father out of jail.
One more thing, Superman. There are multiple variants of Superman (even the scrapped Nicholas Cage version) in the movie, but why are we missing out on Henry Cavill’s version, which is set in exactly the same universe as our Flash is in? I know they are going to recast Superman for the upcoming DCU, but is it that impossible to make a cameo in the movie so that the fans can see their beloved Superman one last time?
Conclusion
The Flash (2023) delivers a fun and unique style superhero movie, but not without its flaws. I do enjoy the movie for its plot and Ezra’s performance. However, the superhero’s fans may be disappointed if they want to see more of their hero in action.