‘Flash’ speeds past controversy for entertaining summer fun
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).
