From the very beginning, the odds were stacked against The Flash. Andy Muschietti’s long-delayed take on DC Comics’ speedster has been plagued by delays, real-life cast drama, and a mammoth DC takeover that’s seen this current continuity wiped from the cinematic slate, even prior to its release. With all that going against it, a Spider-Verse style hit was never on the cards, so even though The Flash ultimately struggles to live up to its years of expectation, it does have some merit.

Set an undisclosed amount of time after the retconned events of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, The Flash once again picks up the threads of Ezra Miller’s bedraggled and endlessly zany Barry Allen. On the eve of his father’s doomed retrial for the supposed murder of his mother, he decides to go against Batman’s (Ben Affleck) advice and sprint back to the past, in a bid to erase the tragic series of events that left him parentless. Of course, nothing quite goes to plan, and the Batman of this world – one with General Zod (Michael Shannon) on the horizon – is a whole lot more retro.

Perhaps the biggest mistake The Flash makes is one sin committed months before you’ll even lay eyes on the finished product. In many ways, this film takes heavy inspiration from Spider-Man: No Way Home in how it plays upon nostalgia and brings back familiar faces to try and craft a DC-themed celebration on film. Its main misgiving was blowing the surprise of Michael Keaton’s Batman years ago now, as that would’ve proven for one hell of a crowd-pleaser. This 1989 callback doesn’t feel as earned as the reappearance of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, even if it is quite fun – just a lot more shallow.

Which is a strange criticism to have, because for most of its 144-minute runtime, The Flash is a pretty bloated watch. The first act is strong, with a rollicking opening action scene that shows all the quirks of Barry Allen’s speed powers, and some undeniable charm from Ezra Miller, in a role they’ve now played for close to a decade. Real-life drama aside, they’re clearly adept at capturing Barry’s mournful sorrow and regret, while also eking out a performance that’s surprisingly tender, yet simultaneously witty when the situation calls for it.

Things get much messier once the multiverse opens up, with twin Ezra Millers capturing two forms of Allen at very different stages in their lives. The incessant quippiness and near-ceaseless chatter from this alternate iteration of Barry Allen becomes far more grating for the middle hour, with the only tonic to Ezra Miller’s witticism being our version of Miller’s Barry, the fish-out-of-water who plays it much straighter than we’ve seen in previous films. That’s when we’re finally reintroduced to Keaton’s Batman, this time much sillier and overall less memorable than his efforts in the Burton films, and a Supergirl (Sasha Calle) who is woefully underused; one of the film’s core highlights that it seemingly fails to identify.

But for a film helmed by Muschietti, who so faithfully and capably brought Stephen King’s It to the big screen, The Flash often feels directionless. There really isn’t much more plot to the film than you see in the trailers, and if you’re hoping for a satisfying conclusion to this iteration of DC movies, you won’t find it here. We end up getting a third act that’s entertaining thanks to its action, but plastered with horrendous CGI and some fairly egregious and borderline disrespectful creative choices. No spoilers here, but at points you’ll want to hoot and holler, at other times cringe.

It’s tough to say exactly what the problem is, but it all points to a lack of focus and a film that could’ve used some trimming down in its middle part. I went in wanting to be swept away by the spectacle, revelling in the silliness and feeling nostalgic for the return of Keaton’s Batman, but it never has the same impact as other more successful multiverse films, notably No Way Home and both the Spider-Verse entries. This isn’t Keaton’s fault, or even the script’s per sé, but for a return three decades in the making, it doesn’t do enough to justify its existence.

It feels like DC has been playing catch-up to Marvel for a decade now – this is the tenth anniversary of Man of Steel, after all – but if The Flash was meant to ape the fan service and time-bending whimsy of No Way Home, it misses the mark. There are some good times to be had here: the action is fun when the CGI plays ball, there are some interesting themes around inevitability and loss that play out very satisfyingly, and I’ll never tire of seeing any version of Batman on-screen, but it’s often buried beneath less enjoyable elements.

I really wanted to love The Flash, but it ends up just being a serviceable, if overstuffed, popcorn flick. Don’t get me wrong, it’s the best DCEU film in a long while: there are some roaring heights that had me fanboying in the cinema, and it never lacks in ambition, but it never quite sticks the landing, with so many coarse edges. After so many years of delays, setbacks, and controversy though, I can’t say I’m surprised.

★★★

The Flash is in cinemas now.

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