THE FLASH (2023)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTIONS: *metaphysical, psychological*

Since I'm not a big fan of comics-writer Geoff Johns, I didn't bother to read his 2011 FLASHPOINT serial before reviewing the DTV film JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE FLASHPOINT PARADOX. (In that review, I wasn't even sure if I'd given the comics-series a look previously, but now I'm pretty sure I did not.) But after seeing THE FLASH, I decided I ought to give the original story a look for points of comparison.

Thanks to the efforts of director Andy Muschietti and writer Christina Hodson, THE FLASH is not a straight adaptation of the Johns story after the fashion of PARADOX. The main story is still about how Barry "The Flash" Allen tries to change the past in order to save his mother from an untimely death, and so brings into being a new timeline dominated by death and destruction. But there's a much stronger emphasis on the ethics of seeking to change the past, as opposed to "doing the Curly shuffle" with various icons of DC Comics, as was the case with both the Johns original and the DTV adaptation.

The script keeps only the most essential characters from the Johns story: the Barry Allen Flash and versions of Batman and Supergirl (who takes the place of her cousin Superman). As a means of showing the doomed nature of the alternate timeline, Johns jury-rigged a rather repulsive conflict between Aquaman and Wonder Woman. That goes out the window in favor of a reprise of General Zod's invasion of Earth from the 2013 MAN OF STEEL, which, though not a good movie, at least possesses some cinematic resonance by virtue of being the launchpoint of the DC Extended Universe. This alteration gives Supergirl a stronger role in the last third of the movie than Superman had in the original tale. However, Kara Zor-El appears too late in the narrative to have any impact as a character, and the actress never gets a handle on what she's given to do.

FLASHPOINT's most vital character interaction is between Flash and the Batman of the new timeline, and the movie follows this formula, though in place of the comic's "Thomas Wayne, Batman," we have "Michael Keaton Batman," who exists in a world with no other DC superheroes, at least until Batman and Flash locate the aforementioned Kryptonian visitor. I avoided most reviews of FLASH, but accidentally heard one fellow claim that Keaton isn't in the movie that much. On the contrary, the Keaton Batman has substantial screen time, more than the other two actors who essay the Caped Crusader. And acting-wise Michael Keaton has a very good chemistry with both of the Flashes...

Ah, I didn't mention that part. The largest new wrinkle in the script is that the Barry Allen from the timeline where his mother Nora Allen died "teams up" with the Barry Allen from the timeline wherein Nora lived. This leads to lots of comic byplay in which lead Ezra Miller has to play both Barries with loads of FX-shots. It may be that this came about from the writer's desire to give Original Barry someone other than Batman to talk to. Not all of the plot-twists of the Two Barries pan out, particularly a subplot in which Original Barry wants to imbue Alternate Barry with speed-powers for no clear reason. Still, Miller does an exemplary job of keeping the two Barries distinct from one another.

The movie also ups the stakes of the original story's game. Alternate Barry, imitating the unwise actions of his "sibling," tries so often to change bad aspects of his timeline via time-travel that his efforts start having a "Crisis on Infinite Earths" effect, causing separate universes to collide and obliterate one another. This leads to a clever montage of references to other DC "universes"-- those of the 1950s Superman show, the 1966 Bat-series, Earth-Two Flash, and others, including a very special "Superman Who Never Was." It's a given that Original Barry gets his act together and forswears his attempt to change the past, and this climax certainly has greater dramatic heft than anything in either FLASHPOINT narrative.

I wasn't terribly invested in the Ezra Miller Flash as he appeared in either BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN or in JUSTICE LEAGUE. But his quirky, motormouth persona here meshes well with the chaos of competing timelines and universes. So maybe, whatever the real-world chaos of Miller's existence, the studio was actually right not to cancel him this time.