DCU Spotlight Review: The Flash (2023)

Overview: It’s finally here! After a long wait, Ezra Miller returns as Barry Allen in The Flash and is joined by Michael Keaton and Sasha Calle on tour throughout alternate universes and beyond.

Synopsis (Spoilers ahead): In the beginning of The Flash, we are thrown right into the action as Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) is on his way to work but gets a call from Alfred Pennyworth (Jeremy Irons) that Batman (Ben Affleck) needs his help. While Batman deals with the criminals who stole a virus that could destroy Gotham, Flash is on cleanup duty at the hospital. A wing of the hospital holding newborn babies starts to collapse and causes the babies to fall out of the hospital. Barry is able to run up the exploding debris of the building and save all the babies. Batman is able to stop the robbers along with the help of Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot). 

Barry heads back home and has a conversation with his father, who is in prison and is accused of murdering Barry’s mother. After visiting his childhood home and thinking about the events of that fateful day, Barry runs home. Barry ends up running so fast, he travels back into the hospital rescue which happened the day before. Barry tells Bruce what happened and that he feels like he could fix things. He could save his mom or Bruce’s parents. Bruce tells him that the scars they have make them who they are and that traveling back could leave massive damage to the universe. Even after that conversation, Barry goes back in time and is able to save his mother. On the journey back to his time, Dark Flash pops up out of the Speed Force and knocks Barry back into 2013.

Barry has lunch with both his parents but realizes that his 18 year-old self is there as well. Barry stops his younger self and explains the situation to him. After Barry comments that 2013 Barry is annoying (very meta), Barry realizes that today is the day he gets his powers. Barry feels that if his past self doesn’t get his powers then he will cease to exist. They are able to recreate the accident and 2013 Barry gets his powers but our Barry loses his in the process.

While Barry is training 2013 Barry how to use the speed, they see that General Zod (Michael Shannon) is preparing his invasion of Earth (as seen in Man of Steel). We then find out that Barry was involved in the events of Man of Steel and was able to save a child but not the boy’s father. Barry attempts to recreate the Justice League but finds that Aquaman doesn’t exist, Wonder Woman is nowhere, and Victor Stone (Cyborg) is breaking records playing football. In need of help to find Clark Kent/ Superman, the Barrys travel to Gotham City to talk to Bruce Wayne.

While wandering through Wayne Manor, the Barrys are attacked by Bruce Wayne, but it is not the one that Barry knows. IT’S MICHAEL KEATON. Barry explains that he broke the universe, and Michael Keaton explains how there are set points in time and changing it causes changes to both the past and the future (at least that’s how I understood it). Barry asks if he will help them find Superman, but Bruce says no. The Barrys break into the Batcave, and we get an amazing reveal of the cave, the Batmobile, and the Batwing with the iconic Danny Elfman music playing. 

Barry is able to convince Bruce to help and the three of them find that a Kryptonian spaceship is being held in Siberia. They head to Siberia, and after Batman takes out a lot of the guards (truly awesome), find not Superman but Supergirl (Sasha Calle) being held captive. They are able to escape thanks to getting Supergirl to the sun, so she could get her powers back. Kara flies off and says that humanity doesn’t need her help after the way she was treated. She later changes her mind because she doesn’t want General Zod to take over the Earth after she remembers what he was like on Krypton.

Barry asks Bruce for help to gain his powers back. The first attempt involving a Bat-Kite fails, (if this kite isnt in the DC Shop then what has this all been about really) but Supergirl returns and takes Barry up to the sky to get struck by lightning. He is able to regain his super speed. Both Flashes, Batman, and Supergirl go to stop Zod’s invasion when we learn that Zod killed baby Kal-el. The Codex is in Supergirl’s blood. Learning about the fate of her cousin sends Supergirl into a rage, and she dies. Batman flies the Batwing into the Kryptonian ship, and he dies. 2013 Barry is distraught by this, and both Barrys run back in time to change their fates. They keep going back in time, but no matter what they do Supergirl and Batman die. 

Barry tries to tell that 2013 Barry that no matter what they cannot save them, and he is just going to keep making things worse by trying to fix it. While this is happening, the multiverse is starting to collapse. We get some great cameos and Easter eggs here. One world that we see is George Reeves as Superman, then we see Christopher Reeve and Helen Slater as Superman and Supergirl, a quick glimpse of Adam West as Batman, and then Nicholas Cage as Superman fighting a giant spider. If you know, you know.

Dark Flash returns and reveals himself as an older 2013 Barry. He is a time paradox and still believes he can save Supergirl and Batman from Zod and save the world. Barry says that it won’t happen and that he has to fix what he did. Dark Flash is mad that he is going to go back and let their mother be killed all over again but it is the only way to save the world. Dark Flash attempts to kill Barry, but 2013 Barry sacrifices himself and erases himself and Dark Flash from the timestream.

Barry goes back in time to the day his mother was killed and shares one last moment with her, but not before he makes one more minor change to the past to his father. Barry returns back to his original time and sees that everything is put back together. Barry’s father is proven innocent and is free from jail. Barry is celebrating when he gets a call from Bruce Wayne. Bruce pulls up and steps out of the car, and Bruce is played by none other than George Clooney (!!!!!).

Analysis: Was the movie overhyped? Sure. Is it the best comic book film of all time? In my opinion, no. Did I still like it? Yes I did. For all the drama surrounding the movie, a million different directors, script changes, Ezra Miller controversy, I think this is the best possible version of the movie we could have gotten. 

Ezra Miller gave two great performances as an older and younger version of himself. I have never liked the Miller version of Barry Allen. The overactive kid who can’t shut up so it was nice to see the film acknowledge that in some way. I also thought it was smart to put Barry with a younger, dumber version of himself and force our Barry to be more serious.

Michael Keaton crushed it. He was a badass. It was awesome to see that version of Batman fight a General Zod soldier. The Batwing was so cool. I wish we had more of the Batmobile, but all in all, it was awesome to see that version of Batman again. Whenever he was on screen as Batman, I was back as a little kid again watching VHS copies of Batman and Batman Returns. 

Sasha Calle was great as Supergirl but did not get a lot to do. I wonder if she will stay as Supergirl in the upcoming Supergirl solo movie. If she is, I will be on board. I don’t think Clooney will be Batman in The Brave and the Bold. I think this was just a cute way to end this universe and have it be a little love letter to past Batman movies. Every time Barry changed the past, it changed Bruce Wayne’s appearance. 

I did geek out seeing different Earths in the multiverse. Seeing Nic Cage and Reeve was, again, a love letter to DC films of the past. The CGI was a little wonky when Barry was in the Speed Force, and I think it was intentional. In fact, director Andy Muschietti has basically come out and said it. Rumors are that Mushietti is going to direct The Brave and the Bold, and count me in. I think we saw in this movie that he loves Batman and Batman history, so I’m in.

All in all, The Flash closed a loop on the DCEU and that era of films dating back to Man of Steel. It was a 10 year run of some ups and downs. While I don’t think this movie reset the universe like we all thought it would in a specific way, I think the movie was good and brought some great moments along the way.

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