‘Flash’ Moves Back to the Future

Lots of action, but some humor, too in superhero flick

By Jocelyn Noveck AP National Writer

“It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature,” went a famous ‘70s commercial catchphrase. But we learn in “The Flash” - the much awaited, long gestated new DC Studios offering - that it’s Father Time one musn’t cross. Because trying to change the past can really mess you up when you get back to the future and realize you’ve inadvertently changed that, too.

But of course, we already knew that. We learned it from Marty McFly, immortalized by Eric Stoltz in “Back to the Future.” Relax! Of course it was Michael J. Fox, though Stoltz was initially cast in the role. But in

Movie Review

“The Flash,” Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) realizes just how badly he’s messed up the space-time continuum when he arrives back from changing the past – just one teensy little thing, really – and learns that in his current world, Fox never replaced Stoltz. “I’ve destroyed the universe,” he frets in a laugh-out- loud moment. If only the whole film, directed by Andy Muschietti and written by Christina Hodson, felt this breezily clever and entertaining. Alas, the final act bogs down in what feels like an endless, generic CGI battle and a kitchensink resolution that leaves one feeling just a little exhausted and somewhat confused.

We first meet Barry - Miller, whose naturally jittery energy is an excellent fit here - on the way to his job at a forensics lab, stopping to order breakfast. But then he gets a call from Alfred - yes, you know the one - needing his help in an imminent disaster. Barry turns into his red-suited alter-ego but desperately needs calories for fuel, begging a bystander for her candy bar.

Soon, in a rescue scene that’s audacious but also a little absurd, Barry is saving falling newborn babies from a collapsing hospital while desperately eating snacks. He also saves a maternity nurse - then suggests she seek the help of a mental health professional to cope with the trauma, noting “the Justice League is not very good at that yet.”

And now we must take a moment to consider the elephant in the room. Because it sure seems the movie wants us to.

If you’ve been reading about Miller lately, you know about the talented actor’s offscreen troubles. They’ve apologized for past behavior and said they’re undergoing mental health treatment.

So it hardly seems the line to

Good: HHH

the nurse is a coincidence, even if much of the trouble emerged during lengthy post-production. Could this be a subtle plea for empathy, so we can then appreciate what is, certainly, a compelling performance from Miller as not one, but two lead characters (why two? We’re getting to that. )

In any case, that line also sets a tone for many self-referential quips and sequences in a film that seems to thrive on, well, referring to itself and its roots. In this, the first standalone “Flash” film, the lineage of past Batmans, Supermans and associated characters is evoked early and often through surprise cameos. At one moment it feels like we’re watching an Oscar memorial reel; it garnered reverential applause at the screening I attended.