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The Flash has faced scrutiny for over a year due to a variety of legal incidents involving star Ezra Miller. The actor was arrested twice in Hawaii on harassment and assault charges, pled guilty to trespassing after being charged with burglary, and has been accused of grooming a minor, among other incidents. The minor in question, now an adult, disputes the grooming allegation. In August 2022, Miller announced they were seeking treatment for “complex mental health issues.” Later, in January, The Flash studio Warner Bros. announced that they were standing behind the actor. You can read more about the issues surrounding Miller here.
After years of delays and controversies surrounding star Ezra Miller, The Flash film will finally run onto the silver screen June 16. The DC superhero movie adapts the classic Flashpoint storyline and even brings back Michael Keaton’s Batman–as well as Ben Affleck’s–for a time-traveling tale that’s receiving mixed reviews.
The Flash currently has a 60 metascore based on 28 reviews on GameSpot sister site Metacritic. The first half of The Flash seems to be the high point for the film, according to reviewers. The narrative is at the forefront along with Miller’s Barry Allen. But critics then knocked the final climax battle for a bland CG battle with General Zod, which is teased in trailers for the movie.
GameSpot’s The Flash review touches on this, with Phil Owen writing, “For almost two hours, I really enjoyed The Flash. It’s a fun romp through the past with big Back to the Future Part 2 vibes, not taking itself seriously enough to be obnoxious. …That all changes, however, when we hit that CGI money shot from the trailer, with two different Flashes flanking Supergirl as they slide into battle against General Zod.”
It’s been a long road to The Flash finally arriving in theaters. At one point, the DC film was set to premiere in March 2018. The Flash got its last release date change this past December, actually moving up a week to June 16.
On top of that, there was talk of The Flash being shelved because of Miller’s legal issues. But film producer Barbara Muchietti (who’s also director Andy Muchietti’s sister) said those reports were never true.
For more, check out other The Flash reviews below:
GameSpot — 6/10
“That’s the tale of two movies with The Flash. There’s a very decent and quite fun time travel adventure here, with a solid cast, perfectly acceptable fan service with Keaton’s Batman and Sasha Calle’s Supergirl (she’d be a good replacement for Henry Cavill!), and plenty of good jokes and fun action. And then it goes off the rails about as completely as it could have while still bearing some resemblance to a normal movie.” — Phil Owen [Full review]
Empire — 4/5 stars
“It’s a blockbuster, of course, and by the end there’s CG carnage aplenty, but refreshingly the emphasis remains on Barry, a boy who has been running from the moment his mum was murdered, and who finally starts to realise that it might be time to stop.” — Chris Hewitt [Full review]
USA Today — 3/4 stars
“With good guys aplenty and a big heart, The Flash pens a love letter to DC superhero movies past, though the film runs around in circles trying to make it all work.” — Brian Truitt [Full review]
AV Club — B-
“Whether or not this was all worth the long development saga and the troubles with its star will, of course, be for individual fans to decide, but there is undeniable entertainment value in The Flash. It’s sometimes buried under layers and layers of storytelling knots that the film never fully untangles, but the fun is there, and when the film is really working, that turns out to be enough.” — Matthew Jackson [Full review]
Variety
“The thing is, none of it makes a lot of sense. In The Flash, the multiverse of possibilities that opens up by toying with the past becomes an excuse to throw everything but the Batcave sink at the audience. Despite the vividness of its star, the movie steamrolls Ezra Miller’s personality as it goes along. The climactic battle against General Zod, with its kamikaze Batplane death zooms, its plumes of black smoke rising from the ground, its overblown sound and fury, is working too hard to engulf us after a story that did a nifty job of beguiling us. For a while, Ezra Miller brings it. But they deserved better, and so do we.” — Owen Gleiberman [Full review]
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