The Flash (2023)

[Zauriel]

Flash is underperforming at the box office according to some media reports.

[Mace Dolex]

I thought it was good but not the greatest DC film as James Gunn so obviously paid to say it is to be in good graces with Warner Bros, and the people complaining over the dodgy CGI and the baby in the microwave I just got this to say.....GROW THE HELL UP!! It's so obvious the baby needed to be safe and the microwave was unplugged anyway.

It was great seeing Keaton Batman back in the saddle but I would like some backstory as he mentions that Gotham has become safe but yet he was living like a hermit and Sasha Calle after coming off of soap peras was really good as Supergirl I just hope she comes back in some capacity in whatever the new DCEU does now.

[Username taken]

I thought The Flash was weird, aggressively weird.

The movie did feel "stiched up" because it seems large chunks of certain character motivations and plot points were removed.

Personal indiscretions aside, Ezra Miller was miscast for Barry Allen and he doesn't really fit the role. That being said, he did give a good performance and he was excellent at playing two different versions of himself. Keaton was great, Sasha Calle clearly had a lot to offer and should be used more in the next iteration of the DCU. However, these characters fates were very disappointing.

The first act of the movie was just weird, the second act was excellent but the end...was a bit of a disaster. The movie has a resolution but the core plot didn't exactly "conclude" in a satisfying manner. Ultimately, the movie was basically an experiment by Barry and he made a decision that resolved the movie based on his experimentations with people's lives. That tacked on ending (which wasn't the original ending) while very funny messed up the movie.

[Waterfall]

I boycotted the movie ever since Ezra was cast for the role (MASSIVE miscast) and everything I heard about it turned me off to it more. The Batman focus, scandals, lack of any significant Flash character like Wally...blah, I'm having massive schadenfreude about the failure of it now.

[Bunch of Coconuts]

I really, really liked this!

Despite my disdain for time-travel stories (and all my favorite heroes get mixed up in them) and my dislike of Miller’s casting (I like them in other things, just not as Barry), I feel this is a good contender for my new favorite DCEU film after a rewatch (Wonder Woman having been holding that slot).

None of the “bad CGI problems” others have expressed dislike for bothered me. It makes sense Barry would see the world differently, especially while running. The emotional moments hit effectively and the comedic bits were on-point. I can’t speak much for the other actors as I feel there just wasn’t much there (not their fault; it’s Barry’s movie), but I feel as if Miller portrayed two different versions of this Barry exceptionally well (again, despite my dislike of this incarnation of Barry specifically).

Feels a shame we (likely) won’t get a few questions canonically answered:

Who killed Nora?
Why is Barry’s lightning yellow in his current suit?
Does the suit contain the energy? He had to rip off his gloves to shoot bolts.
Where does that energy go?
And probably more after a rewatch.

It’s also a shame this isn’t doing well box office-wise.

[Jon Clark]

I was surprised at the fact I enjoyed this as much as I did. May be that I just had lower expectations going in.

Ezra as the older Flash really grew on me. Not sure if this would have been the case if the movie hadn't had two versions of Barry and Erza as th younger one being so much worse. But it just felt as if the movie would have been so much better if they had dropped the humor (at least the humor related to younger Barry). Keaton, on the other hand, stole the film with his humor which even when a scene was a bit over the top didn't grow annoying.

The ending scene and credits scenes really left me confused and both weren't needed.

I understand not wanting to use the exact Flashpoint from the comics (Amazons Vs Atlanteans) but I feel like what they replaced it with was given short shift. Supergirl was too underdeveloped and Zod could have literally just been out takes from a decade ago

[Jared]

Flash is underperforming at the box office according to some media reports.

It's a flop, plain and simple. It's opened weaker than Black Adam, and much weaker than Quantumania. Both of those lost money and this will too. It had to cost well over 200 million to make, before marketing. If you include all the time in development Hell with thr string of writers and directors that came and went...it could be closer to 300 million.

