The Flash is a Trainwreck 

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I read somewhere that Warner Bros. BEGGED Christian Bale to perform a cameo in this movie, and he ‘refused’. That just warms my heart.

One of the funniest defences I’ve heard is that the affects are supposed to look bad because “it’s from Barry’s perspective so of course it would look weird.” Yes, because that totally explains why Supergirl becomes a PS3 model every time she moves.

I think what made those cameos at the end extra bad was how even ignoring the ethics they're really boring cameos. They chose to resurrect the most famous superhero actor in history and the best thing they could come up with for him to do was just stand looking emotionless. At that point why not just use stock footage?

People aren’t sick of superhero movies - we’re sick of bad ones…

I always kind of find it weird that they’re doing a Flashpoint movie without even including the main catalyst that killed Barry’s Mom and started to road to make Barry’s life as miserable as possible. Eobard Thawne. The Reverse-Flash.

It was strange to see Keaton's Batman out in broad daylight and leaping into a group of armed thugs. I always thought of him as the kind of Batman who would ambush from the shadows or use a smoke bomb or something.

Me, I'm just glad this movie is finally out, and that we're one step closer to the DCEU being laid to rest.

9:08 Hands down one of the most human moments in a superhero film ever. Aunt May is the only person in Peter’s life at that point who’s on his side, and he sacrifices that to give her closure. I just love Spider-Man 2 so much. With all the grandiose action and spectacle, it never forgets about *character*

What's even worse about the George Reeve cameo is that it technically traps him in the role again but he can't say shit about it because he's *dead.*

I always felt trying to adapt Flashpoint as Flash’s first big screen solo outing was a strange choice. I’ve always considered it an “Avengers/JL” level event. Especially since most of the JL show up in some form.

"I will continue to mourn the Batman Beyond movie we could've had." You and me both. Old man Bruce was amazing there.

They were hoping to repeat the success of Spiderman No Way Home. I remember being surprised how well they pulled the main twist off because I was afraid Tobey Macquire and Andrew Garfield would be in brief cameos. Instead, what I was afraid of applied to The Flash.

The ironic thing about this movie is that despite it being better than most people assume, it uses plot elements like Keaton’s Batman and Michael Shannon’s Zod that remind you of much better movies

6:23-6:50 -- That's exactly what made the Affleck Batman so interesting to me. This is a middle-aged, seasoned Batman. Still highly skilled and capable, but mature, thoughtful, and far more aware of his vulnerability and mortality. A solo Batfleck movie could've explored that wonderfully. I tell you, that was a MISSED opportunity.

The actress' name is Maribel Verdú and she's been making movies in Spain for ages. She also had a part in 1992's Belle Epoque, one of the few Spanish movies been awarded an Oscar.

The biggest issue for me is I felt lied to We were told this movie would act as the reset for DC but in the end it didn't reset anything.

The two Barry plot line was so annoying, but one of the more unnecessary issues with the movie was the cameo scene. What made Reeve's Superman, Adam West's Batman, and even Helen Slater's Supergirl good was the performance. Without the actual actors bringing relatability to their roles, it was essentially just a video game cutscene.

I liked the Nicholas Cage cameo as Superman, since he poured time and effort into hopefully bringing his version to life, only to have it cancelled.

As a fan of Shenmue the Animation and Fena Pirate Princess. I can’t tell you how cathartic it feels to see the Flash bomb seeing as David Zaslav wrote those shows off but kept the Flash despite Ezra Miller doing… what Ezra Miller does.

You shouldn't be sad that you never got an Affleck Batman film. Not because Affleck wouldn't have been great, but because the movie wouldn't have been great and Affleck's great portrayal wouldn't have been enough to save it. That's the part to be sad about.

This has been one of the most divisive films I’ve seen. Not just cause of all the controversies surrounding it, but just discussing the movies quality. Some people really like this movie, some people despise it.

Imagine being a huge fan of the Flash and just getting kicked in the balls left and right from the terrible series finale and then with this movie

Something that I hated they never even try to find out who killed her… Like they played like whoever killed her is an unstoppable “And then somebody killed her!” Who? “And then his father was blamed!” Who killed her? “And then Barry is sad!

Cap usually has a very forgiving take on movies and even he can't do that with this one. Let that sink in for a bit.

I don't hear anyone talking about the weird implications of having the Keaton and Clooney Batmen in the same movie. The understanding, I assumed, was that the first four Batman movies were the same Batman who had been recast. But now they're different Batmen from different universes.

