Whilst the CinemaCon audience was gushing and the early social media reaction has been similarly high, actual reviews are now out for the new “The Flash” film with a score that has slowed down the film’s momentum a bit.
With 57 reviews counted, the film is pulling in 72% (6.3/10) on Rotten Tomatoes. Some really love it, and some think it’s messy but fun. Others have some issues with all its fan service, and so forth.
The film sees Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) uses his superpowers to travel back in time in order to change the events of the past. When his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, Barry becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod (Michael Shannon) has returned, threatening annihilation.
That is, unless Barry can coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian… albeit not the one he’s looking for. Barry’s only hope is to race for his life.
“The Flash is, by far, the best movie to come out of this modern, post-Nolan Warners/DC collaboration.” – David Fear, Rolling Stone
“Taken on its own merits, Andy Muschietti’s film has lots to offer, and frequently shows flashes (apologies) of brilliance that set it a cut above most of its existing DC Universe brethren.” – Kate Erbland, Indiewire
“If The Flash ultimately proves uneven, its wobbly climactic showdown far less interesting than the more character-driven buildup, the story’s core of a young man struggling to reconcile with the loss of his mother carries it through.” – David Rooney, THR
“It’s sometimes buried under layers and layers of storytelling knots that the film never fully untangles, but the fun is there, and when the film is really working, that turns out to be enough.” – Matthew Jackson, AV Club
“Easily the best in the genre since Spiderman: No Way Home, this fresh, invigorating, and hugely entertaining summer treat is as good as it gets when it comes to cinematic takes on superheroes.” – Pete Hammond, Deadline
“The Flash is a bright, colorful, imaginative film with enough verve to pop off the screen, even though it’s often nonsensical in its wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff.” – Joshua Rivera, Polygon
“Perhaps it’s no surprise that Barry Allen’s fitfully fun, fan-service-freighted headline act sometimes looks like an expanded universe imploding to ambitious but often messy effect.” – Kevin Harley, Total Film
“A movie that spends all its time racing from one poorly-thought out story element to another, from one only modestly satisfying nostalgia shout-out to another, and with only questionable results. How fitting, yet how disappointing: The Flash has the runs.” – William Bibbiani, TheWrap
“In The Flash, the multiverse of possibilities that opens up by toying with the past becomes an excuse to throw everything but the Batcave sink at the audience.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
The film stars Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck as versions of Bruce Wayne/Batman, Sasha Calle as Supergirl, and Michael Shannon as General Zod. Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdu, Kiersey Clemons, and Antje Traue also star.
“The Flash” opens in cinemas everywhere on June 16th.
