Dumb Money

 

Score:  B+

Directed by Craig Gillespie

Starring Paul Dano, America Ferrera, Pete Davidson, Seth Rogen, Shailene Woodley, et. al.

Running time: 104 minutes

Rated R

Long Story Short:  Dumb Money brings the stranger-than-fiction GameStop stock saga to the big screen with an impressive cast of Hollywood faces.  Recalling events barely three years old, the movie focuses on its large and wide-ranging cast along with some stylish presentation (internet memes galore) for good measure.  Opinions can and will vary on the success - and desirability - of the real life outcomes, but check it out for some thoughtful entertainment.

Keith (Dano) is struggling along with his wife and baby through the pandemic like the rest of the world in 2020.  His main escape from the daily challenges is his interest in the stock market and posting videos about it on an internet forum, Reddit.  Although an old friend, who has investing experience, thinks he's crazy, Keith devotes his family's life savings into GameStop, a stock that he feels is undervalued.  It is also one that several big hedge funds are betting will soon fail, and if it does, their "short squeeze" will further enrich them.  A confluence of events in the wild world of 2020, however, results in GameStop stock surging, with Keith - internet name "Roaring Kitty" - leading the charge.

Dumb Money is an entertaining dramatization of the fascinating and recent real-life "meme stock" phenomenon.  It doesn't dive too deeply into the complex human and technical issues, but it doesn't really have to - they jump off the screen at you, and the filmmakers turn a fairly online-heavy story into a stylish one.  Dealing with complex financial systems and highly idiosyncratic online cultures, Dumb Money had quite a challenge in making a watchable drama.  Fortunately, a large cast of talented actors help bring it to life.  Paul Dano is a natural choice as the lead, one of Hollywood's more "ordinary" looking faces and easy to believe as, well, a dork.  He is superhero-like in a way, with his family role as husband, father, and dull day job while his alter ego as "Roaring Kitty", a leader of like-minded internet and stock addicts, is far different.  While Dano shows a few moments of embracing his sudden fame and power, he's mostly pretty unassuming and mild-mannered - a good choice that feels much more genuine than if he was completely transformed by the end.  It also helps that Dano has plenty of help; the standouts to me were Pete Davidson as his jovial bum of a brother and Rogen's ruthless but very human hedge funder.  Both are quite funny but also provide some of the film's strongest dramatic moments.  Offerman, Ron from Parks & Rec, is of course a welcome face in a small role, and Marvel's Stan shows a new side as Robinhood's CEO - at times a goofy bungler and at others an evil schemer (one of the film's more cartoonish parts but not overboard). Then there are several everyday people who get in on the GameStop stock ride, including Ferrera in the put-upon working woman role she always excels at, and Ramos (In the Heights), who still really rubs me the wrong way; he just feels like that asshole you knew from high school - maybe it's just me, though.

Dumb Money, beyond its cast, does a good job of showing the stock roller coaster ride, even if still proves difficult to sustain effectively throughout.  The filmmakers pulled quite a bit of original video content that was produced during the GameStock surge, largely edited videos portraying the Robinhood "good guys" taking on the hedge fund "bad guys".  A contemporary hip-hop soundtrack also helps set the mood (though I found a lot of it distasteful, IMO).  This styling helps recreate the 2020-21 environment of these events, so while the repeated drama of "oh wow, look how high the stock is now!" grows old, the movie sustains momentum well, helped by its good cast.  It's impossible - well, at least for me - not to also get sucked into the real life issues involved in the story.  The movie portrays Keith and his kindred spirits as the good guys, and ultimately shows them as being successful, even if it's hazy on the details (and the final results, of course, are yet to be determined).  I sympathize with this, at least to the extent that I believe everyone should be able to lead a secure and relatively comfortable life no matter their occupation; no one should have to take wild gambles simply to dig out of (responsible) debt or to afford housing.  But the GameStop model for the little guy to succeed is a terrible one; Ferrera's nurse friend adroitly explains why, but the movie doesn't show any of the probably numerous individuals who lost a lot in the end.  What the world needs (pardon the brief soapbox) is not high risk-reward hero's adventures but boring old government regulation to ensure, to the extent possible, that the economy works for everyone - and when the economy still falls short, to make the lucky few who strike it rich pay back to society to support the many unlucky.  You don't have to agree with me on all this to find that the movie provides a great opportunity to consider duller yet urgent issues underneath the surface of all the excitement.

