By Victoria Alexander
The first superhero with chest hair. Miller is terrific. The film is fun and good. What happened to Christian Bale, Val Kilmer and shamefully, why ignore the 21ST Century’s Superman, Henry Cavill?
Director Andy Muschietti and screenwriter Christina Hodson had a tough assignment. Another superhero cannot save the world. That has been done to death. I understand that to “get the band back together” needs an important global reason but how many times is humankind at risk of total destruction? If I was in the Justice League, I would have said, “Not again! I’m busy growing wheat to solve third world hunger.”
THE FLASH had to endure negative publicity because of star Ezra Miller’s crazy behavior. Miller was brilliant in 2011’s WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN. I love his band, Sons of an Illustrious Father, and their music video version of ‘Don’t Cha’.
Why should Miller, 30 years old, confine himself to the studio system of appropriate movie star behavior? Did Miller fail to sign a morality clause in his contract? I recently watched a YouTube video called “Ezra Miller: Child Star to Serial Criminal.” Yes, it was a litany of stupidity but not one federal crime. How many stars have had their disgraceful choices whitewashed? There has been so much cruelty by Hollywood’s power elite – as the MeToo movement made obvious. Miller never aimed a gun and killed someone, never drove a BMW in Ireland that killed a woman and her daughter, never brought someone a Best Actress Academy Award, never told his fans to buy a crypto-currency they pretended to own, and never had Hollywood gay parties that plied underage young men with drugs and then raped them. I’m not defending Miller, I’m just saying the entire environment is poison – or so I’ve heard.
Miller stars as Barry Allen, the Fastest Man Alive. It was a strange event of a lightning strike mixed with some chemicals that gave Barry his powers. He works as a criminal forensics analyst at Gotham’s Central City Research Center while worrying about his father’s (Ron Livingston) appeal for unjustly being convicted of his mother’s (Maribel Verdi) death. Barry gets a sudden call from Bruce Wayne’s butler Alfred (Jeremy Irons) telling him there is a crisis that needs his immediate attention. The Flash complains something like this: ‘Why me all the time? Why didn’t you call Wonder Woman?’ Gone is tearing off the work clothes. The Flash has a ring that miraculously puts on The Flash’s suit.
Batman (Michael Keaton) is already on the scene fighting gangsters who have stolen a virus that has opened up a massive sinkhole. Gotham City is once again destroyed. How many times has Gotham City been rebuilt? Batman was originally a man with absolutely no genetic superhero powers. Confronted with the massive amount of comic book superheroes with extraordinary powers, the new Batman can fly better than Superman and has the enormous wealth for a flying Batmobile. Batman is now a wizard with otherworldly skills. But The Flash has a unique power and when Barry figures out that he can outrun time, he decides to go back in time and save his mother from dying. Didn’t Superman do this once?
Apparently, Spider Man meets the other Spider Mans and when Barry travels through time he encounters the teenage Barry. This is the most enchanting part of THE FLASH and Miller, even if “they” (chosen by Miller) is weird and crazy on film sets, he plays the teenage Barry as funny, charming, and adorably silly. Miller is a very talented actor and Warner Brothers should have given Miller a 24/7 guardian to watch over him. But, then again, Amy Winehouse had one, but he was outside having a cigarette when she overdosed. Michael Jackson had his very expensively indulged private doctor to watch over him. But the doctor was out of the bedroom talking to a lady friend when Jackson stopped breathing. These highly paid attendants ruin the perfect, best, sought-after gig. Unless one of the tasks is cleaning them and removing their poop in their underwear.
The humor and sincerity of the story is wonderful and there is a worthy villain but, for anyone reading reviews, the cameos and denouement should come as a nice surprise.
Does anyone under fifty know who George Reeves is?
The ALL is Mind; The Universe is Mental.”
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Member of Las Vegas Film Critics Society
Personal email: victoria.alexander.lv@gmail.com
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