‘Flash’ speeds past controversy for entertaining summer fun

Troubled nonbinary star Ezra Miller delivers tour-de-force performance

By JOHN PAUL KING

It’s not often that we at the Blade feel compelled to review a “big box” Hollywood franchise movie. That’s not a judgment; it’s just that such movies are made to please their intended audience, not the critics. Fans are going to like what they like, regardless of what we think.

But “The Flash” – the latest entry in the DC Comics movie franchise, officially open in theaters as of June 16 – is something different.

We don’t mean it isn’t a typical franchise film; in fact, much of the movie, a largely “standalone” film in the DC “Extended Universe,” falls predictably in line with the usual value-reinforcing melodramatic storytelling that drives almost every superhero film ever made. It follows the efforts of its title character – whose “real” identity is that of Barry Allen (Ezra Miller), a young forensic scientist working to prove his imprisoned father’s innocence in his mother’s murder – as he uses his superhuman speed to turn back time and attempt to prevent the incident that caused her death in the first place, against the advice of his friend and Justice League mentor Batman (Ben Affleck, reprising the role). Of course, things don’t go as smoothly as planned, and Barry inadvertently thrusts himself into an alternative timeline where his mother’s survival is only one of many significant – and potentially catastrophic – changes. He’s forced to team up with his own younger self (also Miller) – as well as an iteration of Batman (Michael Keaton, also reprising the role) – to set things right, which not only involves finding a way back to his own strand of the multiverse, but helping to prevent an apocalypse he has inadvertently caused in the new one.

As an installment in the larger tapestry being woven-as-they-go by the DCEU, “The Flash” represents a considerable departure in the sense that it takes a much lighter tone than the edgy darkness that has marked the franchise ever since it was launched with filmmaker Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel.” Snyder’s dark vision for the characters and storylines was a point of contention with both the studio and fans from the beginning, ultimately leading to the debacle of 2017’s “Justice League” – a notorious box office flop after being retooled by director Joss Whedon following Snyder’s departure from the project in the wake of a family tragedy – and divisive opinions from DC fans over the incongruity between styles. A later “director’s cut” by Snyder (released in 2021), though greeted with a friendlier response, nevertheless elicited widely varied opinions from fans about which approach they preferred.

With “The Flash,” however, the franchise has fully embraced the lighter touch. As directed by Andy Muschietti from Christina Hodson’s screenplay, it wastes no time in establishing a tongue-in-cheek, self-referential style, playing Barry’s initial adventure of the film – dealing with the collateral damage from Batman’s over-the-top capture of a would-be bio-terrorist – mostly for giddy laughs. It’s a sequence, which, had he had the technology to make it happen, would have seemed right at home in one of Buster Keaton’s elaborately slapstick silent comedies.

That comedic thread runs throughout, giving the film an almost camp sensibility (not the accidental kind, but the truly delicious, intentional variety) and an overall buoyancy that gives it more in common with the lightweight superhero movies of the past than with Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy or the “Avengers” films – though it’s worth noting that it occasionally evokes comparison with Taika Waititi’s near-farcical “Thor” movies. Indeed, at times, it feels almost like a winking parody of the genre itself, using the familiar cliches and conventions – as well as the now-obligatory fan “Easter eggs,” here taken to an exponential level by the waggish return of Keaton’s iconic Batman (performed with obvious relish in a standout supporting turn), not to mention quite a few other “surprise” nods to former iterations of the DC film canon – not only to make fun of superhero movies in general, but sometimes even to troll the audience itself.

This, of course, may not sit well with fans who favor a more solemn and serious approach to the material; but “The Flash” still takes itself seriously enough to deliver a story which, though hardly original (again, part of the movie’s deliberate “meta” underpinnings), provides enough drama, action, and reasonably solid character development to satisfy audiences more interested in rooting for their comic book heroes than laughing at them –though it must be mentioned that some of the special effects look oddly rudimentary, especially in comparison with the impressive seamlessness of the film’s many “double Barry” scenes. In addition, it’s clever enough to use its exploration of time travel as a justsubtle-enough analogy for managing – or rather, coming to terms with – the consequences of our actions in the real-life corner of the multiverse we’re seemingly stuck with, and that goes a long way toward making the whole thing feel like much more than juvenile wish-fulfillment fantasy.

None of these, however, is why “The Flash” feels noteworthy to the Blade; for many of our readers (the non-superhero fans among them, anyway), its point of interest likely lies in its star. Miller – the first out nonbinary person to play the lead role in a major superhero franchise film. Recognized for their intelligence, intensity, and imagination since an early career that included breakout roles in “We Need to Talk About Kevin” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” they bring those gifts to the table in full force here, playing two versions of the Flash opposite themself with what seems like effortless grace and precision – apt adjectives to describe a performance that also highlights their skill as a physical performer. It’s an engaging, endearing tour-de-force that arguably carries the film on its own strength; and as a bonus, the inclusion of out actress Kiersey Clemons as the Flash’s love interest lends a welcome sense of queerness to the pairing that enhances, rather than undermines, their chemistry together.

Yet Miller’s triumph might be bittersweet; their well-publicized unstable conduct offscreen – about which we won’t go into detail here, save to say that it involves arrests and citations for harassment, assault, and burglary, as well as accusations of even more troubling behavior – has rendered them a liability for the DC franchise, which reportedly considered shelving the film before its star apologized for their actions and agreed to enter treatment for mental health issues. Their continuation in the role for future films – and likely also in their acting career – hinges on the success of that treatment.

Though it’s understandable that many DC fans might object to Miller’s participation in the franchise due to the nature of some of the allegations against them, “The Flash” is ample evidence of both their exceptional talent and their star appeal. Queer representation aside, it would be a true loss for them to be derailed by mental health, and we, like all their other fans, are pulling for Miller.

In the meantime, the best way to show support might just be to go see “The Flash” –which is smart and entertaining enough to be enjoyed even by those who don’t like superhero movies, and possibly loved by those who are.