The Flash: Action thrills, emotional heft and the return of Michael Keaton

It’s been 31 years in the making, and we thought it was never going to happen. But it has, and it’s genuinely exciting.

The Flash is in cinemas now. Picture: Warner Bros

Despite superhero fatigue, lead star Ezra Miller’s off-screen controversies, and the fact The Flash crams in two too many elements, there is something distinctly exciting about it.

It’s not something new, it’s something borrowed.

After 31 years, Michael Keaton is back as Batman and the sight of him in the Caped Crusader’s iconic cowl is undeniably a thrilling sight.

The first actor to originate the role on the big screen (Adam West appeared in the 1966 feature, but the TV series came first), Keaton’s time in the role is, for many audiences, the defining dark knight. And, yes, Christian Bale reinterpreted the role and made it his own, but Keaton set the template for those that dared follow.

There’s a lot of cultural capital in having Keaton revisit the role, and The Flash manages to successfully cash in. Perhaps it’s cynical stunt casting, but there’s an innate pleasure in it, especially after having Keaton skirt the world in Birdman and Spider-Man: Homecoming.

As an older Bruce Wayne in an alternative universe, Keaton’s Batman has the gravitas and edge we remember from Tim Burton’s 1989 and 1992 films. It may be fan service, but sometimes that’s exactly what you want – to be served, as fans. There are also a couple of other cameos that will delight.

Michael Keaton makes his return as Batman. Picture: Warner Bros

It’s one of many elements of The Flash that work, a movie that surprisingly balances the outsized action thrills with emotional heft. Miller (who is non-binary and uses they/them/their pronouns), for all their real-life dramas of arrests and the rest, is an actor of immense talent and an impressive screen presence.

As speedster Barry Allen, Miller grounds the heightened story in emotional pain, investing in a persuasive motivation why the character would mess with something as consequential as time.

When Barry accidentally travels back in time, he seeks to undo the one thing that’s haunted him since his childhood – his mother’s death. But in preventing the tragedy, Barry lands himself in another strand of the multiverse.

There, his mother is alive, and his father is not in prison, but there’s a 10-year-younger version of himself already in existence.

He has also come to a moment in the timeline which marries up with the events of the 2013 movie Man of Steel, in which Superman stops the invasion of Earth by General Zod (Michael Shannon). Only, in this reality, Superman never arrived on Earth and Zod is assured of victory. And there is no Wonder Woman or Aquaman, and Cyborg is still a teen athlete and 100 per cent human.

The Flash features Ezra Miller portraying two versions of the same character. Picture: Warner Bros

So, the two Barrys seek out Batman/Bruce Wayne, who is not the Ben Affleck version, but the Keaton version.

The Flash, directed by IT’s Andy Muschietti, relies a lot on big action set-pieces that are well choreographed but multitude. However, the comedic timing between Miller’s two Barrys breaks up the heaviness of the stunts.

But the piece de resistance has to go to the story’s genuine commitment to exploring Barry’s grief over his mother’s death. It hangs over everything he’s ever done and felt, and it convincingly explains why Barry does what he does.

That emotional journey with a handful of authentically affecting scenes elevates The Flash above its many compatriots.

Rating: 3.5/5

The Flash is in cinemas now

Originally published as The Flash: Action thrills, emotional heft and the return of Michael Keaton