Critic reviews for The Flash are coming in and they are not the “wow” reaction that David Zaslav told investors the film was or the “fantastic movie” that James Gunn described it.
Back in January when announcing his new DCU slate, Gunn described the film saying, “The Flash, a fantastic movie that I really love, that resets the entire DCU universe.”
Zaslav touted the film during Warner Bros. Discovery’s Q4 2022 Earnings call saying, “We’re also excited for the release of four DC films this year. Starting with Shazam in two weeks and followed by The Flash, which James Gunn called one of the greatest superhero movies ever made; a masterpiece.”
He added, ““I saw it and loved it, it’s a wow. I can’t wait for The Flash to hit the theaters in June.”
Metacritic
The critics had very different thoughts about the film. On Metacritic the film has a Metascore of 60. There are 17 positive reviews and 12 mixed reviews.
Here’s what the critics are saying:
Alan Ng at Film Threat gave the film an 85. He stated, “Ultimately, the story is the film’s star, and director Andrew Muschietti knows how to tell a comic book story. As much as there is excessive fan-baiting and nostalgia, it earned it at the end by holding most of it off until the end. I’m sold.”
Chris Hewitt at Empire gave the movie an 80. He wrote, “Set to be one of the final entries in what we know as the DCEU, this is also one of the best, a witty and warm buddy comedy that deserves to be more than just a Flash in the pan.”
Alex Flood at NME also gave the film an 80. He said, “A funny, action-packed and, of course, fast-paced adventure follows – with a surprisingly moving emotional centre.”
Ben Pearson at Slash Film scored the film a 75. He wrote, “While I have a few complaints and there are a couple of head-scratching loose ends, The Flash is still a funny, emotional, action-heavy crowd-pleaser that ranks among the best DC movies ever made.”
Brian Truitt at USA Today gave the film a 75. He explained, “With good guys aplenty and a big heart, The Flash pens a love letter to DC superhero movies past, though the film runs around in circles trying to make it all work.”
Joshua Yehl at IGN gave the movie a 70. He detailed, “Though the visual effects aren’t always the best and the third act is a bit overwhelming, strong performances and a refreshing earnestness keep The Flash on track and running circles around many of the recent DC Universe movies. If this is the truly last stop on the Snyderverse express, then it’s a respectable way to go out.”
David Rooney at The Hollywood Reporter also gave the film a 70. He said, “This long-gestating stand-alone showcase for the Fastest Man Alive is enjoyable entertainment, even if it spends more time spinning its wheels than reinventing them.”
Matthew Jackson at AV Club gave the film a 67. He explained, “It’s sometimes buried under layers and layers of storytelling knots that the film never fully untangles, but the fun is there, and when the film is really working, that turns out to be enough.”
Liz Shannon Miller at Consequence also gave the film 67. She wrote, “There’s an immense amount of baggage weighing down what proves to be a vaguely competent superhero adventure, albeit one that fails to add anything significant to the genre by the end.”
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Kevin Harley at Total Film gave the movie a 60. He wrote, “Muschietti directs confidently, notably in an opening sequence that betters both Justice Leagues for fun. What’s less persuasive is the CGI, an eyesore that’s particularly gaudy when the finale’s ‘secrets’ drop.”
Christian Holub at Entertainment Weekly scored the film a 58. He stated, “Rather than the beginning of a cool, new idea, The Flash now feels like it should be the last word on movie multiverses.”
Owen Gleiberman at Variety gave the movie a 50. He wrote, “The trouble with The Flash is that as the film moves forward, it exudes less of that “Back to the Future” playfulness and more of that mythological but arbitrary blockbuster self-importance.”
William Bibbiani at TheWrap scored the film a 49. He explained, “It’s hard to imagine a film with less strength of conviction than The Flash, a time travel movie about why it’s bad to retcon the past, but which exists entirely to convince the audience that retconning the past, present and (potentially) the future of the DC superhero franchise is a super cool thing to do.”
Peter Bradshaw at The Guardian gave the movie a 40. He wrote, “Some entertaining moments can’t hide the fact that this latest product of the DC Comics universe doesn’t exactly fly past.”