[Jon Clark]

It's a flop, plain and simple. It's opened weaker than Black Adam, and much weaker than Quantumania. Both of those lost money and this will too. It had to cost well over 200 million to make, before marketing. If you include all the time in development Hell with thr string of writers and directors that came and went...it could be closer to 300 million.

Plus I'm sure those cameos weren't cheap I'm figuring that this is the last DC movie (outside of a Justice League or true team-up) to show other heroes

[achilles]

All this is sad. They could have had Keatonman as the Batman for a Batman Beyond, which IMO has much more potential than pretty much anything Gunn has announced. The relationship between Keaton and whoever they'd get to play Terry would be the draw, apart from the origin story for the new Batman. Audiences would get their Keaton fix, and he wouldn't have to do much physical stuff. They really blew it with him IMO, and they didn't do Calle any favors with this either.

[James Cameron]

All this is sad. They could have had Keatonman as the Batman for a Batman Beyond, which IMO has much more potential than pretty much anything Gunn has announced. The relationship between Keaton and whoever they'd get to play Terry would be the draw, apart from the origin story for the new Batman. Audiences would get their Keaton fix, and he wouldn't have to do much physical stuff. They really blew it with him IMO, and they didn't do Calle any favors with this either.

You said it. I felt embarrassed for Keaton. All of the Batman stuff had no place in this movie (or rather, it shouldn't have) , and it didn't help that Miller (x2) does not shut up. I don't know if there was a different original plan for Supergirl in this movie but the "rapidly filled in on everything going on right before joining the fight" is such a tired trope.

I am mainly depressed about it as a Flash fan and someone with a strong attachment to the pre-Crisis Barry Allen stories. There was nothing in this movie that captivated me and I am deeply sad that this film combined with Miller's behavior will likely have a profound effect on the Flash brand going forward, whether or not the majority likes it or not.

[krazijoe]

You said it. I felt embarrassed for Keaton. All of the Batman stuff had no place in this movie (or rather, it shouldn't have) , and it didn't help that Miller (x2) does not shut up. I don't know if there was a different original plan for Supergirl in this movie but the "rapidly filled in on everything going on right before joining the fight" is such a tired trope.

I am mainly depressed about it as a Flash fan and someone with a strong attachment to the pre-Crisis Barry Allen stories. There was nothing in this movie that captivated me and I am deeply sad that this film combined with Miller's behavior will likely have a profound effect on the Flash brand going forward, whether or not the majority likes it or not.

They should have made him Thomas Wayne. That is the only think I didn't like about Batman in it. Batman was shown to be Barry's Father Figure/conscience since he first arrived in the DCU. It makes sense that it was Batman that made Barry finally understand what he was doing wrong and why he was the bad guy for trying to change time. All the other stuff going on was superfluous as the movie was all about Barry 1 and his search for understanding and how personal decisions can have unintended consequences. Even something as simple as place a can of tomatoes in a grocery cart...

[choptop]

This movie was amazing I loved it.

[choptop]

So by my count there's at least 4 different Burton/Schumacherver batman variants now?

batman 1)
89
Returns
BF
BAR

Batman 2)
89
Returns
89 comic

Batman 3 )this one no longer exists
89
Returns
89 comic
The flash

Batman 4 new DCEU Batman?
89
Returns
BF
BAR
Flash endings.

[James Cameron]

Michael Keaton Batman Beyond Movie Was Planned Before The Flash’s Crash

[wleakr]

Michael Keaton Batman Beyond Movie Was Planned Before The Flash’s Crash

That makes no sense.

Pretty sure Keaton was the main draw for the Flash and brought more people to the movie than what Flash would do alone. I could see saying if this does well, they have Flash 2 planned.

But that shouldn't have impact on a Batman Beyond plan, with or without Keaton.

If the studio believes in Blue Beetle, why would they balk at Batman Beyond?

DC just can't get out it's own way.