Fans of the DC Extended Universe have a limited amount of time left to watch (or re-watch) one of the most divisive films in the canon that also happened to break it. The Flash, directed by Andy Muschietti, is leaving Netflix on December 25. Released in 2023, The Flash mainly received positive reviews but has recently been re-examined because of issues surrounding the film’s star, Ezra Miller, who plays Barry Allen/The Flash. Moreover, the film had a long and winding road to get produced, going through several directors and scripts before finally seeing the light of day.
One of the last films of the DCEU, The Flash is a loose adaptation of the Flashpoint storyline that reset the DC continuity and led to the New 52 line of comics in 2011. Both the comic and the movie feature Barry using his powers to travel back in time and save his mother from being killed. Only the film has fewer apocalyptic consequences than the comic did, and uses the changes Barry made in the past to bring back Michael Keaton as Batman to signify the ripple effects of Barry’s time travel, essentially erasing Ben Affleck’s Batman, who has an exceptional action sequence at the beginning of the film.
The Flash is filled with plenty of exciting set pieces and legacy cameos referencing DC projects that were never even filmed, albeit put together by some questionable CGI. If you want to see what the ambitious and somewhat inconsistent film has to offer, only a limited time is left to watch. Moreover, in the wake of the new DC Studios and the reboot of the cinematic universe, The Flash is a fascinating retrospective watch, and whether it will have any consequences for the latest DC Universe remains to be seen.
‘The Flash’ is A Fitting Epilogue to the DCEU
Featuring several DC characters, both old and new, The Flash is also a movie that serves as a good bookend to what was supposed to be a thriving cinematic universe to compete with Marvel Studios. The alternate timeline created by Barry in the film heavily features Zod as an antagonist, once again brought to life by Michael Shannon, who first played him in 2013’s Man of Steel. Zack Snyder’s Superman film was the first in the DCEU, so seeing the antagonists of that film one more time is almost poetic.
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However, instead of Henry Cavill’s Superman, Sasha Calle, as Supergirl, is introduced to help Flash and Keaton’s Batman take on the Kryptonian threat. The Flash makes ample use of the characters and locales introduced in the 13 films released before it to help create a high-stakes story. Even Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman makes a brief appearance at the beginning of the film.
While two more movies would be released after The Flash (Blue Beetle, Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom) to finish out the DCEU slate, neither of those feel as final or influential to the greater DC Universe than Ezra Miller’s solo film centered around the Fastest Man Alive. For those who have Netflix and want to see the DCEU’s last attempt to redefine the canon, watch The Flash on Netflix before it leaves on December 25.
- Release Date
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June 16, 2023