Are “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and “The Flash” the same movie? They will be to people tired of the whole “multiverse” gimmick that has contaminated Hollywood writing rooms. “The Flash” benefits greatly from the contribution of the controversial, problematic and also great actor Ezra Miller, who has had multiple run-ins with the law. But when you are the star of a $200 million film from a major U.S. corporation, you get a lot of breaks. Directed by Andy Muschietti of “It” and its sequel fame and written by Brit Christina Hodson (“Birds of Prey”) and Joby Harold (“Obi-Wan Kenobi”), “The Flash” is so consistently funny it might qualify as a comedy, and its plot can get so complicated that you might not remember where you are or who the Batman is in the world you’re in.
It all begins when Jeremy Irons’ Alfred of the Ben Affleck “Batman” films calls Barry Allen aka the Flash, a criminologist on his way to work, and asks him to help people at a hospital that is collapsing.
The Buster Keaton-esque “It’s Raining Babies” sequence that follows is so much fun to watch, and so different from the knee-jerk, city-destroying motif of many earlier superhero films that it is exhilarating. Plus, the whip-smart banter between the characters is such a major part of Hodson’s script that it is like the film’s costar. Half of this dialogue is delivered by Miller playing both 30-something Barry and the 18-year-old, not-yet-meta-human counterpart who thinks Eric Stoltz starred in “Back to the Future.” The Flash teams up with his younger self to save the multiverse from coming apart because of his efforts to save his beloved mother (Maribel Verdu). Got that? I don’t believe it is news that the Flash asks Michael Keaton’s retired Batman to help him fight evil invader General Zod (Michael Shannon). Zod was memorably played by Terence Stamp in “Superman II” (1980) with the late Christopher Reeve as Superman. Here, the big and talented Michael Shannon mostly glowers. Sasha Calle’s Supergirl has a rebellious streak that is appealing, but she seems in need of her own movie.
One of the film’s running gags is the romantic status of Miller’s Barry. He doesn’t have one. In fact, he’s a virgin and more like a Jerry Lewis character than a DC superhero. When Affleck’s Batman shows up on an enormous, phallic Bat-cycle to help catch some bad guys, it’s like daddy has finally arrived. Also a running gag is Barry’s need to eat more or less constantly to keep his inner engines firing.
If you liked the last, live-action “Spider-Man,” you’re going to love “The Flash.” Half the action is fan service, trotting out sentimental, childhood favorites to be applauded, including (spoiler alert) one or two who are no longer with us. Talk about figuring out a way not to pay people.
While the special effects of “The Flash” with all the electrical bolts, walls (and balls) of fire and frozen-in-time action, is different from other superhero films, I got a bit tired of seeing the same CG images over and over again. Trying to grasp the concept that the Flash can go so fast that he enters a world in which he can stop and walk around was difficult, to say the least, especially the twelfth time. Also, keeping Central City, Gotham and Metropolis within their boundaries was not easy. Get ready to see Miller run so fast he burns his clothes off and covers his naughty bits with a tambourine. Also get ready for Chicago’s”25 or 6 to 4” and other tasty oldies. As reporter and former classmate of Barry’s Iris West, Kiersey Clemons has a lot of charisma, if not much screen time. Keaton steals the film with his Batman’s delivery of the line, “Let’s get nuts.” This guy is still bat-crazy.
(“The Flash” contains superhero violence, profanity and partial nudity)
Rated PG-13. At the AMC Boston Common, AMC South Bay and suburban theaters.