Flashes of brilliance
It's a fun movie with great performances.
Conceptually it's a knockout film. Dealing with love and loss ... and time travel (you know, the important stuff). But the script and execution seemed a bit, dare I say it rushed.
If I were to wax lyrical, which I will, might I say that there's one key lesson to be learned from the theme of this movie that perhaps wasn't followed by its makers?
It's no spoiler to note that the idea of going back in time to adjust the past and thereby repair the present is a sweet temptation. But when we remove that limitation of linear time, binding us to our past mistakes, trouble seems to stem out in all directions. OK, so my analogy is that by relying heavily on CGI to theoretically create anything that one's imagination can conceive, the temptation is to consciously turn everything up to 10 (or 11 if you're in Spinal Tap) and conjure up endlessly amazing experiences. But we're linear beings, for the most part. We need common reference points to know where and who we are. Otherwise, we go off the rails.
That's what I felt was absent from the The Flash movie. Too much of what could be but not enough of what is. We're left disoriented and, ultimately, a bit disengaged.
If I were to go back in time and change something I would have spent more time focusing on the drama of having two Barrys in existence - excellent FX work and acting here. But that'd mean less time for Batman (good stuff) ... and Supergirl (more good acting) and less of the smaller character parts (funny performances, all). OK. Let me readjust. If I was to change something it'd be just to ...
Conceptually it's a knockout film. Dealing with love and loss ... and time travel (you know, the important stuff). But the script and execution seemed a bit, dare I say it rushed.
If I were to wax lyrical, which I will, might I say that there's one key lesson to be learned from the theme of this movie that perhaps wasn't followed by its makers?
It's no spoiler to note that the idea of going back in time to adjust the past and thereby repair the present is a sweet temptation. But when we remove that limitation of linear time, binding us to our past mistakes, trouble seems to stem out in all directions. OK, so my analogy is that by relying heavily on CGI to theoretically create anything that one's imagination can conceive, the temptation is to consciously turn everything up to 10 (or 11 if you're in Spinal Tap) and conjure up endlessly amazing experiences. But we're linear beings, for the most part. We need common reference points to know where and who we are. Otherwise, we go off the rails.
That's what I felt was absent from the The Flash movie. Too much of what could be but not enough of what is. We're left disoriented and, ultimately, a bit disengaged.
If I were to go back in time and change something I would have spent more time focusing on the drama of having two Barrys in existence - excellent FX work and acting here. But that'd mean less time for Batman (good stuff) ... and Supergirl (more good acting) and less of the smaller character parts (funny performances, all). OK. Let me readjust. If I was to change something it'd be just to ...
- Phil_M_A_Kerr
- Jun 13, 2023