The Flash (12) |Close-Up Film Review
Cast: Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton
Review by Carol Allen
Played by Ezra Miller, he made his debut in Justice League but here he gets his own starring vehicle. His everyday persona is twenty something. nerdy young man Barry Allen, who is haunted by his tragic past. His mother was murdered when he was a small boy and his dad was unjustly convicted of the crime. As The Flash however, his super power is to be able to run faster than the speed of light – a skill which, he discovers can take him back into the past. So maybe he can alter that past and make sure his mother does not die?
We are introduced to The Flash in a spectacular opening sequence where he and Batman (Ben Affleck) on his Boatmobile battle with villains who are trying to blow up Gotham city. Director Muschietti throws everything at the screen – high speed car chases, exploding streets, collapsing buildings and a literal shower of babies falling from a top floor nursery which The Flash must save, catching one of them in a microwave oven.
It is after that that Barry puts his correction plan into action, despite his mentor Batman warning that it is bound to change things – and not all for the better. But for Barry, family comes first.
Back in time The Flash fixes the family murder situation with a tin of tomatoes and then visits his now still alive and kicking parents in what he thinks is the present. He has though miscalculated and his 18 year old self is still living at home. And teen Barry is even nerdier than his adult counterpart. Barry then makes an even more disturbing discovery. General Zod (remember him?), now played by Michael Shannon, is attacking earth and in this time warp there are no superheroes to stop him. It’s up to the two Barries with the help of Bruce Wayne, now in retirement from his Batman days, to deal with the situation.
The plot then thickens. It involves Barry and Barry in tracking down Bruce Wayne, am interesting characterization from an initially unrecognizable Michael Keaton and persuading him to dig out the Batman persona and help them defeat evil. They also discover one super hero that has survived – Supergirl (Sasha Calle ) – and is on their side for the inevitable climactic battle.
Miller shows his versatility in the dual roles of the two Barries, who become more like two identical brothers as the story develops. Older Barry in fact loses a lot of the nerdiness as he teaches his younger self how to be a superhero. The script and concept are well thought out and frequently witty, while at one point there’s a touching visual reference to the late Christopher Reeve’s Superman as the back story of this new reality is revealed. And It’s all very spectacular, using all the technology available to today’s film maker. But sometimes I long for what now seem like the quieter days of the original Superman, when our senses weren’t quite so relentlessly battered, we could hear all the dialogue over the special effects and we wondered in our innocence at the miracle of seeing that a man could fly.
4K
“The Flash” 4K UHD contain the following special features:
· Making the Flash: Worlds Collide – featurette
· Flashpoint: Introducing the Multiverse – featurette
· Let’s Get Nuts: Batman Returns, Again – featurette
· The Bat Chase – featurette
· Saving Supergirl – featurette
· Battling Zod – featurette
· Fighting Dark Flash – featurette
· The Flash: The Saga of the Scarlett Speedster – featurette
· Supergirl: Last Daughter of Krypton – featurette
· Deleted Scenes
· The Flash: Escape the Midnight Circus Trailer
· The Flash: Escape the Midnight Circus: Priorities
· The Flash: Escape the Midnight Circus: The Inherent Dangers of Time Travel
· The Flash: Escape the Midnight Circus: Fully Torqued
· The Flash: Escape the Midnight Circus: The Psychodrome
· The Flash: Escape the Midnight Circus: Cyclotron Don
· The Flash: Escape the Midnight Circus: Blackout
· In Session – The Flash: Escape from the Midnight Circus
BLU-RAY
“The Flash” Blu-ray contain the following special features:
· Making the Flash: Worlds Collide – featurette
· The Flash: Escape the Midnight Circus Behind the Scenes
· Let’s Get Nuts: Batman Returns, Again – featurette
· Supergirl: Last Daughter of Krypton – featurette
· The Flash: Escape from Midnight Circus Trailer
· The Flash: Escape from Midnight Circus: Priorities
· The Flash: Escape from Midnight Circus: The Inherent Dangers of Time Travel
· The Flash: Escape from Midnight Circus: Fully Torqued
· The Flash: Escape from Midnight Circus: The Psychodrome
· The Flash: Escape from Midnight Circus: Cyclotron Don
· The Flash: Escape from Midnight Circus: Blackout
· In Session – The Flash: Escape from the Midnight Circus
BASICS
4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD Street Date: 18 September, 2023
4K Languages: English, Italian, Canadian French, Latin Spanish, English with UK Audio Description, English with US Audio Description
4K Subtitles: English SDH, Italian SDH, Parisian French, Latin Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish
BD Languages: English, Italian, Castilian Spanish, English with UK Audio Description, Czech, Polish, Slovak, Japanese, Mandarin
BD Subtitles: English SDH, Italian SDH, Castilian Spanish, Polish, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Japanese, Cantonese, Korean, Slovak, Complex Chinese, Simplified Chinese
DVD Languages: English, English with UK Audio Description, Castilian Spanish, Czech, Polish, Slovak
DVD Subtitles: English SDH, Castilian Spanish, Swedish, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Polish, Slovak
Running Time: 144 minutes (4K and Blu-ray); 138 minutes (DVD)
Rating: UK – 12, moderate violence, injury detail, threat, infrequent strong language; ROI – 12 IFCO Home Ent age rating still TBC
DVD: Dolby Digital 5.1
Blu-ray: Dolby Atmos TrueHD (English), Dolby Digital 5.1
4K: Dolby Atmos TrueHD (English, Italian), Dolby Digital 5.1