Molly Freeman at ScreenRant also gave the movie a 40. She said, “The Flash is a passable multiverse superhero movie, but no amount of DC cameos can make audiences forget the awful off-screen actions of Ezra Miller.”
Rotten Tomatoes
On Rotten Tomatoes the film currently has a fresh 71% score from 89 reviews with 63 fresh reviews and 26 rotten reviews. The average rating is 6.4 out of 10.
Here’s what the critics are saying on Rotten Tomatoes:
Kaitlyn Booth at Bleeding Cool gave the film a 3.5 out of 10. She explained, “The Flash might feature some of these good moments, but they don’t add up to anything, and at the end of the day, the film as a whole is an overly long mess with a few bright spots and a massive missed opportunity when it comes to Supergirl.”
Tim Robey at the Daily Telegraph gave the film a rotten 2 out of 5. He wrote, “The film’s parade of “remember this?!” in-jokes makes it the opposite of a reset – it’s more like a scratched record.”
Don Kaye at Den of Geek gave the film a fresh 4 out of 5. He said, “The Flash is everything that much of the last 10 years of DC-based movies have not been: It’s fast-paced, character-driven, and, most importantly, in love with the comics and the iconic superheroes themselves.”
Esther Zuckerman at Bloomberg News gave the film a rotten rating. She wrote, “Although it’s not without some fun moments, The Flash often substitutes cameos for genuine thrills, and a general aura of exhaustion hovers over it all.”
Matt Zoller Seitz at RoberEbert.com gave the film a rotten 2.5 out of 4. He said, “The movie puts a lot of thought into what it wants to say and not enough into how it says it.”
Robert Kojder at Flickering Myth gave the film a rotten 2 out of 5. He explained, “White noise fan service that doesn’t register as anything beyond pointless action devoid of character-driven stakes, filled with horrendous CGI. Ezra Miller is the only decent aspect, and I shudder to think how awful The Flash would be without them.”
Jeffrey Lyles at Lyles’ Movies Files gave the film a fresh 9 out of 10. He explained, “Feels like the first DC film in a long time — like Superman II long — that finds the ideal balance of action, engaging plot, likable characters whose default personality isn’t shades of brooding with equal parts pathos and fun.”
Roger Moore at Movie Nation gives the movie a 2.5 out of 4. He said, “Ezra Miller turns out to be every bit as on-the-spectrum manic, antsy, and impulsive as you’d expect.”
Christie Cronan at Raising Whasians gave the movie a 6 out of 10. She wrote, “A little flashy for a summer blockbuster film. But overall The Flash is quirky, quick witted, emotional and relatable with his own twist on the DC multiverse.”
Jeff York at The Establishing Shot gave the movie a 2.5 out of 4. He said, “Ezra Miller is definitely an acquired taste as the lead character…Perhaps most troubling of all is how much more interesting both the older Batman character (Michael Keaton) and the new Supergirl character (Sasha Calle) are in support.”
James Marsh at South China Morning Post gave the movie a 2 out of 5. He wrote, “Falling victim of its own thematic mantra, The Flash refuses to let go of the past, instead allowing it to define what it has become in the present – in other words, a hodgepodge of former glories, with no clear identity of its own.”
Germain Lussier at io9 gave the movie a fresh rating. He said, “The Flash is a satisfying superhero experience, complete with epic scale, heartfelt emotion, a back door origin story, and a few issues along the way.”
Julian Roman at MovieWeb gives the movie a fresh 4 out of 5. He explained, “Ezra Miller saves the Snyderverse in a stunning superhero adaptation that gloriously lives up to the hype. The Flash is the DC film that fans have been aching to see.”
Jana Monji at Age of the Geek gave the film a fresh 3 out of 5. She said, “More smiles per hour than expected and the cameos quickly become one of this film’s highlights. Ezra Miller acquits himself well as the troubled young man who goes back in time to save his mother and meets a carefree version of himself.”
Allegra Frank at The Daily Beast gives the movie a rotten rating. She writes, “To offer the film any kind of praise is an uneasy task, because its star is one of the most controversial Hollywood figures in recent memory.”
What do you make of these critic reviews for The Flash?