‘The Flash’ Review: Ezra Miller's superhero flick's shoddy plot with multiple cameos fails to strike the right chord
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Andy Muschietti, the director of ‘The Flash’ recently spoke about the cameos in the DC film. He said, “I made a list of superheroes that I love, that I would love to see… then, for pacing, we had to shortlist that a little bit.” Turns out, he had a long list and probably wanted to bring every superhero from the past onto the screen. ‘The Flash’ boasts a series of cameos as a tribute to all the legendary actors who have played Superman or Batman in the DC universe in the past. It’s an attempt to channel the nostalgia of the audiences and the fans and a slick way to get them to theatres. Only the fans are too smart to call out a spade when they see one.
It was clear from the get-go that Mushcietti was aiming to massage the ego of die-hard DC fans while trying to make a name for himself. To do that, he created a big multiverse sequence in the film, where multiple worlds collide as the two ‘Flash’ witness in horror. At the beginning of the film, we see a small reunion of three members of the 'Justice League' when Wonder Woman helps Ben Affleck’s Batman and Ezra Miller’s Flash to thwart an ongoing robbery. The initial segment also shows Nikolaj Coster-Waldau eating a slice of pizza in a quick breeze as ‘The Flash’ runs on the streets. But the biggest names arrive only for a brief moment, adding no value to the story and in poor CGI effect that has baffled and angered many who went to see ‘The Flash'.
Four Batmans in ‘The Flash’
Apart from Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton plays the caped crusader in the past who helps Barry Allen aka ‘The Flash’ in a battle against General Zod. But when Barry messes with the timeline, he bears witness to a multiverse where all the other worlds are before him and lies on the verge of colliding with each other. It is there that we get a glimpse of a world with Adam West who played Batman on television back in the 1960s. It also showcases Burt Ward as Robin and Cesar Romero as the Joker. However, the biggest surprise is at the end of the film when Barry goes back in time to revert his changes to the timeline, supposedly fixing his mistakes.
By doing so, he creates a timeline where Ben Affleck’s Batman doesn’t exist. It’s a world where George Clooney is the Batman. Clooney played the role in Batman & Robin and his cameo turns out to be the most unexpected out of the lot. Clooney comes out of his swanky car when Barry is exiting the court after bailing his father out of a crime he didn’t commit. This brings another question to the fore: do Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Mr Freeze and Uma Thurman’s Poison Ivy also return in this timeline?
An ode to Superman’s
During the multiverse sequence, George Reeves’ Superman is also shown. George played Superman in the first feature film inspired by DC characters and also took up the character in the subsequent TV show. The legendary Christopher Reeve who starred in four Superman films in the past appears side by side with Supergirl, Helen Slater when Barry messes with the multiverse. A world where Nicolas Cage is Superman and fighting a battle with a mammoth spider is also shown and it's a homage to the Tim Burton movies that were never made. Cage was expected to don the cape of Superman but the studio scrapped the film before it could happen.
What was Aquaman for?
When Barry is in the past, he meets his younger self. He then makes his younger self his sidekick and begins to investigate the world that he’s in. Unfortunately, there is no Superman to fight the evil General Zod, Wonder Woman doesn’t exist and the Justice League is a name no one’s heard of. In an attempt to reach Arthur Curry aka Aquaman, he dials a number off a phone book and instead reaches his father, Tom Curry who doesn’t have a son named Arthur but a dog of the same name. And his wife is not the Queen of Atlantis.
However, in the post-credits scene, Barry is seen having a jovial time with Aquaman. This is only to remind the fans that Jason Momoa will be returning to play the titular character in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Of all the cameos that 'Flash' came up with, none of it ignited the excitement of the fans.