The Flash (TV show) Proves Warner Bros. Can Move On from Batman v Superman

[TroyTheAverage]

I still have hope that JL will be able to get on par somewhat with the MCU. I just think they need to not try to take themselves too seriously. I'm thinking if Suicide Squad is successful that will be the way they are going to go. Dark but a little lighthearted.

When Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War opened to warm reviews and healthy box-office receipts, the comparisons to the less well-reviewed DC film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice were inevitable. With plot similarities that extended beyond mere superhero clashes, headlines like “Captain America: Civil War Shows Exactly WhyBatman v Superman Failed” and “Captain America: Civil War Gets Everything Right that Batman v Superman Gets Wrong” were to be expected. But, surprisingly, just as Marvel dealt DC a massive blow by being, once again, the friendlier and more popular cinematic superhero generator, DC pulled off a big win of its own. Sure, this one took place on the small screen, but CW’s The Flash not only had its best episode yet, but paved the way for a rosier future for DC films.

Though it lacks some of the prestige shine associated with Netflix’s Marvel shows, The Flash has receivedglowing reviews since it premiered in 2014 and is, by far, the CW’s highest-rated series. Grant Gustin’sturn as Barry Allen—“the fastest man alive”—is so beloved, in fact, that when Warner Bros. announced thatEzra Miller would be taking on the Allen role in their cinematic Justice League, there was a massive outcry from loyal TV watchers who felt no one would be able to match Gustin. That doesn’t mean the show has been completely flawless, but this week, for the first time in two seasons, The Flash didn’t miss a step.

This latest episode, “The Runaway Dinosaur,” was directed by famed comic book fan Kevin Smith and written by Zack Stentz (Thor, X-Men: First Class). The series has always been funny (thanks, in large part, to the great Carlos Valdes as Cisco Ramon) and has used veteran actors like Victor Garber andJesse L. Martin to lend gravitas and tug at the heartstrings. But in one episode, The Flash managed to hit new comedic and emotional highs while also leaving room for some exciting action.

Even characters who have been a little patchy—like Barry’s leading lady, Iris West (Candice Patton)—had a chance to shine and the episode was surprisingly coherent given that it contained one zombie metal man, three grieving father figures, a Jason Mewes cameo, two potential new speedsters, and the personification of a mystical element called the Speed Force. It shouldn’t have worked one bit. But, miraculously, it did.

Like Civil War and Batman v Superman before it, this episode of The Flash focused on a hero grieving for his dead mother. Gustin’s apparent heartbreak when Barry finally, finally let his mother go was palpable without ever being oppressively grim. In true superhero-myth fashion, the episode forced Barry to confront his wound—the death of his mother—before he could regain his strength. And, in an eerie moment of synchronicity, both “The Runaway Dinosaur” and Batman v Superman had Barry reaching out through a swirling vortex. Sure, it’s a thing the Flash does, but why did that image look so much better on a TV show with a fraction of Zack Snyder’s budget?

It’s this episode of The Flash, not Captain America, that should be the measuring stick we hold up againstBatman v Superman. Marvel’s films and comics have always been more bubblegum than DC’s. Cap, Tony, etc. obviously experience their share of trauma, but the loving way in which the Avengers bloodied each other’s noses in Civil War belongs to an entirely different universe than the one with Gotham and Metropolis in it. But the Flash will be a part of the Justice League and, if Warner Bros. is smart, they’ll realize it’s not too late to bend their cinematic world to fit the tone set by the CW.


Snyder is on record as not wanting to emulate the Greg Berlanti-created Flash. Explaining why he never considered integrating Gustin’s popular version of the character into his cinematic superhero team, Snydersaid, “I just don’t think it was a good fit. I’m very strict with this universe and I just don’t see a version where...that (tone is) not our world.” (Miller and Gustin, for the record, seem not only comfortable with the arrangement, but claim to be fans of each other.)

But perhaps the tone of The Flash—as perfectly captured in “The Runaway Dinosaur”—is something Snyder and DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns should consider emulating on the big screen. Warner Bros. is already course-correcting after the oppressively heavy Batman v Superman proved so unpopular with critics. Ben Affleck—whose performance as Bruce Wayne was one of the few well-reviewed elements ofDawn of Justice—has been promoted to executive producer on the upcoming Justice League film. And the very weekend Batman v Superman was being raked over the coals, Snyder promised that the Flash would be “one of the things that lightens” the Justice League.

And as Warner Bros. expands to create a cinematic universe beyond its two most famous caped crusaders, it seems to be aware of how crucial a great version of The Flash could be to the health of the franchise. LikeWonder Woman’s Michelle MacLaren before him, would-be Flash director Seth Grahame-Smith left the DC Cinematic Universe over “creative differences.” But the timing—just one month after Batman v Superman was pasted by critics—had some wondering if that too-common Hollywood catch-all, “creative differences,” was code for bigger behind-the-scenes problems. Was an untested director like Grahame-Smith simply too much of a gamble for a film the now feels even more crucial to the health of the series?

Many presumed Warner Bros. would act fast to replace Grahame-Smith and get the movie ready by its scheduled 2018 premiere, but while the studio replaced Michelle MacLaren with Patty Jenkins in amatter of days, there’s been a month without any movement on The Flash. The basis for the film is a treatment by the fun-loving Phil Lord and Chris Miller (who have since defected to Disney), but the script itself was written by Grahame-Smith whose three produced screenplays—Dark Shadows, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and Pride & Prejudice & Zombies—have all failed to catch fire at the box office.

Could a more thorough overhaul of The Flash project be underway? If so, then whoever is working on it would be wise to check out “The Runaway Dinosaur.” It has everything comic-book fans could want from a Barry Allen story. While financially lucrative, Batman v Superman feels like a creative misstep, but it’s not too late for the Justice League to find its footing.

 

[Deezy]

Hit the bricks Snyder...you fucked over Superman twice, Berlanti showed you can mix dark elements with fun and not have to sacrifice either.

Gustins my Flash and I think anyone who is a fan of this version won't support a film one from a guy who made sub par films of the other justice league.