Recently, I managed to drag Tom and our friends Dave and Laurie to see the "Flash" Film at the theatres ( I don't like going to theatres, btw). I did NOT like Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash in the Justice League movie and well, I equally didn't like him in his own film. Today's blog explains why as a comics fan of over 45 years, I didn't care for this film.
(Image: Supergirl, the Flash and Batman from the Ezra Miller "Flash" movie)
But, I'm going to back up here a bit- I've been reading DC Comics since the mid-1970s and love the characters (sorry, Marvel - I like your characters, but not your comics). I really loved the super-speedster hero known as the Barry Allen character also known as the Flash in comics, and in the 1990s TV series portrayed by John Wesley Shipp and the recent 9-year series where the Flash was portrayed as Grant Gustin.
(Image; Grant Gustin as the Flash of Earth 1 and John Wesley Shipp as the Flash of Earth 2 from the Flash TV Series on the CW Network- THESE Guys are the best).
THIS FILM WAS A "C MINUS" -. Mostly because it also resurrected Michael Keaton's Batman, and had quick cameos of most DC TV and movie superheroes. If Not for the cameos, I thought the film a "D."
DUMB OPENING SCENE - The opening scene with the Flash trying to eat before rescuing (only) 6 babies from a crumbling hospital was absolutely stupid. PLUS, the entire hospital collapsed and he saved 6 infants, 1 nurse and a dog . What about the other thousand people? the Building? DUMB. (It made me think of Superman III where the director brought it comedian Richard Pryor and had all kinds of dumb "accidents" to try and be funny. Sadly, it wasn't.)
NOTHING LIKE THE GRAPHIC NOVEL - the director DID NOT stick anywhere NEAR the "Flashpoint" storyline of the comics. He simply used the premise of going back in time to prevent Barry's mother's death - which changes everything- and it's Absolutely NOTHING like the comic books.
WRONG VILLIANS - to toss in General Zod in the mix, and omit Aquaman and Wonder Woman as enemies in the timeline was ridiculous... as was all the gratuitous explosions and killings.
(Image: Someone appropriately doctored the words on this cover of a Flash Comic book from the 1970s)
WRONG CHARACTERS - Barry Allen of the comics is a blonde-haired, great forensic scientist in his own right, always late, and married to a red-headed Caucasian woman, Iris Allen. The director opted to race-swap for no reason. Iris was an attractive black woman, Barry Allen was depicted as a dark-haired, goofy, irresponsible, daffy, Hispanic man. Supergirl is blonde in the comics, too. There's no reason for it, and that's NOT what comics fans want. We want to see our comics come to life. Not some alternate reality.
BOTTOM LINE - If you want to see it, wait until it comes out on a streaming service. I will not buy it on dvd and will not watch it again, sadly.
SCENE POST CREDITS- It was as dumb as the rest of the movie and not worth staying for, even if you like the Aquaman character.
No comments:
Post a Comment