***

Dumb Money, while not quite an Oscar-contender-level drama, was still a nice way to start off the fall movie season.  I'm often leery of seeing movies or TV shows about recent events or famous people, but this one didn't seem as exploitative or simply lazy as many others do - and I was right!  At the moment, despite its star-packed cast, it's made only about $12 million; that might be partly due to not being in as many theaters as others.  At the moment, most theaters seem to be offering 13,415 horror movies, Paw Patrol, and Taylor Swift.  Ugh.  So if you do find Dumb Money playing at a theater near you, I recommend you go see it!  Until next time, which will hopefully hold another pleasant surprise.

* By Sony Pictures Releasing - IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74449492

A Haunting in Venice

 

Score:  B

Directed by Kenneth Branaugh

Starring Kenneth Branaugh, Tina Fey, Michelle Yeoh, Kelly Reilly, et. al.

Running time: 103 minutes

Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  A Haunting in Venice, a third adaptation of Agatha Christie's Poirot mysteries by director/actor Kenneth Branaugh, is a pleasant early fall entertainment.  While not a great, memorable movie, it's nevertheless rock-solid, a close match in quality to the first Murder on Orient Express.  Poirot continues to be a dependable good guy in this unashamedly traditional franchise.

Hercule Poirot (Branaugh) has decided to leave his famed investigative work behind and hide away in Italy in retirement.  However, one day an old frenemy appears, writer Ariadne Oliver (Fey), who tempts Poirot to join her in attending a seance for a wealthy single woman's dead young daughter.  Poirot is quickly able to discern the medium's (Yeoh) tricks, but soon one of the participants turns up dead.  Trapped in the building that night by a fierce storm, Poirot is determined to get to the bottom of the situation quickly - before anyone else ends up haunting the doomed home.

A Haunting in Venice is a fine, well-made film, providing light fall entertainment that's not super ambitious yet also performs its role as a traditional mystery quite well.  This is Branaugh's third adaptation of Agatha Christie's Poirot stories, and like the others, the plot and characters do have quite a different feel to them compared to contemporary equivalents.  Earnest might not quite be accurate, with all the inevitable twists and relative complexity to the characters and relationships; still, it's a welcome change of tone (IMO) from the cynicism, self-awareness and sheer darkness that many of today's new stories bring.  The atmosphere and various moods are fairly restrained - it's more of a mental exercise than an emotional one.  But there is a light Halloween-y feel to it, with creepy moments but certainly well short of a horror.  There's also some good humor sprinkled in, usually having to do with Poirot's electicisms.  I would say this is about as good as the first Branaugh-Poirot movie (though also nicely distinct from it), thanks in large part to a renewed focus on the lead character.  He's an interesting, and ultimately good, character, fighting for justice by using his wits.  There's precious little moralizing, as there are quite a few shades of gray, but where there is right and wrong, it springs straight from the facts.  I do wish Fey had been given a little more to do, but maybe too little is better than too much in this case.  Ultimately, it's a film that's unlikely to stick with you for a long time but it's also a very pleasant diversion for a wide array of audiences.

***

Although they aren't among the very best films ever, I've enjoyed Branaugh's Poirot mysteries and was glad that another one came out this fall to provide something worth seeing during what's usually a miserable month at the theaters (unless you like horror... yuck!).  I was a bit nervous about this one, though, because the second movie was nowhere near as good as the first.  It strayed from Poirot himself, who was mostly reduced to an observer of a rotten cast of wealthy assholes.  I'd be happy to see a few more of these from Branaugh, provided that they are more like his first and third films.  Now that it's just about October, we should be getting some Oscar contenders as well as blockbuster-level entertainment (can't wait for The Marvels).  Hopefully the next theater trip will be soon - until next time!

* By 20th Century Studios - Disney Media Kits, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73652505

Oppenheimer

 

Score:  B+

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Starring Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey, Jr.

