The Flash

Barry Allen is fast. Really fast. Harnessing his 'speed force' as part of the Justice League, he uses his powers to help humanity. When he discovers he can walk through time, he journeys to the past to save his parents from tragedy (and, later, to correct mistakes). But doing so has a ripple effect and changes many other things—and starts to mess with the fabric of time itself. The Flash must choose: can he accept failure and tragedy? Or is it worth destroying the universe to right the wrongs of the past? 

This film got mixed (but mostly negative) reviews, which is one reason I wasn't in a rush to see it (it came out two years ago). That said, I enjoyed it more than I expected. It focused on an important theme: the reality of failure and tragedy—the wrongs we do and the wrongs done to us—and their role in shaping our lives. When Flash realizes he might be able to stop his mother's murder, he doesn't realize how that event was necessary. Batman enlightens him: "Those scars we have make us who we are. We're not meant to go back and fix them." And elsewhere, as Flash struggles with how to fix things, he is reminded that "Not every problem has a solution. Sometimes we just have to let go." While the movie doesn't get all the right answers, I think it is important to think on this. We all have regret for our past actions and pain we wish didn't exist, but if God is sovereign and good, even the sins and horrors of humanity can end up playing a positive role. And our desire to go back and change things is ultimately humanity trying to be God, which is what made us fall in the first place. 

Theme aside, the movie had mixed elements. It plays on the rich history of DC movies, combinng them with time travel weirdness, to feature cool cameos (so being familiar with older films will aid your enjoyment). The humor was decent in places. The CG was weirdly (but I understand deliberately/artistically) bad at times. The film invested too much in action/spectacle and too little in character/message. There is some foul language. And in the end, it's clear Barry didn't fully learn the lesson. But overall, it wasn't terrible.

Rating: B-