Movie Reviews: ‘The Flash’, ‘The Blackening’, ‘Elemental’

THE FLASH: 3 ½ STARS

“The Flash,” the highly anticipated DC origin story from Barry Allen (Ezra Miller) aka The Flash, echoes all the stuff we’ve come to expect from a major superhero tentpole movie. There are multiple universes, multiple superheroes, and again, the world is in danger, but it’s the emotional life of the title character that sets this movie apart from the rest.

Loosely based on the “Flashpoint” comics, the movie sees Barry still mourning the death of his mother (Maribel Verdú) and the wrongful imprisonment of his father (Ron Livingston) for her murder. Fueled by pain and rage, he finds a way to possibly ease his fear when he discovers that his super speed gives him the ability to create a “chronobowl” and travel back to the day his mother was killed.

“I could save people,” he says. “I could save my mother.”

Before setting out to right the wrongs of the past, he confers with Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) who warns him against tampering with the fabric of time. “You could destroy everything.”

Ignoring Batman’s advice, Barry travels to the past and soon pays the price for his impulsive actions. Trapped in an alternate universe where a younger version of himself doesn’t yet have superpowers.

“This is my face,” says his doppelgänger. “You stole my face.” – Barry soon realizes that he is in unfamiliar territory. “This can’t be true,” he says. “I completely broke the universe.”

Things go from bad to worse when Kryptonian supervillain General Zod (Michael Shannon) makes the scene, laden with ill will for all of humanity. “This world must die,” he says.

After changing the past and possibly the future, Barry teams up with alternate universe Batman (Michael Keaton) and Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl (Sasha Calle) to restore order. “If I can’t undo what I did, if I can’t come back,” he says, “there may be no future.”

“The Flash” strikes a balance between fan service and a general audience story. Original stories can be nightmares filled with endless expositions and scenes, but for the most part, director Andy Muschietti keeps things moving. Maybe not with the super speed of its star, but with a good clip. You don’t need a roadmap to follow the multiverse aspect so ubiquitous in superhero movies these days, and Barry’s personal story is both entertaining and emotional.

Part of that is the casting. Miller is beautifully cast as the title character. They bring both a well-defined silliness and a deep inner life to their dual portrayal of Barry as both an adult and a teenager. I can’t say whether a crack Miller delivers early on to a victim of a large-scale disaster: “You have to get the help of a mental health professional,” they say. “The Justice League isn’t very good at that… believe me.” — is meta, given Miller’s recent very public issues, or if it’s wildly inappropriate. Regardless, it’s the film’s only reference to Miller’s well-reported off-screen behavior, and a rare misstep in the movie’s carefully crafted first half.

Only when the film gets bigger and louder does it lose some of its charm. Zod’s appearance, complete with some dodgy CGI, raises the stakes but shifts the focus from the heart and soul of the film, which is Barry’s quest to save his mother. The big showdown is a staple in superhero movies, but “The Flash” works best when it’s character-driven. In this case, bigger is not always better.

Too big or not, “The Flash” is entertaining with fun little touches like how Barry has to eat high-calorie foods to fuel his super speed and a wild baby shower. Literally, a shower of babies falling from the sky. Like a buddy movie – Barry and Barry are an odd couple – it goes dark without giving in to the tedium that has dwarfed so many other DC movies.

The result is a movie that offers action, warmth and nostalgia – it’s well worth the price of admission to hear Keaton say, “Yes, I’m Batman” – and a few real surprises (NO SPOILERS HERE!).

THE BLACKNESS: 3 ½ STARS

‘The Blackening’, a new horror satire in theaters now, answers a question that has never been addressed in a horror film before. In the world of modern slasher movies, the black characters are always the first to die, so this new movie asks, how would that change if the entire cast is black?

Set during a Juneteenth weekend at a remote Airbnb in the middle of nowhere, the story begins with party hosts Morgan (Yvonne Orji) and Shawn (Jay Pharoah) preparing the house before their guests arrive. In the Game Room, they find a game called The Blackening, which features a Monopoly-esque design surrounding a racist blackface caricature in the center of the board.

Horrified by the game’s iconography, they’re even more shocked when the game requires them to answer a series of questions or they’ll be killed. They play along until Shawn gets a question wrong, and it soon goes wrong.