Running time: 180 minutes

Rated R

Long Story Short:  Oppenheimer is star director Christopher Nolan's latest, a historical epic about the development of the a-bomb.  It's the darker half of this summer's "Barbenheimer" phenomenon and is well worth (if you didn't already) a visit to the theater.  Nolan emphasizes a rapidly moving story across multiple time periods in place of his more typical sci-fi flair.  The final act is unfortunately a misfire, but what leads up to it is quite good.

At a time of building tension in the world and the rise of the murderous Nazi regime in Germany, a startling scientific discovery is made in 1938: nuclear fission.  J. Robert Oppenheimer (Murphy), working as a theoretical physicist at universities in California, immediately realizes the significance not just to his own field but also for the terrible possible consequences it could have in war.  The Army recruits Oppenheimer to develop a program to weaponize the new science - desperate to do so before the Nazis, who are believed to be ahead of the Americans due to their formidable physics establishment.  Oppenheimer works quickly, driven by both scientific curiosity and horror at the consequences of the Nazis winning this "race".  But another game is being played under the surface as American politicians grow suspicious of their fragile alliance with the Soviets and potential influences on the scientists.

Oppenheimer is a typically high-quality movie from director Christopher Nolan; it's stylishly made and entertaining, though it is held back from Nolan's top tier by an unnecessary and poorly done final act.  Many of Nolan's movies are sci-fi or at least have a strong emphasis on the visual elements (e.g., Dunkirk).  This movie does have some creative - and a few spectacular - images as well, from Oppenheimer's imagining of stars and molecular processes to the humongous fire of the Trinity test to haunting hallucinations in the aftermath of the bomb's use on Japan.  But these are relatively scarce, with Nolan instead focusing on a fast-edit style that bounces among several different time periods - chiefly, the Manhattan project (1942-45), a security hearing on Oppenheimer (1954) and a Presidential cabinet vote (1959), though there are also scenes showing Oppenheimer's rise from 1926 until the fateful a-bomb project.  This fast-edit style mostly works well: it keeps the pace moving briskly despite the large time span and character spread, and focuses each mini-scene on the most essential dialogue (sometimes just a word or two), details, and images.  There are also cues that help the audience place scenes within the overall puzzle - film quality (including black & white), recurring sets, etc.  The ultimate outcome is obvious to all, yet Nolan still wrings plenty of intrigue from the process, and spends enough time on the physical details of that first test bomb and its preparation to make it feel chillingly real.

Unfortunately, the film lingers on far too long after the first atomic bomb explodes.  Some type of resolution was necessary and appropriate, of course, but the race to get to a successful test of the a-bomb was by far the highest-stakes and most compelling part of the movie.  Instead of leaving it as the film's pinnacle, Nolan extends the film another thirty to forty-five minutes to dwell on Oppenheimer's post-Manhattan advocacy and his political fate.  Even if you didn't know before, it's pretty obvious what is going to happen - and as opposed to the race to develop the a-bomb, is far less consequential or, frankly, interesting.  To make matters worse, Nolan loses his subtle touch and turns the messy political fight into a literally black and white struggle.  Robert Downey, Jr. plays the "villain" here and early in the film he is quite good - but the character becomes far less interesting as his diabolical (but also kind of pathetic, when you think about it) plot unspools.  There are good performances throughout the film, where you'll find a huge number of stars or at least familiar faces in small roles.  Oppenheimer himself is played well by Murphy, an engaging presence, but he remains difficult to decipher, partly because his behavior is wide-ranging.  Matt Damon gives the best performance I've seen from him in a long time as Oppenheimer's supervising Army General, an earnest figure with a nicely dry sense of humor.  There's just not enough time for anyone else to stand out; this three-hour movie feels the same way, packed with lots of good things but ultimately didn't know where to stop.

