Featured Graphic by Destiny Mizell
Story by Larry Rincon
“Some problems don’t have a solution. you need to let go.”
— Barry Allen in “The Flash”
From horror to heroes, “The Flash” director Andrés Muschietti has delivered an overall nice DC Extended Universe film that explores and develops the character Barry Allen after years of suffering numerous delays and production issues.
As a fan of Muschietti’s previous works — “Mama,” “It” and “It: Chapter Two” — I went into the film focused primarily on the way the movie executed its story and characters. Other elements, such as the soundtrack, the cinematography, and the virtual effects, were not something I cared much about.
For those curious, the music fit the moods of the scenes and was quite entertaining. The editing really amplified the cinematography. Finally, the virtual effects were at least a stylistic choice and better than “Ant-Man: Quantumania.”
The current DC Extended Universe is coming to an end. “The Flash,” while important to establish the existence of the new DCU, would be better if I treated it as its own individual standalone piece. Therefore, I prioritized criticizing the story it was trying to tell.
At face value, “The Flash” follows Barry Allen, played by Ezra Miller, as he discovers he can travel through time courtesy of his ability to run fast. As a result, he decides to go back in time in order to save his mother from dying.
Now, I have cried watching every single one of Muschietti’s films. They tend to have sad or tragic themes. In the case of “Mama,” the film traumatized me for months. However, I did not expect to find this film to be as sad as it was.
“The Flash” is a tragic story of a boy who is unable to move past the death of his mother. He is so stuck in the past that he isn’t able to live in the present and accept his current life. The humorous quips throughout the film mask how sad Allen’s life is, which I think most can relate to — using comedy as a defense mechanism.
As much as I loved the humor throughout the film, what stuck out to me was the touching moments surrounding Barry and his mother. In real life, people always emphasize the power of a mother’s love, but in this film, this concept turned on its head. “The Flash” gives us the perspective of the power of a son’s love and how far children are willing to go for their parents.
Of course, as lovely and touching as this part of the film is, this wouldn’t be a superhero film if I didn’t talk about the villain. “The Flash” is a bit different from most superhero films as there wasn’t really an established villain. A large portion of the movie is focused on Allen re-assembling the Justice League with the new Allen in order to defeat Zod, but Zod isn’t even the thing keeping Allen from going back home. There is a saying that goes, “You either become the hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” “The Flash” is the actual embodiment of that statement. His inability to let go of the past is the only reason why he almost destroys the entire multiverse. He is so desperate to save the people he cares about, but unfortunately, it is not meant to be.
Barry is his own antagonist. He is the reason why everything was almost destroyed and even by the time the movie ends, Barry doesn’t stop antagonizing his own life.
There is not much else to note about “The Flash.” If you haven’t liked the past few DCEU films released, this may not be the movie for you. On the other hand, if you have stayed caught up with DC movies even before the DCEU ones, give the film a shot.
There is something to like about this movie. Whether it is the appearance of familiar faces like Ben Affleck and Micheal Keaton, or maybe the story of a mother and son. “The Flash” didn’t feel like anything new or revolutionary, but it was satisfactory.
The only thing I can say to convince people to watch “The Flash” is, this movie was directed by a Latino for Latinos. From a Latina playing Supergirl to a canonical mixed Latino-American Barry Allen, I was glad to support my community for the small wins we got in the superhero world.
To contact Lifestyles Editor Destiny Mizell, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com, or follow us on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines or on Twitter at @MTSUSidelines.
