Do you know why we like The Flash most among the more mature Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman? Because he is fast, funny and fresh, like many of our friends. He talks constantly and thinks about his delivered words moments later.

The recent movie, The Flash, is just like our favourite superhero, who follows his heart. We have time travel, alternate universes and lots of superheroes, some we know, some we don’t.

Ezra Miller returns as The Flash/ Barry Allen from the previous DC films and is amazing as always. He still grieves his mother’s death and father’s unjust imprisonment and despite a warning from Ben Affleck’s Batman, tries to change the past. The result is the collapse of two worlds, where everything changed. Whole dimensions were altered and The Flash loses and gains his super-speed at different times. We are introduced to Supergirl and a younger Flash, with cameos from Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and Ben Affleck’s Batman in the 145-minute movie.

However, the man who outshines others is Michael Keaton, who played the ‘Bat’ in two movies produced some three decades back. He still has the charisma and the bravado many experienced in 1989. Keaton’s character plays an excellent mentor to the Flash, who lands at the wrong time, and desperately needs guidance.

Sasha Calle as Supergirl was lovable and the moment she appeared on the screen; the momentum of the movie accelerated. She can never be a replacement for Henry Cavill’s Superman, but was attractive in both action and non-action scenes.

With elements of science fiction and time travel, the movie has lots of funny lines, a family drama plot as well as energised action sequences. Coming after Marvel’s Spiderman Across the Spiderverse, DC needed a high-powered flick, and The Flash did the trick for them. Not as confusing as Spiderman, The Flash is more innovative and easily relatable.

There are many scenes from previous DC films that were altered here, but the creative use of CGI makes them look fresh. Like Spiderman No Way Home, this film involves time travel due to the superhero’s selfish gains, but eventually, sanity prevails and The Flash gets to terms with reality.

Directed by Andy Muschietti, The Flash talks about the origin of Flash without making it look like a typical origin story. It is a movie for the entire family, as we can shout at awesome action-packed scenes, while elders would whistle at the entry of Michael Keaton and others. If you haven’t watched it, go for it; many of us who have seen it are thinking of watching it again.

Published in Dawn, Young World, July 8th, 2023

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