Cut to the others as they make their way to the cabin for a weekend of “reckless, unadulterated fun”. Lawyer Lisa (Antoinette Robertson), her BFF Dewayne (Dewayne Perkins, who co-wrote the script), Allison (Grace Byers) and former gang member King (Melvin Gregg) are in one car. Separately arrive drunken Shanika (X Mayo), Lisa’s on-and-off boyfriend Nnamdi (Sinqua Walls), and Clifton (Jermaine Fowler), an eccentric who says he was invited by Morgan, but no one seems to know him.

As the night progresses, strange things begin to happen. Doors open by themselves and strange characters appear in the shadows. Not that anyone notices… at first. Dewayne is high on MDMA while everyone else, except Clifton, plays the card game Spades.

Drinks flow as the old friends catch up, and soon attention turns to the Game Room and the unusual game Morgan and Shawn played hours earlier before disappearing. With the remaining guests around the board, the game begins talking and taunting. “If you answer my questions correctly, you will live,” the game says, “and Morgan will be released. If you get one wrong, you will die.”

As the game asks questions like “Name five black actors who appeared on ‘Friends'”, it becomes clear that the danger is real and their answers have consequences. This is not just a board game, it’s a survival game. As panic sets in, the group must make a crucial decision. Do we stay together or do we break up and try to get help?

“The Blackening” borrows tropes from well-known slasher movies. The secluded cabin in the woods is a classic location, we meet some redneck hillbillies at a gas station and there’s more than a hint of “Saw” to be seen. But what the movie does is take those elements and use them through a lens to explore blackness, racism, and popular culture. It’s a movie full of subtext, one that uses the genre to address issues black people face every day.

Exploring stereotypes and prejudices, from within and beyond their group, the film tackles big topics, but does so with plenty of humor and some genuine suspense. The allegories may be more effective than the actual gore, but despite the light touch of gory violence, “The Blackening” achieves something special and interesting within its genre.

ELEMENTAL: 3 STARS

“Elemental,” the new Pixar movie now in theaters, takes an old-fashioned love story and gives it a high-concept twist.

The setting is Element City, a metropolis divided into four different districts, one for each kind of anthropomorphic element inhabitants of the city. The Fire People live in the Land of Fire, there is the Splash District for Water People, the Terra District for Land People, and the Breeze District for Air People.

“Elemental” focuses on the Lumen family and their fiery daughter Ember (voice of Leah Lewis) who emigrated to Element City in search of a better life. The young flame is about to take over the family’s Fire Land store, a small convenience store with the slogan “We Flame to Please!”

“This store is our family’s dream,” says patriarch Bernie Lumen (voice of Ronnie Del Carmen). “One day it will all be yours!” Eager to please her parents, Ember feigns excitement at the prospect of running the store, the pride and joy of the family.

“I’ve tried to fill my father’s shoes,” she says, “but I’ve never been asked what I want to do.”

As her hidden resentment grows, Ember grows gruff and begins to lash out until she meets Water persona Wade Ripple (voice of Mamoudou Athie), who was once encased in a sponge as a youngster. Despite that trauma, he grew up to be a nice, laid-back man who cries in an instant.

Ember has always believed that “elements don’t mix,” but when Wade comes into her life, she learns that sometimes opposites attract and that she can make her own decisions. “Why should anyone tell you what to do in your life?” asks Wade.

“Elemental” has a big heart, but not big enough to warrant the movie’s running time. A new spin on the star-crossed lovers genre, à la “Romeo and Juliet”, it’s a simple story about the heart wanting what the heart wants despite differences. Then there’s the “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” vibe between Wade and Bernie, which is clever but never quite ignites.

The vibrant artwork is often spectacular and produces many beautiful images, but the watered-down story does not equal the visual impact of the film.

Director Peter Sohn, who also helmed “The Good Dinosaur,” builds a new world and introduces other story elements, including immigration metaphors and references to racism and intolerance, but these aspects often feel hesitant, more well-intentioned than effective.

Better is the relationship between Ember and her father. Sohn used personal experience to shape the story of the expectation of a father and reverence for tradition, and how the weight of that affects Ember. Their connection feels authentic and underpins the action of the rest of the film.

The show’s premiere in theaters is “Carl’s Date,” a gentle short starring Carl Fredricksen (voice of Ed Asner) and his cute talking dog Dug (voice of Bob Peterson) from the beloved movie “Up.” It’s a funny, tightly scripted take on camaraderie that made me think, by the time the main movie was over, that given the light story, “Elemental” might have had more punch and seemed less stretched out, like a short.

“Elemental” is beautifully crafted, but its formulaic story prevents it from sitting on the shelf next to other Pixar greats like “Up,” “WALL-E,” or “Toy Story.”