***

Oppenheimer is a good film that I'm glad I got to see in the theater, despite doing so almost two months after it was released.  Nolan is one of my favorite directors, and while this one falls a little short of my high expectations for him, it still has plenty going for it and was especially good to see in a theater.  It also confirms that Nolan can succeed outside the sci-fi genre; Dunkirk already did that - it's my favorite war movie of all time - but Oppenheimer shows that it wasn't just a fluke.  But please, Nolan: be careful not to lose control like you did a bit with the ending of this movie!  Hopefully there will be some interesting movies coming up this fall - longer term, I'm growing more concerned about the extended writers and actors strikes, but I'm also all for them getting the full compensation they deserve, and waiting until that happens.  Until next time, hopefully soon!

* By Universal Pictures Publicity, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71354716

Haunted Mansion

 

Score:  B

Directed by Justin Simien

Starring LaKeith Steinfeld, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson

Running time: 123 minutes

Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  Haunted Mansion, a Disney movie based on a park ride, rises above its origins to provide a perfectly entertaining summer diversion, especially for families.  Younger ones will enjoy the gentle ghost jump scares, but adults will appreciate the impressive cast with both funny - Wilson, Haddish, and DeVito - and high-quality - Steinfeld, Dawson - stars.  If you need a summer outing, this is a nice way to spend your time.

Astrophysicist Ben (Steinfeld) is working on a spectacular new tool, a "camera" that will allow him to see the unseen - dark matter.  He meets a ghost tour guide in New Orleans and, despite the opposing nature of their work, the two fall in love.  Years later, Ben finds himself alone and adrift when he meets another odd stranger, Father Kent (Wilson).  He brings Ben to a long-abandoned mansion on the city's outskirts, where a single mother (Dawson) and her son are terrified and bewildered by the mysteries of their planned bed and breakfast.  Before long, Ben is pulled into an adventure that calls for his special expertise - but also requires that he go beyond it, to confront his past and the things he does not understand.

Haunted Mansion is a solid, very entertaining family adventure movie propelled by its strong and likable cast as well as an interesting plot.  Disney's casting director did a great job here, finding a number of stars who fit their roles quite well.  Steinfeld and Dawson get the two main dramatic roles and anchor the film well; the former as a private, traumatized but determined scientist and the latter as an in-over-her-head but fiercely protective mother and strong leader.  Haddish, Wilson, and DeVito, meanwhile, get the juicy comic support roles.  Each feels suited to their specialty - a psychic, priest, and professor, respectively - and each is hilariously a fraud or failure in their own way (Wilson's priest has possibly my favorite prayer opening ever: "God... give us a break!").  The cumulative effect is that the group effortlessly feels like a family, if a very odd one at that, that's easy to root for.  This improvised family works through the mystery of the mansion together, one that is filled with silly horror - this is Disney, after all! - rather than scary/gory horror (us non-horror fans appreciate this).  There are some neat special effects and a few action/suspense sets, but the spectacle doesn't seem to be the main attraction.  Along with the cast, what drew my attention most was the thoughtful history the writers created for the mansion and how it intertwines with the present-day characters (being filled with ghosts, a main theme is loss, but done in a non-depressing or gloomy way).  The ending is nice and tidy, typical of Disney, but it feels earned, too.

***

Haunted Mansion was an enjoyable mid-summer treat, and hopefully Hollywood will continue to emulate some of its overall strengths - namely, creative use of a talented cast, and a nice middle-of-the-road yet still intriguing plot for a wide array of audiences.  Now we're into the late-summer doldrums so I am not sure what the next movies up will be (still hoping to catch Oppenheimer!).  Hopefully the studios will come to their senses soon and give the striking actors and writers what they deserve, to ensure that we enjoy their creative talents for the coming months and years.  Until next time!

* By Walt Disney Pictures / Rideback / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures - IMP Awards, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73177824

Barbie

 

Score:  A-

Directed by Greta Gerwig

Starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Will Ferrell, Kate McKinnon

Running time: 114 minutes

Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  Barbie is, yes, about the toy doll, but it's not your average brand cash-in, thanks to a top filmmaker in Greta Gerwig and stars like Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.  It certainly knows how to have fun, creating a colorful, lively Barbie World filled with cheery Barbies and Kens.  But Gerwig and co-writer Baumbach have a clever script that somehow connects the surreal with our everyday world.  It's a blockbuster for (just about) all ages - enjoy!

