Shadows on the Wall

The Flash

dir Andy Muschietti
scr Christina Hodson
prd Barbara Muschietti, Michael Disco
with Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ben Affleck, Maribel Verdu, Ron Livingston, Kiersey Clemons, Antje Traue, Jeremy Irons, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Rudy Mancuso , Gal Gadot, George Clooney, Jason Momoa
release US/UK 16.Jun.23
23/US Warners 2h24

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A consistently wacky sense of humour and some surprising depth of character elevate this superhero blockbuster above the pack, even if it features the usual overwrought digital trickery and absurd multiverse mayhem. While everything swells to the expected hyper-cartoonish climax, director Andy Muschietti and writer Christina Hodson impressively keep the story centred on the people, leaving the apocalyptic elements as merely plot points, as they should be.

As the Flash, Barry (Miller) is getting tired of cleaning up the Bat-messes Bruce Wayne (Affleck) leaves behind. These distract him from helping his dad (Livingston) clear his name of the murder of his mother (Verdu). Then when Barry realises he can speed backwards in time, he decides to reverse the clock and save her. But changing the past creates an alternate timeline, and now he must team up with his goofball 18-year-old self and a very different Batman (Keaton) to rescue Superman's cousin Kara (Calle) and take on a marauding General Zod (Shannon).

With a loose, freewheeling tone, the film echoes Barry's spinning mind as it goes wildly out of control from the start, darting between enormous set-pieces that are sloppily rendered but brilliantly staged, starting with a mass baby rescue as a hospital collapses (apparently with no one else inside). Barry's super speed is rendered with a full range of eye-catching effects, often with pointedly comical touches that draw the audience further into the narrative. So even with quite a huge number of dodgy animated all-star cameos, there's enough detail to keep things exciting.

Miller is also flat-out terrific in both of the film's lead roles, using witty details to differentiate between two eccentric versions of Barry while adding riotously entertaining spark to their interaction. He also brings unusual emotional depth to both roles. Calle has strong presence as the intensely focussed Supergirl, facing off against a particularly relentless Shannon. And the performance from Keaton is the movie's nicest surprise, as he finds wonderful gravitas in a role he last played more than 30 years ago.

While Muschietti maintains the demands of the genre, punctuating the story with requisite action beats, he is clearly far more interested in the actual plot. This sometimes leaves the action feeling like spectacle for its own sake, most notably in the enormous worlds-collide finale. But he never loses track of the more internalised character arcs, offering moments of proper emotion amid some genuinely distressing violence. It's a rare big-budget beast of a movie with a darkly beating heart.

themes, language, violence 30.May.23

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