Flash movie cuts Joker and Penguin

[AndyFish]

It appears DC has another bomb on its hands. Not having a great track record, maybe James Gunn can turn things around.

[BiffPow]

I saw the film (wife and son treated to Father’s Day double header with “The Flash” and “Guardians of the Galaxy III”) and thought it was one of the better DC outings. For the first time in a long while, I watched a DC movie and didn’t suffer from lactose intolerance because of the cheese.

Not a fan of the actor or how the character is portrayed, but overlooking those issues, it was enjoyable.

Hoping for a director’s cut with more 1966 Batman references.

[BatToys]

I look forward to a 4-hour version. But they really should have left Lynda Carter in the movie. I don't think she knew about the Flash movie cameos as I asked her in September at a banquet if her Wonder Woman would be in it and she was very unfamiliar with the movie saying "They don't tell me anything."

[Batfink]

It appears DC has another bomb on its hands. Not having a great track record, maybe James Gunn can turn things around.

I think this movie has a lot of obstacles in its way of stopping people from going out to a movie theater to see it.
This comment from Mr. Fish is the most common out there regarding The Flash movie.
If you look at sites like Rotten Tomatoes, critics average rating was 69. Audiences gave it an 83. This is a pretty huge gap. The attacks on the film are so numerous. You got polarization due to the legal hassles of its lead actor. You got mainstream reviewers that have put the claws into this film more than other comic book based films because there is a palatable hate out there for ANY superhero film. They've referred to it as "fanboy service" on multiple reviews.
There is also a backlash of the movie using digital rendering "cameos" of departed stars too.
Then there are the comic book fans that want this film to die, flat out. They eat their own! It's largely a hate towards anything DC does with films.
I don't buy the idea that here comes James Gunn that it will get things on track. He's got the negative forces wishing him ill will on his vision as well for DC.
This is a good movie! Keaton does a great job in it. That was why I went to see it, full stop. I truly think the negative weight upon this project means this is his last outing in the cape & cowl. Which is a shame.
However, count in foreign box office, streaming, DVD, Blu-Ray, digital sales... it could do very well.
The McFarlane toys releases of Keaton as Bruce Wayne & Batman have pretty much sold out in some cases before hitting retail.
It is a good movie. As the Batgirl film is cancelled. Am greatful we have at least this outing with Michael Keaton.

[BatToys]

Burt Ward is in the movie but you have to look really close. He's standing above Batman and also climbing a wall.

Mark Evanier wrote WB executives all try to sabotage each other unlike Marvel where their United.

[BATWINGED HORNET]

The Flash suffered from the changing guard at Warner Brothers, as so many of the cuts and re-shoots occured not as a result of Zaslav's direct order, but in part, due to incoming "DCU" head James Gunn's conscious tinkering with the film to support his alleged "new universe" which is not supposed to have any connection to the DCEU. This includes cutting Henry Cavill's scenes, more scenes with Gal Gadot and Ben Affleck, and other plot points that tied the film with its predecessors (which set up Barry Allen's interest in time travel and other universes).

Personally, I enjoyed Affleck and Gadot's brief cameos (they are the best to ever take on and shape those roles), and some of the more you-know-its-coming tragic aspect of the movie, but the rest was visual chaos and far too much fanservice. Never a fan of the eye-roll inducing Michael Keaton's joke of a Batman, I was not at all thrilled with his stiff performance (not uncommon with comedic actors trying to play serious parts), or the visual trappings of Tim Burton's hideous take on Batman and his world.

Sasha Calle's scenes as Supergirl were far too short, but she was fascinating in the time she used. Supposedly, her proposed solo Supergirl solo film was axed, thus the character's fate in The Flash was sealed. Some rumors suggest it was more Gunn screwing around with the film because of his own announced Supergirl / DCU film. Whatever the cause, I feel audiences have been robbed of a Supergirl with potential, which would be a first, since the Slater film was childish, and the CW series was wall-to-wall garbage with an unappealing lead, and the writers forgetting that they were wroking on a superhero show, not a soapbox for their topical interests.

