Review: 'The Flash' depicts intriguingly unstable genres and philosophically driven science fiction

The Flash, starring Ezra Miller in the lead role, is one of the most spectacular and annoying mixed bags, in the era of superhero movies.

It alternates between being tough and coddling, smart and stupid. The best and worst digital effects work were included in the movie.

It frequently exceeds whatever expectations the cinemagoers may have for its expertise just to crash into the nearest wall right away, much like its real but frequently unlucky hero.

When it comes to time, parallel universes, and the issue of whether "canonical" events in a person's life or an entire dimension can be altered, The Flash repeatedly restarts its narrative action by pressing the reset button.

Despite genuine thoughtfulness and an intriguingly unstable genres (slapstick comedy, family drama, heavy metal action flick, philosophically driven science fiction adventure), The Flash opens on screens immediately after Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse,a high watermark for both superhero movies and major studio animated features that explores many of the same themes.

Miller plays Barry Allen, a secret superhero and twenty-something forensic scientist who feels like the "janitor" of the Justice League and is still suffering from the effects of his mother's murder and his father's sentence for the crime.

It would also be bad form to discuss the movie's more interesting parts because doing so would require going into great detail about the plot. This is another instance of The Flash's double-bind.

If viewers remember the scene from the 1978 Superman: The Movie where Christopher Reeve's Superman had to choose between stopping a nuclear missile from reaching Miss Tesmacher's state and saving his beloved Lois Lane from being killed in an earthquake, tried to do both, lost Lois, then went back in time to resurrect her? On the day his family was slain, likewise, Barry also made the decision to try time travel and change this one incident of his past, which resulted in the scene being expanded into a complete movie and its fusion with the "Back to the Future" series.

Barry's mom played by Maribel Verd sent his dad played by Ron Livingston to the local grocery shop to buy a can of tomatoes that she required for a recipe.

When little Barry hears a noise and runs downstairs, he finds his father sobbing over his wife's death while holding the knife's hilt.

His mother is lying on the kitchen floor with a knife cut through her wounded chest.

Barry is convinced that he can use the powers of the Flash to travel back in time to that dreadful day, place a can of tomatoes in Mom's shopping cart, and save both of his parents.

Anyone who has read The Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury or seen a time travel movie is aware that it is not that simple.

The Flash is praised for treating its themes and the suffering of its characters seriously without giving in to gloomy, lifeless machismo.

The film is directed by Andy Muschietti, who has also directed films likeMama,both It movies.

It is written by renowned genre screenwriter Christina Hodson, who penned movies like,Birds of Prey and Bumblebee.

When Barry visits what he believes to be "the past" (which is actually an alternate timeline), he encounters a different version of himself who has a healthy, happy family.

Barry befriends mentors, who discover along the way how unkind he can be to others.

Muschietti also adds to the suspense by using close-up camerawork to give the action in the film a vital sense of scale. However, The Flash's worst flaw is its shoddy CGI.

Along with the scenes featuring the two Barrys, a crucial plot device requires a lot of VFX, which is unacceptable.

It implies that there isn't enough time to concentrate on this important aspect of the story while it is undergoing multiple changes.

In any case, there are lots of cloud-pleasing moments for both new and devoted fans.

As the studio sets out on what appears to be a new course, it is unclear what will become of these people.

Thanks to Muschietti's distinct tone and execution, The Flash undoubtedly succeeds if it is designed to bookend the DCEU of the last ten years or so.