In a parallel universe, Barbies rule a pink, magical world, loving life with Kens at their side.  One day, however, Stereotypical Barbie (Robbie) finds that her happy routine has been interrupted by disturbing thoughts and feelings.  After visiting the outcast "Weird" Barbie (McKinnon) for advice, she decides to go to the real world to find the source of the disturbances.  There, she and Ken (Gosling) find a drabber and far different society.  They can't simply go home, though: Barbie must learn how to address her new feelings and figure out how to reconcile two seemingly opposite worlds.

Barbie is a very fun and funny movie that also has overt but appropriate and striking empowerment themes.  The first thing to almost pop off the screen is the movie's visual flair, a true summer movie if I ever saw one.  The Barbie World is garishly colored, but there are few computer effects and so the physical sets make it feel both more grounded and incongruous (in a good way).  Barbie World truly comes alive during a handful of musical scenes, adding to the happy tone.  The talented writers Gerwig and Baumbach thread the needle with their humor, anticipating the audience's awareness of the absurdity of the premise and seeming to play it at face value but with subtle nods/winks at the ridiculousness.  In Barbie World at the beginning, Barbies and Kens speak and behave like you'd imagine that "living" toys might, in their perfect yet simplistic world.  Then, transitioning to the real world, there's equal humor in these toys' "fish out of water" experiences.  Robbie and Gosling are great fun as the co-leads.  Robbie has to do more of the dramatic heavy lifting (though she has plenty of fun in the first third of the film) while Gosling - appropriately subordinate as Ken - gets to let loose a bit more, but still brings more depth than expected to the role, too.  Ferrell and McKinnon are hilarious, of course, and on the other end, Ferrera, as the one average person, brings real strength in a key if somewhat surrogate-like role.  It's not all fun and games in a suitably fantastic plot, though.  Director and writer Gerwig seizes the opportunity to really dig into what Barbie represents in the real world, and how that plays out in gender dynamics.  She keeps most of it directly connected with the humor - Gosling/Ken's amazement at the power of patriarchy and its... horses; "brainwashed" Barbies being literally woken up by the enlightened Robbie and Ferrera while the Kens are distracted.  But there's also a sweet, earnest moment with Barbie's human creator, and a happy but not so tidy ending.  All this in a well-paced, two-hour package!

***

Having enjoyed Ladybird, I knew Barbie had potential, coming from the same talented filmmaker in Greta Gerwig.  It's turned out to be quite the cultural phenomenon, though I can't say I'm too plugged in to all of that.  What I do know is that the movie is strong summer entertainment, and something much more appealing to, frankly, women, than most blockbusters - but as I can attest, absolutely fine for men, too!  Hollywood desperately needs to make more films along these broad strokes - we need them to bring people of all ages, stages and backgrounds into the movie theater, not just those like me who love superheroes and action.  Whether that happens or not is an open question, but in the mean time, make sure to go and enjoy Barbie!

* By Carolina Cinemas, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72508674

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning-Part One

 

Score:  A

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie

Starring Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Esai Morales

Running time: 164 minutes

Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  Tom Cruise returns to his spy agent role Ethan Hunt for a seventh time in Dead Reckoning - Part One, and he - and the movie - are as good as ever.  It's long, but packed with both great action and intriguing personal battles more intense than before.  Whether the stunts are actually bigger than ever is debatable but they are at least as entertaining, and the direction and writing maximizes its impact with good variety and pacing.  This is a must-see summer blockbuster for all.

Ethan (Cruise) is faced with perhaps his least-possible mission yet: battling not just crafty human foes, but also a menacing AI program gone rogue.  Developed by the Russians, "the Entity" quickly grew beyond the bounds, and control, of its creator, leading to an international race among the world's powers to try to seize control of the dangerous software.  Realizing the Entity is too dangerous to be allowed to survive as a pawn in the intelligence wars, Ethan decides to destroy it, but to do so he'll need to recover the literal key to the program.  Teaming up with old friends Luther (Rhames) and Benji (Pegg), as well as new allies, Ethan must find the key before it slips out of his - and everyone else's - grasp forever.

