DC Studios' 'The Flash' was expected to be a revival for the franchise after hits from the distant past like 'Man of Steel', Zack Snyder's 'Justice League', 'Wonder Woman' and 'Suicide Squad'. However, the movie is more about the producers' attempts to recast some of the actors that played iconic superheroes in this franchise, which will no doubt arouse nostalgia and enthusiasm in the audience.
Containing all those jacked-up super egos, walking in skin-hugging spandex suits ever-ready for a showdown, in a movie requires some serious scripting. And the DC Studios went back to their comics drawing boards to construct a Multiverse!
The Flash, aka Barry Allen, was undoubtedly the best choice for DC to explore the concept of multiverse. Barry Allen, who is battling to establish his father's innocence in his mother's murder case, collaborates with the Justice League using his metahuman abilities to stop crimes and rescue lives.
The speedster learns of his ability to go back in time after an emotionally triggered incident and comes to believe that this will give him a chance to stop his mother's death. Might sound familiar, but don't blame DC scriptwriters for, with great powers comes great responsibilities and some bromidic fantasies about time travel.
However, things don't turn out the way Barry anticipates them to, leading to a series of catastrophic events that can cause immense destruction across various timelines, the collision of universes and the return of DC's one of the most powerful supervillains- General Zod of the Kryptonian Warrior Guild (who was killed by Superman aka Kal-El in 'Man of Steel').
Every superhero makes mistakes, which serves as the basis for the plot of these movies (such as Peter Parker's small favour from Doctor Strange in 'Spiderman: No Way Home' results in mayhem). Similarly, Barry is compelled to alter the timeline to save his parents and live a normal life with them, leading to unfavourable consequences including chances of him getting killed in the process.
Ezra Miller has delivered a convincing performance as socially awkward, flawed and grief-stricken Barry Allen. Meanwhile, Miller as Barry's 2013 counterpart can wear the crowd out with his 'uber cool' attitude. The producers have made a wise choice by casting Sasha Calle as Supergirl, alias Kara Zor-El (Superman's cousin), who is vengeful and can stare into your soul with her rough and intense looks (unlike Kal-El played by Henry Cavill, who was calmer and poised). Michael Shannon's portrayal of General Zod and Michael Keaton's portrayal of Bruce Wayne or Batman also stood out with their performances.
To the joy of the franchise's fans, the film also features several Easter eggs and edge-of-the-seat action sequences.
On the whole, 'The Flash' may not live up to expectations, but it does deliver the kind of excitement that one may have experienced while seeing vintage Batman or Superman films.
