There’s a lot to like with the trailer. The premise of “Oh crap, I accidentally messed up the timeline!” is a great way to set high stakes. Considering X-Men: Days of Future Past is my favourite canonical entry in Fox’s X-Men franchise, having a DC movie do something similar has my interest piqued. Time travel movies allow for interesting story ideas, so this could be the big break Warner Bros. Discovery wants.
The emotional stakes are cemented: Barry Allen finds a way to save his mother, so he jumps on it. In the process, he makes everything worse. Ultimately, he’s forced to sacrifice his personal happiness to make everything right. It’s basically Spider-Man: No Way Home ported to a DC movie, except with DC’s in-house style. Given how I enjoyed Spider-Man: No Way Home, I might enjoy this too…hopefully.
I like that Michael Shannon’s Zod’s getting another chance. Shannon’s a great character actor, and even detractors of Man of Steel have acknowledged how wasted he was. Revisiting the role, this time (hopefully) to get it right, gives me hope. It’s like Jamie Foxx as Electro: great casting, wrong script. And since Foxx had his redemption, why can’t Shannon?
I really appreciate Michael Keaton’s return as Batman. This’ll probably make some of you mad, but I thought his time as Batman was wasted in the Tim Burton movies. It was pretty obvious that Burton wasn’t interested in Batman as a character, and while the movies were “decent”, I didn’t care for them because of that. Still, Keaton did a great job, and, like Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man, he deserved better. If The Flash turns out to be good, this could be his opportunity.
On the subject of casting, Supergirl’s a great one. The trailer only has a few moments with her, but I like Sasha Calle’s Kara. Yes, it’s an unconventional take. And yes, she looks different than what Kara’s usually portrayed as. But ignoring that, I’m excited for Calle. She seems genuinely invested here, and unlike Leslie Grace in Batgirl, she’s actually getting a chance. It’s a win-win for everyone.
The movie looks to have genuine humour. The part where Barry Allen and Barry Allen meet Keaton’s Batman, and one of them faints? That’s a solid joke right there. The part where Barry Allen tells the other Barry Allen not to film Supergirl on his phone, only to be met with “Our kids will want to see this”? Same deal. Even Barry Allen bouncing off of Barry Allen lends to some great meta-jokes.
On the subject of casting, Supergirl’s a great one. The trailer only has a few moments with her, but I like Sasha Calle’s Kara. Yes, it’s an unconventional take. And yes, she looks different than what Kara’s usually portrayed as. But ignoring that, I’m excited for Calle. She seems genuinely invested here, and unlike Leslie Grace in Batgirl, she’s actually getting a chance. It’s a win-win for everyone.
The movie looks to have genuine humour. The part where Barry Allen and Barry Allen meet Keaton’s Batman, and one of them faints? That’s a solid joke right there. The part where Barry Allen tells the other Barry Allen not to film Supergirl on his phone, only to be met with “Our kids will want to see this”? Same deal. Even Barry Allen bouncing off of Barry Allen lends to some great meta-jokes.
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Finally, the movie’s director’s a perfect fit. For those unfamiliar, he was behind the recent IT films. Say what you want, but he did a great job adapting the novel to the big-screen. He knows stakes, and he knows drama. I’d sooner trust him than, say, Zack Snyder on this, that’s for sure!
Unfortunately, all of the potential hinges on Ezra Miller pulling this off. And I don’t know if they’ll do it. Miller’s Barry Allen looks lost before bouncing off of another Barry Allen, and that’s not a good sign. Sure, Miller’s a great actor. I loved them in The Perks of Being a Wallflower! But that was a different kind of role, one that required a different energy. Miller’s best roles are unhinged or effeminately gay, not “the straight guy with a quippy sense of humour”. Essentially, Miller looks and sounds out of their league.
Outside of that, I don’t want to give Miller any credit. This is the same person who has multiple instances of violence over the past few years. And they’ve been accused of grooming teenagers. And they’ve also been accused to cultish behaviour. Miller’s a loose cannon who needs help, not an acting career. Even if The Flash ends up good, that’s a sore spot. It also, as a survivor of childhood sexual indecency, makes me feel icky.
Unfortunately, all of the potential hinges on Ezra Miller pulling this off. And I don’t know if they’ll do it. Miller’s Barry Allen looks lost before bouncing off of another Barry Allen, and that’s not a good sign. Sure, Miller’s a great actor. I loved them in The Perks of Being a Wallflower! But that was a different kind of role, one that required a different energy. Miller’s best roles are unhinged or effeminately gay, not “the straight guy with a quippy sense of humour”. Essentially, Miller looks and sounds out of their league.
Outside of that, I don’t want to give Miller any credit. This is the same person who has multiple instances of violence over the past few years. And they’ve been accused of grooming teenagers. And they’ve also been accused to cultish behaviour. Miller’s a loose cannon who needs help, not an acting career. Even if The Flash ends up good, that’s a sore spot. It also, as a survivor of childhood sexual indecency, makes me feel icky.
This is the big reason for why I’m uncomfortable. Sure, the trailer looks good. But the trailers for Pacific Rim looked good, and I wasn’t impressed with that. Trailers can lie or be misleading, and having a sex offender with that many skeletons lead a tentpole film doesn’t give me hope. Especially when they look lost.
That’s also why I’ve been so conflicted over discussing this. Remember, The Flash was in production for a long time. It’s outlived Zack Snyder’s tenure, and it’s outlived DC trying to pivot from Snyder. It’s been reworked and rewritten several times too. That it’s even coming out, and looks interesting, is a miracle. So that its lead doesn’t seem to be clicking is concerning.
I could be wrong about everything. The movie could be amazing, or it could be terrible. Miller could also end up working with this, too. Remember, trailers can lie! But they also set the tone for what to expect. And given how mixed I feel, well…I’m cautiously-optimistic.
That’s also why I’ve been so conflicted over discussing this. Remember, The Flash was in production for a long time. It’s outlived Zack Snyder’s tenure, and it’s outlived DC trying to pivot from Snyder. It’s been reworked and rewritten several times too. That it’s even coming out, and looks interesting, is a miracle. So that its lead doesn’t seem to be clicking is concerning.
I could be wrong about everything. The movie could be amazing, or it could be terrible. Miller could also end up working with this, too. Remember, trailers can lie! But they also set the tone for what to expect. And given how mixed I feel, well…I’m cautiously-optimistic.
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