There was a time when I thought the Flash movie would never make it through its tumultuous off-screen journey. Through thick and thin, Warner Bros have stuck to their goal and pushed through to deliver what may be one of the final entries to the Snyderverse version of the DCU.

The main storyline is a loose adaptation of the Flashpoint comic, and this review will aim to tiptoe around spoiler territory, but some themes of the film will be discussed in a bit of detail.

Set after the Justice League film, Barry Allen is trying to maintain his normal life as a forensics examiner while trying to juggle the responsibilities and setbacks of being the fastest man alive. His frustrations are all but bubbling on the surface as he is called to action to assist Batman in Gotham City. The happy-go-lucky youngster known for his quips and sarcastic antics is slowly waning as he strives for a leading role, something to prove his worth and maybe fill in that chip on his shoulder over his troubled past.

Reflecting on his past, that is his father’s jail sentence over his mother’s death, an attempt at an outlet ends up breaking time itself as Barry pushed his powers further than it has ever been. The temptation is hanging tantalisingly close for Barry to take a chance and change his past, even with a last-ditch effort from Ben Affleck’s Batman to persuade him on how his past is what made him the person he was today. The moral implications aside, Barry does the unthinkable, but his journey back to his time is thrown off course by a mysterious being that was able to inhabit the land between time with him.

There was an initial sense of uncertainty at how the film was going to find its footing as the opening action scenes were campier than expected. A series of big explosions and mass destruction paired with a handful of jokes made light of serious situations, but the gravity of his new situation began to hit immediately.

His act had worked and the life he wanted seemed to be on track before a second Barry Allen stumbled into the scene. Unfortunately for future Barry, he didn’t make it back to his timeline, and instead, he has been thrown into the world of a younger version of himself – something he didn’t plan on.

The concept could have been a passing interaction, yet this became the central focus of the film and acted as an origin story while simultaneously being aware of all previous storylines in the Snyderverse. The younger Barry was a carefree and starry-eyed hassle to the future Barry, which was an ironic twist as he finally realised how he must have appeared to Batman, and he’s now the older hero that understands the true stakes of the situation.

These interactions managed to balance out the humour at appropriate levels. They felt natural to the characters and the physical comedy was on full display with seamless interactions between the two characters played by the same actor.

A natural extension to start hunting down the other Justice League members was brought on by the invasion of Zod, as the final moments of the Man of Steel film were being played out in this version of the timeline.

Things aren’t the same as they were though, and this paved the way for old and new versions of Superheros to tackle the impending doom. A broken down and empty Wayne Manor housed a retired Bruce Wayne that didn’t need that much of a push to slip on the old rubber suit.

Michael Keaton returning to reprise his role was absolutely soaked in nostalgic memories and they even paired his action sequences with the iconic theme from by Danny Elfman. The stoic nature of Keaton and his charisma did make it easier to see the senior Batman performing flawless acrobatics even after a notable time away from seeing any action.

The smallest portion of the story was shared with Kara, or Supergirl, but the powerful performance of Sasha Calle can’t be overstated. In the short screen time she had, her presence was impactful and at times emotional, and I could completely see an extended film solely focused on her version of the story.

It would have been easy to lose sight of the Barry-centric dilemmas with an ever-growing cast that included Michael Shannon returning as General Zod, so to see the final act converge on a place between time was the right move.

I gave praise to the seamless interactions between the two Barry’s earlier and the visual effects have some of the heaviest lifting to do in this production. The level of intensity needed to convey time, space, and dimensions colliding, however, it did leave a few things to be desired.

I completely understand that to achieve this level of visual fluidity a few things would take a dip, but the humans depicted in these moments fell into the uncanny valley with their facial animations and body language. The saving grace is that it all maintained a consistent colour scheme and style, and it was more reminiscent of a comic book action montage, so it worked in the grand scheme of things.

The Flash quickly outran any doubts I held at the start of the film and left me buzzing with thoughts when it was all said and done. A monumental film to undertake and the team hit the ground running with its final product. Who knows what is next for the DC universe, but the implications of how this film wraps up left the door wide open.

Written by: Shane Fletcher