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning (Part One) is another exemplary installment of the nearly thirty-year-old franchise, as Cruise & Co. somehow continue to push the boundaries of practical action stunt work but also ground it in rock-solid storytelling and characters.  I have to begin with the action, since it's the main draw, even though it's not the only good thing going.  The variety, creativity, and sheer intensity are brilliant, and director and writer McQuarrie does a great job of building it up gradually throughout the film to a fantastic finale.  It actually starts rather slowly - no big, pre-credits set piece like in Bond movies.  Instead, we get a pretty direct picture of the stakes of this new mission and the ominous AI, or "Entity".  It's not too subtle, but you'll be grateful for that later.  The first great action scene is more like MI's classic stealth and deception setup, as Ethan attempts to make a quick switch with an unsuspecting target at an airport while also evading agents who are after him.  It mixes in so much yet seamlessly, from humor, to "plan B, C, & D" improvising, to dark hints of the Entity's power.  Next up is a car chase through Rome that vaguely recalls the one from MI-Fallout, yet it is both just as good as and utterly distinct from that one.  I particularly appreciated that, for all Ethan's talents, the chase is also filled with goof-ups (from both good and bad guys); and his pairing with a skilled thief - but a newbie to multi-party, full throttle urban chases - provides humor and grounding.  The final act on a train is much slower and longer, but does not feel drawn out at all, thanks to its split into multiple, distinct sub-scenes.  This is where we get the big stunt of the film, Ethan's jump off a cliff on a motorcycle which you've probably seen part of in previews - it's another great moment for MI.  A desperate scramble for survival at the very end might even top that cliff jump, but I won't spoil it here.

MI-Dead Reckoning Part One is, just like its title, quite long, at two hours and forty five minutes.  A good portion of this is the action described above, but there is plenty else going on that, as with any similar franchise worth watching, is also engaging.  Although the movie starts in fairly un-MI-like style with its overt description of the Entity and its capability, the rest of the movie slides easily back into the series' penchant for duplicity and work in the shadows, both seen and implied.  And the characters playing this all out are equal to the task, thanks in no small part to the film's continuation of previous stories and themes.  Tom Cruise as lead IMF agent Ethan Hunt is still on top of his game - certainly in the action scenes, where he is utterly believable and still runs like a man on, well, a mission - but also in the quieter in-between scenes; Ethan has both softened, showing increased affection for his friends, but also deeply troubled by his foe here.  Atwell (new) and Ferguson (returning) are tremendous as well, every bit Cruise/Hunt's equal in the field but utilizing very different styles to do so.  They are strong, independent characters yet their complex relationships with Hunt help shed new light on him, too.  Morales is a chilly and effective presence as main baddy Gabriel - cool, competent and fearless.  But there are also plenty of sheer fun roles, starting with Hunt's loyal partners Luther (Rhames) and Benji (Pegg), as good as ever.  Returning Alanna (Kirby) is still snarky fun and Pom Klementieff (Guardians' Mantis) is a riot as a psycho terminator.  All these vivid characters give the plot and action much more meaning; the AI "takeover the world" might feel a bit distant, but the battle to control or destroy it brings out very personal and ruthless stakes.  Some of Hunt and Co.'s old tricks are breaking down in this new digital era, whether because AI co-opts or disrupts them, or they simply stop working.  One thing's for sure, though: this Mission Impossible works at least as well if not better than ever.

***

Mission Impossible was one of the films I was counting on this summer, similar to my expectations for any new Pixar film - and just like Elemental last month, it came through brilliantly.  To provide another comparison, even though this is a part one-of-two movie, there is no feeling of letdown at the end, only excitement for what's next, like in Avengers Infinity War.  Let's keep it going: Mission Impossible is absolutely one of the great action movie franchises of all time, right there with James Bond.  Two other recent, "mini-franchises" are also great, in Matt Damon's Bourne movies and Keanu Reeves's John Wick (I saw the fourth movie this spring - I haven't written my review yet but I will!).  I find it more and more difficult to enjoy other action movies now, as they almost always pale in comparison to these fantastic series.  Next up is quite a change of pace - Oppenheimer - and after that, I really have no idea.  Until next time!

