The fastest man alive returns for his first solo film after a long wait to confront his past and strive to change it.

"The Flash" follows the popular concepts of parallel universes and nostalgic fan services in an old-fashioned formula. As one of the last films taking place in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), it shows us some familiar faces for the last time.

It feels strange being able to watch this film at last. It had an overlong and prejudicial filmmaking process so much that we might be living in a rare possibility that this movie even came out. According to former plans it was supposed to be one of the first films of the DCEU, but some directors and producers left, some productions got canceled and some were delayed. As a result, it became a farewell to the DC’s first attempt at building a cinematic universe.

Although everyone had expected that this movie would carry the load of starting a new chapter for the DC Universe, it only focuses on the character development of Barry Allen and approaches other superheroes as guest stars. There is an individual plotline here inspired by the Flashpoint Paradox, one of the most popular comic events, and combines it with a nigh origin story.

The concept of the multiverse has become a hot topic in the superhero genre these days. Marvel Studios made a start in this regard with "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and "Doctor Strange in Multiverse of Madness." Furthermore, "Across The Spiderverse" just recently arrived in theaters and satisfied audiences with an interdimensional setting.

"The Flash" is DC’s point of departure to discover the alternate realities and damaging effects of creating new timelines, but sadly it can’t bring a creative perspective in this respect. However, the viewing pleasure gets higher with the sense of humor, action sequences and Easter eggs.

Enter Speed Force

In the beginning, Barry Allen suits up and joins a team-up mission with Batman to capture some criminals and rescue babies from a demolished hospital right before his breakfast. Most likely, the rescue sequence might be the weirdest scene to the audience since it caused a difference of opinion between the ones who were entertained and the others who think that was too absurd.

After that daily task is accomplished, Barry starts digging for possibilities to save his mother from getting killed and save his father from being accused falsely of her murder by going back in time. Despite the warnings of Bruce Wayne, he is determined to change the past and prevent his family tragedy.

Thus, The Flash runs faster than light and reaches the source of the Speed Force, a cosmic energy field that gave Barry his powers. He finds himself in a Chrono Bowl surrounded by a colosseum of memories. This retrospective exhibition is criticized for displaying people and places from memories as animated models in poor-quality of computer-generated imagery (CGI).

On the other hand, Andy Muschietti, the director of the film stated that memories have been depicted in this way purposely to emphasize Barry’s blurry point of view during his sprint. While this explanation convinced some viewers, some of them remained unsatisfied with this choice of method.

To get back to the main point, Barry manages to rewind the clock and save his parents by glancingly changing small details. Nevertheless, he runs into his doppelganger in a quite different world when he came back to the future. The alternate Barry Allen had a blissful childhood without any tragedy or heavy responsibilities. Obviously, that made him more reckless and easygoing than the original one.

Young Barry might behave too childish and annoying most of the time, but it creates an opportunity for the original Barry to grow up as a mentor while his other self becomes a sidekick who tries to embrace his powers and the identity of The Flash.

Meanwhile, the Earth is fighting against the invasion of Kryptonians under the leadership of General Zod. As the starting point of Zack Snyder’s DC Extended Universe, revisiting the events in "Man of Steel" (2013) was a nice touch, yet there were small changes here like the absence of Man of Steel.

In this universe, Kara Zor-El had arrived on Earth instead of her cousin Kal El (Clark Kent), but she has been imprisoned in an underground plant. Since Superman or Justice League never existed, Supergirl was their only hope to defeat Zod and take back their planet, so Barry and Barry must do whatever it takes to rescue her. When both of them realized that they can’t accomplish this mission alone, the alternate version of Batman steps in and lends a helping hand to pick up the slack as a master strategist and extra muscle force.

Nostalgia saves day?

When Micheal Keaton has been cast to reacting his iconic portrait of Batman, the long-standing DC fans already started looking forward to watching this film for that reason alone. Since Keaton made his first appearance in the trailers, preserving the gothic style from Tim Burton movies and the classic soundtracks of Danny Elfman aroused excitement with nostalgic vibes.

Much as it was thrilling to see Keaton’s retired vigilante back in action, neither Bruce nor Kara has a profound impact on the story as anticipated. The reason is that the scenario suffered a lot of radical changes because of the alterations in the department of DC Studios. Naturally, the emerging developments affected the fate of some characters in the end. Currently, it is not clear that Ezra Miller, Sasha Calle and Micheal Keaton would continue their roles in future projects, but what a pleasure to watch the Scarlet Speedster, Girl of Steel and elder Dark Knight side by side in a fight against aliens.

Nonetheless, despite the high expectations of an epic war between a minor Justice League and Kryptonian invaders, the final battle sequence falls short of the mark. General Zod might be an invincible nemesis, but he can’t correspond with the position of the main villain throughout the film. Maybe the cruel consequences of time travel should be considered as the archenemy of The Flash.

Even so, both of Barry’s prime purpose is to save this alternate world and keep their mother alive, the differences in their emotional states are reflected well during the last scenes. Although the ending jumbles everything together, the chain of events concludes in a touching way.

Apparently, the plot traps in a time warp because of the losing streaks in production, and it makes this a mediocre movie from among the pile of comic adaptations after all. In spite of the drawbacks, "The Flash" offers a simple fun ride that may please fans of the Scarlet Speedster without blowing hype.