Willing Suspension of Disbelief

Movie reviews from someone who loves movies

Thursday, August 31, 2023

The Flash (2023)

Plot


Superspeedster, the Flash, goes back in time to save his mom. Changes history. Changes it back. Learns his lesson.

The Good


Watchability


This is a very watchable movie (+1). It is for the most part, exciting. (+1)
The movie is well done, but it has obvious problems with continuity. For instance, the terrorist at the beginning has an open case, but, when Wonder Woman pulls him and the Batman up, the case is magically closed. This just ruined the next five to ten minutes of the film for me, as I had to get back into believing the underlying premise.
There is some intentional humor. (+1)
There are also some lines that are just priceless
Older Barry to younger Barry: "Okay. You don't stop talking. It's not charming. It's abrasive and exhausting. And... OMG! I'm starting to realize what people mean.”
(+1/2)

Story Line


The story line is marginally believable. Once you have accepted the premise of an super powers and the ability to travel back in time, much of what comes later is believable. (+1)
The story is actually about how The Flash has to mature as a person. One might prefer a more nuanced progression, but, there was only a limited amount of time. (+1)

Acting


The acting is okay. Ezra Miller is really good at acting socially inept. There are points where he appears pensive. We do see him mature by the end of the movie. The additional Batmans, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, and the bad guy don't have to act at all. They are hardly in the movie. This is a movie about the maturing of the protagonist. (+1/2)

The graphics and cinematography are actually pretty good. Especially at the beginning. The visualization of the Time Force and the (for lack of a better word) Time Bowl were creative. The superhero fights toward the end of the movie looked a little too CGId, almost as if the production were rushed by then. (+1)

The Bad


There is some comic-book violence on screen. But, almost all of it is against the bad guys. Although, a couple of good guys die multiple times. The gore is kept to a minimum (-1/2)

The Ugly


There is a small amount of male non-frontal nudity, but, it is used for humourous effect. There are a few sexual references that did not promote the story line. (-1/2)

Recommendation


+5: Time well spent.