* By Deadline, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73287380

The Flash

Score:  B

Directed by Andy Muschietti

Starring Ezra Miller, Michael Keaton, Sasha Calle

Running time: 144 minutes

Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  The Flash gives the spotlight to a lesser-known member of the Justice League, and the result is a solid, entertaining film that rises above many others by simply not trying to do too much.  The action truly is a draw here, entertaining and not simply an obligatory spectacle.  The multiverse pops up yet again here, as does time travel, but there are enough fun characters to get through it easily enough.  No prior superhero knowledge required: recommended for any looking for a nice action blockbuster.

Barry Allen, aka The Flash, is a member of the Justice League of superheroes, including Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman.  Like several of his companions, Barry has suffered a tragedy: his mother was murdered when he was a teenager, and his innocent father was framed for the crime.  Using his powers of incredible speed, Barry one day discovers that he can literally run backward in time, giving him a temptation too good to resist.  However, Barry soon finds, as all time travelers do, that interfering with the past can have both subtle and major consequences - and far beyond that of his own family.

The Flash is a fun superhero movie, better than it probably even should have been considering the circumstances.  The circumstances are these: it is one of the last DC superhero films in the studio's years-long, elaborate (and decidedly mixed-results) plan that already feels stale; and its plot heavily involves the very well-worn themes of the multiverse and time travel.  Those factors certainly weigh on the film to some degree, but it also overcomes them surprisingly well.  The multiverse aspect here at least feels (relatively) contained, and allows for neat alternate superheroes (more later).  Time travel tropes are present as well, but it allows the film to explore Barry's character in a more interesting way than most DC films.  One of the best parts of the film - and, frankly, why most people would want to see it in the first place - is the action.  For a nearly two-and-a-half hour superhero film, it's kept to a modest three main set pieces; and crucially, they each feel more intimate and less numbing than much superhero action has become (even from Marvel).  The first showcases the Flash's extraordinary speed, but for the purpose of rescue, and humor, rather than battle (plus cool cameos from his Justice League partners).  The second and third are darker, more brutal scenes, but not overly so; they allow for more vulnerability in the heroes than usual and so feel more tense and intriguing.

The characters in The Flash are middling: not Marvel-level quality, but more interesting than those from many DC movies.  Ezra Miller's Barry leads the way, and in fact, we get a double dose via a younger version who shadows the "present day" version for most of the film.  Nothing too deep here, but at least you get a better feel for Barry as a human being and not just the hero.  Batman and Supergirl get little background but are still fun.  Having Keaton back in the cape and cowl just brings a fond smile, and Calle brings a mood of foreboding to Supergirl that fits Krypton's fate (and the likely fate of her alternate-Earth).  Although in smaller parts, we also get a number of people from Barry's normal life including his parents, of course; a brief romantic interest; and even roommates.  Along those lines, The Flash also benefits from a pretty solid script, mostly shying away from the ponderous and more toward humor (actually funny humor, mostly, and not nakedly poor attempts at it).  Like the action, the story feels contained - so despite being another link in a multi-year chain of Justice League superhero movies, it doesn't bring the sense of a necessary or even inevitable sequel.  There are other limitations, such as the little we have to go on the alternate superheroes, and an eyebrow-raising side plot to transfer the Flash's powers.  But there are no truly fatal flaws: this is an easily enjoyable superhero film.

***

The Flash was better than I expected and, believe it or not, is so far my favorite superhero movie of the year, besting Marvel's two offerings.  I was already a bit more familiar with this comic book character than usual, though, since I watched the first five seasons or so of The CW show about him.  That familiarity ended up being both a pro and a con, I think, so probably a wash in the end.  I did like the show quite a bit, so I'd recommend checking it out on Netflix if you're interested.  There are two more movies I'm eagerly anticipating this summer - Mission: Impossible #?? and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer - but hopefully there will be some other good ones to come along.  Although I've mostly enjoyed a summer full of familiar brands (e.g., Pixar) and sequels, I'm looking forward to something fresh.  Until next time!

* By Warner Bros. Entertainment - http://www.impawards.com/2023/flash_ver6.html, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72998005