Its kinda shocking how hard a time DC has with making a freaking solo movie. Because making it a solo movie should be easy by NOT INCLUDING FREAKING BATMAN

I liked Keaton's batman. He had a bit of his character arc where he finally got to be batman again and fight one more time for someone who also lost his parents like he did. When Flash said, "Im sorry I couldnt save you" and he said, "You already did." That hit man bc it showed that he finally got his final fight in and got to die fighting. I think keaton was a bright spot in the movie 😅

To be honest, while it had some very odd moments, I enjoyed the over the top scenes like saving the babies, and I appreciate the film being willing to dip into the emotional moments. The weakest part of it is definitely everything that isn’t Flash - which is a lot, unfortunately

My cousin thought George Clooney just appeared as himself at the end of the movie for some reason and just rolled with it at that point

Quiet scenes that really put gravity on the situation is missing from most movies these days. Everything's a joke when the time calls for quiet moments.

THANK YOU! My big problem with Keaton as Batman in this movie is that there weren’t any references or thematic callbacks to ‘89 or Returns or any reason to have it be this version of Batman beyond the music and like 1 line. Like you said, it could have been swapped out for any version of the character.

They left him in the Schumacher Universe and I find that HILARIOUS 😂

Good review. You are one of the very few reviewers to allude to the refridgerator mother trope present in this movie. The mom exists for the sole purpose of giving the protagonist, Barry, a motivation to act the way he does. This is why there is little flesh on the bones of her character. Barry doesn't care about his mom's life outside her relationship with him so the movie doesn't either.

This is finally a review I agree with. Almost none of this movie worked for me aside from that Bruce and Barry scene with Ben Affleck and the scene of Barry and his mom. And I agree, the cameo scene dashed any good will I had for this movie. And it sucks, because I love Keaton and his Batman. But none of it worked for me. Bringing him back and hyping up Supergirl just to kill them over and over again was just unnecessary. But on the bright side, another great video. Always love hearing your takes.

And the thing is that you can have a movie with a lot of cameos and make it work like Across the spiderverse where you had so many cameo, but they felt more like they were use to expand the multiverse of the movie and more to add to the setting than just a wink and a nod to the audience

I'm going to be completely honest. I knew about Nic Cage almost being Superman, and even the bit about him fighting a giant spider monster in his cancelled movie. I'd been fairly underwhelmed throughout The Flash movie until then, but Nic Cage's appearance got the biggest reaction out of me, because I completely wasn't expecting it, but instantly got the joke. I laughed out loud in the theater and got looks because I'm pretty confident I was the only one there (the theater was pretty empty) who understood the reference. The other cameos felt tasteless, since those actors have passed; if it had been just the Nic Cage one, it would have been better, since it's a nod, with his consent, to something he wanted but never had. It's kind of a condemnation of the movie that CGI-Nic-Cage-Inside-Joke-Cameo was my favorite part, but hey, what can you do.

A nostalgia feat as this and No Way Home were really hamper the kind of superhero stories that could be possible, as if to say that “multiverse” is shorthand for “lore shmore, it’s easter egg time”. What’s even more exasperating is that the digital cameos just stand there doing jag all instead of participating, resulting in what could have been a wild movie that the Spiderverse ones easily achieve. Once again, cartoons excel over live action that uses cartoons as an embarrassing crutch.

6:23 7:10 thank you for reminding me about the speculation about a Batman Beyond to appear alongside Keaton's Batman, that would've been just perfect, and the action scenes also would've made sense since Batman Beyond's suit is like an Iron Man suit but skin tight.

i actually enjoyed this movie, even though i thought it was too "cartoony" for my liking. I am one of those synder fans, but i respect your opinion and agree in some areas. The main I think is you'll have a good time with the movie, especially if you've been following the DCEU so far.

When captain midnight makes a review, I listen carefully

I still enjoyed this movie a lot

Completely agree, it’s crazy how you just share the exact opinions as me. Great video

I wanna know whose idea was it to have not just 1 Ezra Miller on screen, but 2. The Flash isn't a superhero movie, it's a horror movie and the 2 Ezra Millers are the monsters.

I came out of the movie liking it more than I disliked it but there were still moments here and there that did have me scratching my head I think the biggest problem I have with this movie though is it felt like there were scenes left on the cutting room floor that would’ve helped in connecting one scene to the next better

Actually enjoyed the movie way more than most of the other DCEU films. Brighter, lighter and more cheerful than those dark, grunge flicks they usually put out.

They never addressed the lack of bat guano in the bat cave with all them bats

Nothing can save the movie from Miller's running. Recasting is a must.

I took this movie as my very last chance to watch my two favorite versions of Batman in one same movie. With that perspective, the movie doesn't disappoint: Affleck and Keaton are arguably at the top of their acting game portraying these versions of the same character. It also gave me one of my favorite top 3 Batsuits, in Bat-Keaton's new costume. Aside from that, it is also a movie filled with references to past versions of Superman which I particularly enjoyed. It was good to see, even for a still, Christopher Reeve's fundamental version of Superman onscreen one more time. On that note, I find amusing how little the movie cared about alternate versions of the actual Flash, the title character. I find it weird that Grant Gustin's and John Wesley Shipp's versions of the Flash went unnoticed.

