Film

The Flash

Name: The Flash
Genre: Action, Science Fiction, Adventure
Released: 2023
Cast: Ezra Miller, Sasha Calle, Michael Keaton, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston

Other titles called The Flash: the 2014 series (The CW).

The Flash tackles time travel paradox with real stakes: Barry Allen accidentally breaks the timeline trying to save his mother, trapping himself in a crumbling world where Superman never existed. Michael Keaton returns as an aged Batman. It's ambitious multiverse science fiction that swings for something weightier than typical superhero fare, though the execution is messier than the concept deserves.

TMDb rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love time-travel plots that snowball into alternate-reality chaos, and you don't mind a superhero film that treats its own bizarre premise with a straight face and a grin.

Skip it if you tire of crowded, CGI-heavy spectacle, since at 144 minutes its noisy set pieces and fan-service stretches can feel like a lot.

What it asks of you: Settle in for just over two hours of frantic, rapid-fire plotting, where the tone swings from playful to melancholy and attention pays off in small details.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Avengers: Endgame2019

Time heist storytelling where heroes must reckon with irreversible choices and the cost of changing the past. Epic stakes balanced with genuine character moments and earned emotional payoff.

But Nearly three hours long, and it assumes you've watched dozens of preceding films. The middle section drags before the final act.

Looper2012

A tightly plotted time-travel thriller that makes temporal paradoxes matter morally, not just mechanically. Characters face agonizing choices with no clean solutions.

But Lower-budget sci-fi means smaller scale action. The third act turns philosophical when some want pure spectacle.

Dark2017

German series that builds a labyrinthine time-travel mythology across four seasons. Every episode plants seeds; every answer spawns new questions. Genuinely brilliant construction.

But Requires serious attention and note-taking. Subtitled, densely plotted, deliberately paced. Not background viewing.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Flash

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Primer2004

Both films treat time travel as a genuine problem rather than a plot device. Where The Flash asks 'what if I saved someone?', Primer asks 'what happens when you actually understand time mechanics?' Same DNA, opposite budgets.

Shot on a shoestring budget with nonprofessional actors, this is time-travel cinema for people who think. Engineers accidentally build a time machine and immediately spiral into paranoia and paradox. Requires active watching and multiple viewings—it's a puzzle where the form matches the content.

But Deliberately opaque and deliberately low-budget. Dialogue is naturalistic and technical. Some consider it pretentious; others find it impenetrable even on repeat viewings.

The Butterfly Effect2004

Ashton Kutcher's best role: protagonist literally time-travels to alter trauma, only to discover each fix destroys something else. Bleak, surprising, and genuinely unsettling.

But Early-2000s CGI and some melodramatic moments undercut the concept. Ends on a deliberately grim note that frustrates some viewers.

Twisters2024

Pure spectacle with actual character arcs: exes reunite amid catastrophic weather. Visual effects are staggering, and it moves with real momentum and wit.

But Plot is tissue-thin and character logic occasionally vanishes for set pieces. Asks you to turn your brain off, which you'll do happily or not at all.

Superman Returns2006

Brandon Routh's Superman film that dares to be melancholic and operatic. It's about loss, legacy, and the weight of responsibility. Visually graceful in ways modern superhero films aren't.

But Pacing is glacial by current standards. Kevin Spacey's Lex is campy. The third act abandons its own emotional logic for spectacle.

Zathura: A Space Adventure2005

Spielberg-produced adventure about siblings trapped in an escalating sci-fi game they can't stop. Practical effects and genuine wonder; treats kids as intelligent protagonists.

But Feels like a relic of mid-2000s family filmmaking. Younger viewers may find it dated; older ones might find it slight.

The Tomorrow War2021

Time-travel military sci-fi with an interesting core: soldiers drafted from today to fight a future war. Chris Pratt grounds it; concept is clever enough to carry you.

But Bloated runtime and mid-section slack. The third act abandons its own logic for conventional action heroics.

X-Men: Days of Future Past2014

Hugh Jackman and Michael Fassbender carry a time-travel narrative that respects both timelines equally. Bryan Singer's best X-Men film; genuinely moving.

But Needs familiarity with both X-Men casts. Middle-aged superhero angst won't appeal to everyone. Some action sequences feel generic.

Run Lola Run1998

Both films are structured around temporal loops and the consequence of changing one moment. The Flash tackles it as tragedy; Lola Run treats it as exhilarating puzzle. Same thematic engine, completely different emotional register.

German thriller where the same twenty minutes repeat three times with different outcomes. Kinetic, visually inventive, gorgeously scored. Shows how small changes cascade. An entire film riffing on butterfly-effect logic with genuine suspense.

But The rapid repetition exhausts some viewers. Heavy on style over character. Subtitled, and the pacing may feel mannered compared to contemporary action films.

Midnight in Paris2011

Both examine whether changing the past actually fixes anything. Barry tries to rewrite family trauma by altering time; Gil learns that escaping to yesterday is its own trap. Different genres asking: 'What are you really trying to save—the world or yourself?'

Man slips into 1920s Paris each night. Not a heist; a love letter to nostalgia and the dangerous myth that the past is better. Funny, romantic, and genuinely heartbreaking about why we fantasize about other times.

But Woody Allen's relationship with time travel is philosophically opposed to action-movie stakes. Some find it precious and self-indulgent. No spectacle whatsoever.