By Jaimz Dillman
Destined to be the big superhero movie for summer ‘23, The Flash played to packed advanced screenings this past week. And the response was palpable.
I was able to score a couple of passes and had my 13-year-old Batman-loving kid in tow, both of us were very excited to see DC’s new offering. The line was easily wrapped around the mall a few hundred deep and I was wondering if getting there an hour early was enough. Excited fans sported their faves on T-shirts and hats, and a little guy was even in full costume. It reminded me of when Keaton’s Batman premiered in the 90s and evert seemed to have that iconic back and yellow bat symbol shirt. There’s nothing like an excited fandom to create buzz, for sure.
We made it in, 11 and 12 out of 15 tickets left- had to sit in the second row (ow, my neck, haha), and barely had time to grab snacks before the film started to roll but we were in!
Our overall take was this is a very different DC movie. Where we’re used to darkness and barely visible cinematography, The Flash had bright beautiful scenery, fast and clean fight sequences, plus a storyline and character exposition that was easy to follow instead of some muddled mix of lore and things you’re expected to already know. I found myself truly enjoying all the action and didn’t have to concentrate on my limited knowledge of the comics.
And yes, the movie gives some amazing fanservice to those of us (ahem) who were there for the first round of adapting these stories for the big screen in the 80s and 90s.
I found myself saying “oh wow” out loud a couple of times and, without giving spoilers, there was an amazing bridge across the gap between yesteryear and today. This is a generational film that will make kids and parents very happy. Maybe even grandparents out there who read their latest print under covers after their bedtime by flashlight.
A perfect offering to open on Father’s Day weekend, and dare I say, a fun adventure for the whole family.