Now whenever I watch BATMAN '89 or BATMAN RETURNS, I'll always remind myself that this universe's Batman will now canonically die in the future after coming out of retirement to fight a giant alien robot, which does absolutely nothing to kill said robot.

I finally watched the movie today and kept thinking that Keaton was gonna play Thomas Wayne. I had completely forgotten that he was playing Bruce.

Excellent video as always

If DC they ever do another Flash film, I suggest they make Wally West the main lead. Out of all the flashes he is still the most recognizable and likeable of the versions.

Barry: claps a Kryptonian by phasing his hand through his chest easily. Barry: *Spends rest of movie confused on how to kill a Kryptonian*

I got to say your movie reviews are amazing 👏

You deserve an award for sitting through that trash. Great video man.

I wonder if they could have just taken the flashpoint Batman, maybe having him be Bruce’s dad would’ve made the actor’s age make sense. Suddenly having a lonely widower of a Batman is interesting enough to see on a theatre.

I hate it when people don’t account for marketing in the cost announcement of a movie. Rule of thumb is that marketing is usually 1:1 cost of production. Ads are expensive. Don’t let Hollywood play off how much money they waste on crap.

Wholeheartedly agree with you here. It's nice to hear you mirror my exact thoughts about Keaton after I left the theater--"That could have been literally any Batman". I'm almost sure the movie was originally written with either Ben Affleck or a new Thomas Wayne Batman in mind, and then when things went sideways with the Snyderverse and Affleck wanted out, they rewrote that whole middle section for Keaton, and then eventually convinced Affleck to come back for those opening scenes after the Snyder Cut happened and Affleck was more open again.

Yes finally someone said it. Thank you Captain Midnight!

Jesus! It feels like I watched a totally different movie than everybody else. I had a blast with The Flash, laughed a lot, got excited and enjoyed the action. The cameos to me looked just like a homage of what was before and what could have been, almost as if they had shown a TV playing those characters... Anyway, I guess I can feel lucky for getting a new great movie that not many other got 🤷‍♂

But... Batman wouldn't have helped more people if he ''just gave all his money away'' as the main reason why Bruce is a hero is because he's rich. He even admits this in the Joss Cut as being his only superpower. Every time he's saved the world/galaxy/universe is because he was able to afford the very best equipment. And anyway, Wayne Enterprises has a charitable foundation as part of it. He's already giving away vast amounts of his wealth.

Your take on Keatons Batman in this film is spot on and so thoughtful. Bravo my friend.

one small thing I think could have imporved the movie is if they had barry find out who the murderer was. He doesn't have to save his mom, but goes back finds out who killed her then saves the day in the future. He doesn't change the timeline, doesn't ruin anything, but still saves his father and even gets justice for his mom. imagine after fixing the timeline he said, "I can't save you mom but I can get you justice." then goes back to find the murderer so he can get justice in the present, with the ending having him either finding him in the future, or getting ready to find out, maybe going to bruce, "You want to help a x year old murder mysterY?" or something like that. Without risking another timeline fuckup.

Your right! Afleck should’ve had his own movie! Would’ve been better than the flash!

I could be wrong about this, but I think the ending of the flash is actually a lot worse with the interpretation that I walked away with. There's a shot right before the courthouse scene where Barry looks at the cans of tomatoes. And if you remember, Bruce says the footage he got at the beginning of the film never catches his dad looking up to prove he was at the store. So when the footage in the courthouse shows him looking up, I believe it was implied that Barry still altered the past by moving the cans to the top shelf. And for that reason, that's why both George Clooney is in the movie as well as his tooth falling out. For me, that made the ending even worse, cause it shows Barry learned nothing about sacrifice and leaving the past alone, as he thought he could get away with still changing something.

I think you missed something massive. Keaton's Batman says that Gotham is the safest place on the earth. This is a Batman who has completed his mission, what would Batman become without any purpose and without any Alfred to guide him.

I really like how the time travel looked & the scene at the grocery store made me cry, everything else was terrrrible

Something that really bothers me is that the movie really tries to eat its cake and have it too when it comes to time travel. It says that Barry time traveled back in time in his own universe so he could bring his mom back but then says that the time that he went to with younger Barry actually has a different past than his own universe which means that in his own universe his mom still dies. It's basically trying to convince the audience that Barry time traveled when in reality he just hopped timelines but it also implies that by him going back in time to let his mom die the other timeline never occurs so this implies that Barry never actually time travels but rather can bring the multiverse in and out of existence at the snap of a finger and that's super messed up and confuses me so bad since none of it makes sense.

