It was going to take something special to distract from the controversy around Ezra Miller, but this motor-mouthed mess of a DC blockbuster definitely isn’t it. A real pixel porridge, it’s one of the ugliest superhero movies in recent times – okay, since Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – and ends in a weightless visual purgatory that a 2007 video-game developer would turn their nose up at.
It’s a pity, because there are some clever ideas and touching moments. Barry Allen (Miller) messes with that superhero hobby horse du jour, multiverses, to save his doomed mum and free his dad from prison, bonding with two Batmen (Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton) and accidentally unleashing Michael Shannon’s malevolent, one-dimensional General Zod in the process. To tackle him, Sasha Calle’s emo Supergirl joins Allen’s DIY Justice League. Also along for the ride is Keaton, who has fun reprising his role as Tim Burton OG Batman.
Fans of that kitsch Burton classic will have mixed emotions: the nostalgia is enjoyable, but wouldn’t you rather be watching that movie instead?
In cinemas worldwide now.