The Flash is a low point for the DCEU, which--when at its best--eclipsed the bloated cartoons otherwise known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

[BiffPow]

Up front: I am no expert on DC films. For me, the only Batman worth watching was Adam West’s. The newest incarnation of Batman just looks like a weak, strung out, sad little drug addict.

When it was first released, I did not enjoy the original Michael Keaton Batman movie because I could not get past his ridiculously pursed lips and fake growl. But, as an older, mildly gentler person with the benefit of a few more decades in (and fewer left), I enjoyed the nostalgia of seeing him in the role again.

Not a fan of the actor who plays the Flash. Impressionable people look up to movie stars as role models, and, in his personal life, that is something he is not and should never be. I also don’t like that the Flash is portrayed as someone with extreme ADHD. Having said all of that, the actor portrayed the character as it was written. It’s sort of like Armie Hammer who has made terrible personal choices, and played the character of Ilya Kuryakin in a way that was the polar opposite from David McCallum‘s portrayal, which made the character unappealing to fans of “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” In the end, however, he played the part as it was written. So, while I’m not a fan of either actor, they played their parts as they were told to, and that falls on the writers and the Director.

I enjoyed the first “Wonder Woman” movie with Gal Gadot. Afterwards, her forays into the character have more cheese in them than a Velveeta factory. But, again, she is just the actress.

And overall, I found the film entertaining. Of course, the ending was telegraphed early in the film, so you know what’s coming and why. But, with all of its flaws, overall, I found the film more entertaining than the second WW movie, Aquaman and certainly the last Batman movie, which I found dentist-chair-painful to watch. It occurred to me that theater seats should have brake pedals installed so that you can slam the brakes on when a film is as bad as the last Batman movie. Okay, not Halle Berry as Catwoman bad, but the worst Batman of all.

[Batfanman]

The Flash - Batman '66 Scene Analysis (SPOILERS)

I finally got around to watching “The Flash” and especially the Batman ’66 scene. It’s quick to be sure but features (visually) Adam’s Batman & Burt’s Robin (but I’m not sure it’s a CGI of Burt portraying Robin or if it was just specially created in the Robin image; could be the same for the Batman image.) There’s other imagery but it’s too quick and/or blurry to make out detail and contained no Easter eggs that I could determine.

Aurally, the scene features Joker laughter, the Earth Kitt Catwoman dialogue “Purrfectly foolproof” from the “Catwoman's Dressed to Kill” episode and of course, Adam’s Batman saying “Only the Joker would think of that.”

Upon doing A/B comparative between this movie and the TV Catwoman episodic dialogue, I’m not sure this is really Eartha’s voice in the movie as the dialogue is not an exact match. It’s missing a few of Eartha’s “rrr”s in the word “Purrrrfectly.” So either they edited it or recreated it with an Eartha imitator. As for the Joker laugh, this sounds more like Mark Hamill’s than Cesar Romero, so, verdict is not Cesar. Perhaps image licensing from Cesar's estate was issue? Otherwise, there's plenty of extended segments of genuine Joker laughter in the TV series to choose from.

As for Batman, Adam’s voice and dialogue are a match and is from the first season Joker episode “The Joker is Wild” whilst in Cmsr. Gordon’s office when Batman is examining the diagram of Joker’s spring-loaded home plate.

I enjoyed the Flash movie and thought it was well written & structured and explained the multi-verse coherently. It's a shame that the DC movie universe has been in such disarray as this type of movie plot would have really been even more entertaining if wasn't being used as a band-aid for the real world Crisis of too many Batmans, etc. And brief as it was, it was cool that our Batman '66 universe was at least acknowledged.

[Yellow Oval]

I can't watch any of this. Batfleck was a joke as Ben Affleck always plays Ben Affleck. That, and his costume made him look more like Charcoal Briquette Man than Batman. Wasn't impressed after with Batward and his politically correct movie. Surprised his skin didn't sparkle in the sunlight as whoever he was during the day. He definitely didn't fit as Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne is not Emo. Lastly, there has been no Flash, in my opinion since John Wesley Shipp back in the early '90s. He made both an excellent Barry Allen and Flash. After that - disaster. And when did it become de rigeur for Flash to be a fast-talking, immature goofball? He inexplicably turned that way in the cartoons afterwards, and then in the CW's dumpster fire of a TV show - like all their Greg Berlanti "superhero" shows. After, we get saddled with the ultimate 'Definitely Not Barry Allen or Flash' candidate - Ezra Miller. Man, I'm glad I gave up superhero movie and TV shows (not the old ones - just the limburger they try to pass off today)!

