So, I have seen this movie twice now at the cinema. And both times, I did thoroughly enjoy the movie.
There are a lot of issues with Ezra Miller as a person, but I have to say that they truly are Barry Allen. They capture the feel of the character especially well. I felt for Barry when he was in the sandwich shop, waiting for his sandwich, knowing he had to get to work three minutes ago…only to get a call from Alfred that he was needed. And unlike a lot of the superheroes (even Batman), I really liked the fact that Barry has a weakness directly related to his energy levels and, it seemed, related to his blood sugar levels. As long as he had enough, he was virtually unstoppable…but it was touch and go there for a while, right at the beginning of this movie.
I did like seeing the fact that Barry had to juggle his job along with being an on-call superhero, as well as trying to prove his dad’s innocence. The struggle to get his dad out of prison added an extra element to his character, and I especially liked how Henry tried to talk his son out of spending his whole life proving his innocence. It made me like and respect Henry a lot more than I did already.
There were a lot of good elements of humour, especially when Barry went back in time and met his younger self. However, I felt like the younger version of Barry was dumbed down in a way that didn’t really fit with the fact that Barry was clearly highly intelligent…and probably even a genius, based on the amount of calculations he was trying to fit on the page. I thought there was one scene that was played only for laughs, rather than staying true to the character, despite the changes the younger one experienced compared to his older counterpart.
I really did love Kara in this movie. Yes, she was much darker than any other version of Supergirl. At the same time, it made sense with what she’d been through and what she’d seen. I particularly liked her interactions with the older Barry…and to be honest, I would have liked to see more scenes with her in.
I also really liked Michael Keaton’s Batman and the contrast between his original appearance and when he put the suit on again. There were a couple of scenes where it seemed like Bruce was nearly indestructible, which stretched my suspension of disbelief a little…but then he was shown treating his injuries, so that fit with the character.
All in all, this movie was very engaging and I enjoyed watching it both times. I’d love to see more of the version of Kara shown, along with the different versions of Batman. And there were a lot of nice Easter eggs for those familiar with the different versions of the DC characters.
If you enjoy DC, I would suggest giving this movie a try. It was a lot more enjoyable than I was expecting…and made me seriously rethink my stance of, ‘Marvel makes the best movies. DC makes the best TV shows.’
Ink of Blood 