It's like the reason the spiderman crossover cameo situation worked is because a) they're alive and its not weird or distasteful to see them appear, in fact it's a joy to see Toby Maguire b) they actually asked and answered the question, "What would happen if these three characters met and had to work together? And what do they have to overcome after all the things that happened to them in their movies" Seeing an aging super hero struggle is actually amazing. I'm thinking about things like Avatar: Last air bender when the uncle suddenly shows his true abilities because the moment requires it of him. It's soooooo powerful. Imagine seeing Michael Keatons Batman almost get beaten over and over but barely holds on and wins but at a huge cost to his body. It would be so powerful and show the true determination and genius of his character. But nah... Or Logan was awesome how he's still physically powerful but emotional done with life until he finds meaning in the girl to protect. I mean it's incredible. Anyway.... This is just popcorn crap, which is fine if they weren't using up great character opportunities. Because once you've cracked an egg it's hard to put it back together again and make a good version again.

I like the idea that moving the tomatoes has a butterfly effect of changing who is batman, doing the DCU way od just ignoring him already existing at that point in time

You've earned a new subscriber sir, I understand why the 643k other people are here. You'll hit a million plus in no time

gunn has some serious work to do to rebuild the dc brand

Even though it looked cool to me seeing both batmen flying around doing impossible things i agree its wierd seeing them do superhuman things that only Spider-Man and moon knight would do

10:33 -10:55 Dude, you hit it right on the head. I thought the exact same thing when I watched it last night.

Batman himself should've been a cameo in a movie titled "The Flash", let alone 3 distinct versions along with a pantheon of Supermen. The writers and producers were obviously more interested in nostalgia bait than actually crafting a good story.

9:18 that scene in Spider-Man 2 made me cry i want more scenes like that in other superhero films

This was my first proper DCEU film (besides The Suicide Squad) but i knew this film was in development hell for years. There were glimpses of a good story but I could feel the parts where the writers got stuck and tried to tie the good parts together. Maybe I wouldn’t feel this way if I watch the rest of the DCEU films, but I’m sure the box office is hurting because casual fans like myself are struggling to catch on

I like the 89 batman suit showing the difference in fighting style. Showing less armor means more speed and flexibility.

Can we get a small superhero movie where a hero can deal with the issue on their own? I am tired of crysis movies. Give me solo movie without 1254667 cameos and plot so convoluted that unless you've been DC comic fan for a long time you can't understand what the heck is going on. I am excited for Supergirl movie sometime in the future though.

If this was made as a DC animated direct to streaming movie it would have been a notably good one.

Biggest mistake Zack Snyder made? Casting Ezra Miller as Flash

This is such a horrific adaptation of one of my favorite flash stories

Loving the new red voice amplitude that you're using

How was Keaton 'so poorly used' in the film? I don't get it. I thought his situation and most of his angle/arc was fine and kind of cool, along with his character and most of his lines and acting. Not the best ending to the character but that doesn't ruin it, especially since it's all getting rebooted anyway.

This movie was forced to be a trainwreck. Since Snyder left direct DC films that was excpected.

This is a very interesting video. WOW... wonderful...

didn't watch this film myself, didn't want my memories to be any more contaminated than they already have been, you made really good points though from everything you said, and it makes me sick to think they used digital recreations of the old superman actors like that

Aside from the CGI babies and the recreated CGI heroes I don't think they were enough to break the suspension of disbelief overall I had a really good time watching this movie

As bad as this film was, it makes you wonder how poorly Batgirl was going to be. I honestly can't imagine it being any worse than this movie, and I think because of stars like Keaton and Shannon, WB felt they had to release to the film in some capacity. I feel bad for Sasha, as I recall seeing her reaction to being cast in the film posted on social media, and she seemed genuinely excited to have been cast into what should have been a solid role for her career going forward. Anyways, thanks for sharing another video with us Captain. Cheers!

Jesus christ, why are the close-ups of his face in-costume so deeply unsettling for me?

It starts good then fizzles out....hard.

I like how an out of context and edited clip of the microwave scene crashed this movie.

Don’t care what anyone says that grocery store scene was beautifully done

So cool the bit where Barry says 'It's Morbin Time!', a reference to Morbius, which is a film that grossed 32 billion dollars in its first week alone.

If WB had had the stones to make a real Keaton Old Batman movie (or better yet, the Batman Beyond movie that we’ll never get now) it would’ve been a better product and probably done at least a bit better at the box office. Now I’m imagining a Keaton Batman/Cage Superman movie from an alternate timeline and I’m becoming depressed

I enjoyed it... worth a watch like 6/10 best of ezras work

I enjoyed this movie because of Andy Muschietti I love when horror directors make superhero movies I'm really hopeful for his take on "Batman: The Brave and the Bold", because he's amazing

As much as I love Andy Muschietti's work in this movie I keep wondering what it would've look like if it had Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley as directors Considering their job in DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS It probably would've been a lot more comedic

Just to clarify, the Batman at the end of the film is obviously a joke. There is nothing to speculate around that.