Right off the heels of the amazing 4DX experience that was Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is The Flash, arguably the most “violent” time ever had in those moving seats. Perhaps it was punishment to moviegoers for their 10-year toxic relationship with the DCEU. That, or a way to distract us from CGI that seems to be the talk about what’s wrong with the latest DC flick.
While I’m no expert on Computer-Generated Imagery, I didn’t find any of the movie’s effects distracting, or bad, and they seemed to accurately depict the whole Cosmic Treadmill time-warping, space-time continuum mumbo jumbo that’s expected in a Flash movie just fine. That’s the kind of stuff nerds have been familiar with in Doctor Strange and Spider-Man: No Way Home. 4DX definitely enhances these moments of speed, with powerful air fans and plenty of seat gliding moments. But, guys! The fight sequences in The Flash have me wondering while I’m still able to walk. Since this one has Batman, OK… Batmen… plus a Supergirl, there are a zillion punches to the back and lots of rocking and rolling in your chair. Like I said earlier, it was punishing — but the twisted, fun kind of punishing. Sorta.
If this was my first time doing this dance in 4DX, I’d say the chair movement was “a lot” — no lies there. It’s way intense. But a movie about TWO Flash’s who time-warp and travel at unforeseen speeds is going to have insane 4DX effects, especially when you throw in a Batmobile — or two — plus a Batwing and an army of superpowered aliens into the equation. The Flash certainly doesn’t hold back when it comes to action, as there’s tons of it. Just don’t be surprised if your keys and wallet go flying out of your pockets (oh, it’s happening — I heard the clang of keys bouncing off the floor near me) or your popcorn flying and soda spilling from your hands and cupholders. The moments with Batman ’89 (the always fun Michael Keaton) in the Batwing are definitely 4DX highlights, especially when the cockpit spins on screen.
Of course, this being The Flash there’s lots of running and the 4DX seats capture those moments well. It’s the constant seat shifting and rattling that are a bit much; I’m now super curious to see how all the warp-speed time shifting comes off in the panoramic sequencing of ScreenX — which seems to be a better fit, literally. That said, all of the classic 4DX gunfire effects are put to excellent use, with air puffs that shoot to the left and right of your dome with additional “fire” around your ankles. Also ramping up the intensity were flashing lights, which thankfully didn’t disappoint for the namesake of the flick. There’s not a whole lot of fog effects (which were the only weakness in the latest Transformers 4DX experience), and I guess nothing to smell when moving at the speed of sound.
As far as the movie itself, there’s a reason I saved those thoughts for the end (“LOL, crying laugh emoji, etc.”). Let’s face it: the DCEU is polarizing — it always has been. You’d never know it, but many geeks have Man of Steel as their favorite superhero movie of all time (my lips are sealed). But, ever since the mixed reaction (or extremely loud, vocal minority) for that one, it has been a tumultuous ten years to say at the very least. It doesn’t help that The Flash‘s leading man is a trainwreck in real life; Ezra Miller is a PHENOMENAL talent, and his performance here as TWO Barry Allen’s is an absolute landmark. But, it’s almost as if it doesn’t matter; you’re going to 1.) hate-watch this movie, 2.) not watch this movie as the box office numbers show (but still call it “trash”), or, 3.) actually, put your judgements to the side for 2.5 hours and enjoy/appreciate/fairly critique this movie — and especially Miller’s performance — for what it is. There has to be a reason the one didn’t get canceled despite how batshit looney the leading man is IRL.
The Flash also sports lots of cameos — new, old and some incredibly surprising. It’s almost a perfect send-off for the DCEU with James Gunn waiting in the wings to takeover, reboot and put his Suicide Squad/Peacemaker sensibilities to a higher scale. However, we still have Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (a lost film that has absolutely NO buzz going for it; stay for the end credits if you care), and Blue Beetle (a movie NOBODY asked for, but we like the kid from Cobra Kai). At least to me, The Flash is the end of the DCEU as we know it, with a come-full-circle, climatic bring-that-shit-back battle between the two Flash’s, Old Man Bruce II, our new Supergirl (an awesome Sasha Calle) and General Zod (yes, Michael Shannon) and his we’re-not-Kryptonion-but-we-are super-troops. The Flashbacks are heartbreaking, but it was hard to feel any sort of emotional sympathy with Barry (cause.. Ezra) and the way the DCEU has been handled or criticized in the last decade.
That said, The Flash is a great superhero movie with a literal groundbreaking performance from an extremely toxic lead, a near fantastic finish to a frenetic decade of the DC Extended Universe. It’s also a Flash movie through and through, with elments of Mark Waid’s run on the comic as well as Geoff Johns’ Flashpoint sprinkled throughout. There’s tons taken off the page, so kudos to screenwriters Christina Hodson and Joby Harold for doing their homework. Promoting this as a “Batman” film was also brilliant and I absolute do not blame WB for the bait-and-switch there. Bat-sells. Just be prepared to be in for an actual space-time continuum of time if you see this in 4DX.
Movie = 4/5
4DX = 4/5
-Travis Moody