[BiffPow]

Well, I can’t disagree with any of that. I did think Ben Affleck did better than I expected, so it helped that my expectations were low. Before his first appearance, I tended to agree with one critic who said Affleck’s serious expressions were limited to looking as if he was trying to “solve for pi.”

I think if you are a fan of the character, and you have fond memories of how that character has been portrayed, you will be disappointed when the portrayal significantly veers from what you know, remember and treasure. It was for this reason that I was very disappointed in the depiction of Illya Kuryakin in the “Man from U.N.C.L.E.” movie.

I was a fan of the comic book Flash in the 1960s, but had largely disassociated myself from the character ever since childhood. So, while I do not like the actor or his portrayal of the character, I was still entertained by the movie. But, you have to divorce yourself from any attachments to make the most of those films. Sometimes I find that hard, if not impossible, to do.

[BATWINGED HORNET]

Batman is not defined by one actor's portrayal, even if I personally believe two were the best/closest to sources than others.

It is clear superhero adaptations of the 21st century responded to audience's desire (and comic book fans in particular) to see versions that mirror the source, as opposed to taking any influence from the highly off-course adaptations (with only two or three exceptions) from the previous century of comic book films and TV.

[BiffPow]

I guess it depends on the audience. Aside from one friend of mine, the rest of my age group detested the latest Batman film, finding it too bleak and Pattinson’s portrayal dreadful. We wanted him to quit scooting around in his pity party pajamas, grow a pair and stop looking so drug-addicted and morose.

Obviously, there’s only one 1966 Batman, and, yes, it was “off course,” but in a fun way. No fake gruff voice and ridiculously pursed lips, no nipples on the rubber costume, no “woe is me”-needs-a-kick-in-the-seat-of-his-pants. Truthfully, if you want to use the comic books as a guide, maybe Affleck was the best representation.

Post-Script to the above: I was never sure if the producers had a firm grasp on what they intended to create with the TV series in 1966, or if the end result was purely a mix of chance, chemistry and inspiration. Watching the audition with Lyle Waggoner and Peter Deyell, both doing serviceable jobs, it seems to me that Adam West played a pivotal role in creating both a new (yes, “off course” from the comics) adaptation of Batman as well as a target audience and then hitting both with a bull’s-eye. Likewise for Burt Ward and most supporting and guest actors. I don’t believe the show would have been what it was, or so fondly remembered, without Adam and Burt, and Alan Napier, Neil Hamilton, and most of the other supporting and guest cast.

Sometimes there is just that right mix of cast, chemistry and inspiration (“Seinfeld” and “Frazier” immediately leap to mind) and it seems impossible to think of any of the primary actors who could have been replaced. And, for me, that’s what sets apart the 1966 “Batman” series from any of the other incarnations: the actors in all of the others are replaceable. We can all think of actors who could have stepped into the main roles in the serials and movies and done as well, or maybe better, but I just don’t believe that’s true of the 1966 series.

[Lou Szabo]

I heard they are changing the ending to a different Batman - Clooney to someone else, but I can't recall who it was.

Be fun if it was a '43 or '49 Batman AI figure....

[BiffPow]

I heard they are changing the ending to a different Batman - Clooney to someone else, but I can't recall who it was.

Be fun if it was a '43 or '49 Batman AI figure....

CoOOol!

But wouldn’t that be an insult to George Clooney? Would be fun if it was Adam West! Ha ha!

[BATWINGED HORNET]

I heard they are changing the ending to a different Batman - Clooney to someone else, but I can't recall who it was.

Be fun if it was a '43 or '49 Batman AI figure....

If you're referring to The Flash's ending, the gag add-on was Clooney--he was the surprise switch. The film did not feature any actors from the serials.