The Flash IGN India Review

Editor’s Note: Warner Bros Discovery invited IGN India for early screening of The Flash for this review. The movie is currently in movie halls across the country.

There has been a lot of anticipation among DC fans and superhero fans in general about the arrival of The Flash movie. This ranges from everything that happened with the DCEU, the Snyderverse and Ezra Miller off-screen. First, we will focus on the movie in question and the first two things instead of the third one.

Having seen how the movie pans out, it’s fair to say that if you are expecting to have your mind blown away, there is a high possibility that The Flash delivers. After years of waiting, the movie manages to meet the lofty expectations of DC and Flash fans across the world.

There are a lot of takeaways from the movie that has a lot of responsibilities on its shoulders. Not only does The Flash needs to reset the DC universe for James Gunn to start a new era, but it also must do justice to all the efforts put into the DCEU for more than a decade.

On top of that, The Flash includes two Batman and history is witness to how hard it is to even portray just one Dark Knight on the big screen. If that is not enough, the movie also adapts one of the most important storylines for The Flash. Given the stakes, it would take something special for The Flash to deliver and that is exactly what director Andrés Muschietti conjured up.

The Flash is packed with the perfect balance of humour, worthy action sequences, and an emotionally gripping story about the speedster. It is ironic how a movie which came out in the ultimate moments of Snyderverse, has ignited a new fire into a world that will soon be irrelevant going forward. Here is our complete review for The Flash (2023).

I’m Batman

Even though the name and the primary focus of the movie is on “The Flash” aka Barry Allen. I still want to start with the one character that adds that something special to the movie (as it did in the Flashpoint comics), Batman. There is always a significant difference between each iteration of iconic characters such as the Batman and Joker which makes them unique. We have never seen Ben Afleck’s Batman in his prime days, and it has always felt like the DCEU has tried to make up for it whenever we have seen Afleck.

Instead of being the Batman he is now, we have seen Afleck’s character talk about the Batman he used to be. The Flash did not make that mistake. Afleck portrayed a much calmer Bruce Wayne and it felt like he truly belonged. While he was not around for long in the movie, he owned the screen for whatever little time he got. It’s a fitting farewell for a Batman iteration that had a lot of untapped potential.

While one Batman left the scene early on, the other was around for a considerable chunk of the movie. Michael Keaton’s Batman was unapologetic when it came to fan-service and inducing nostalgia. Given the DCEU’s troubled past, the fan-service is a well-earned reward for long-time DC fans to enjoy. In all this, it almost felt like a miracle for the movie to keep Barry at the heart of the story because of all the other different superheroes like the two Batman.

The Flash and The Multiverse

The movie revolves around the events of the Flashpoint storyline with themes of trauma, pain, and acceptance at the centre. So far, we have seen Ezra Miller’s Flash as the quirky squad member of the Justice League which served the other DCEU movies. In these movies, Flash served as the comic relief as the team faced world-ending odds making the character quite one dimensional.

However, The Flash does an excellent job in showcasing other dimensions of Barry including highlighting just how talented, powerful, and resourceful he truly is. Oh, and Barry still manages to be quirky during the movie. Though, some of that responsibility to be witty was relayed to another version of Barry Allen, thanks to Flash going back in time and entering another timeline.

It has all been about the multiverse lately in superhero movies and The Flash was no exception. Here, Barry’s attempt to save his mother and clear his father’s name created a ripple effect that threatened the very existence of the DC multiverse. In addition, the two vastly different Barry Allen expanded the story beyond just the consequences of meddling with time. The difference between these two versions of Barry also reflected how he must come to terms with his own demons.

Action Sequences

The action sequences in the movie were much better than what I expected. Ever since Zack Synder’s Man of Steel, this is one department that has been disappointing in the DCEU movies until now. The action in this movie was well-crafted, and its direction was top-notch. In fact, it was beyond impressive that Michael Keaton’s Batman did not just appear for some nostalgic dialogues.

Instead, Keaton’s Batman fought like he would have in his prime even for his age. Rationally, it is a stretch to portray how a man this old, who has not been training for years taking down the bad guys with such finesse. However, it is not the first or last time we will see that in superhero movies (or comics).

Poor CGI

While almost everything about The Flash hits home, there is one thing that can put off some viewers. Here, we are talking about the Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) or visual effects (VFX) in the movie. While the portrayal of The Flash’s speed and the Speed Force was brilliantly done, the VFX of events taking place in infinite realities can be slightly off putting.

I was underwhelmed by the CGI and VFX department of the movie. It is troubling prospect considering that some of the most important moments of the movie take place in the Speed Force. So, the incomplete and unpolished looking animation can make those vital moments in the movie less immersive than what the scenes demanded.

Supergirl

Sasha Calle’s Supergirl debut left me excited to see more of a character that has the potential to be one of the standout heroes for DC. There have been many unfulfilled promises in the DC universe so far. The complete Darkseid storyline, full arc of Henry Cavill’s Superman, Martian Manhunter, and the list goes on.

However, the introduction of such a powerful character played gracefully by Calle can make you wonder once again if it truly is necessary to part away from whatever potential that is left in the Snyderverse.

It is up to James Gunn and Peter Safran to decide what the future of Supergirl would be in the new universe and weather Sasha Calle will be a part of it. For what it is worth, Sasha Calle delivered a brilliant performance that would make even the most die-hard fans of Henry Cavill’s Superman not miss his presence in The Flash.