'The Flash' movie review: Ezra Miller's DC adventure puts a superhero spin on 'Back to the Future'

With good guys aplenty and a big heart, “The Flash” pens a love letter to DC superhero movies past, though the film runs around in circles trying to make it all work.

Directed by Andy Muschietti (“It”), the multiverse-hopping time-travel adventure (★★★ out of four; rated PG-13; streaming on Max now) has a lot in common with Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame” and the recent "Spider-Verse" movies. "The Flash" unfolds a “Back to the Future”-style quest where Ezra Miller's title speedster has to make things right and a bunch of familiar faces return in the process. Michael Keaton back in a Batman cape and cowl, the debut of Sasha Calle’s Supergirl and a top-flight sense of humor make “Flash” worth the hype, though trying to do so much also leads to a head-scratching kitchen-sink climax.

Jittery and always hungry, Barry Allen (Miller) works at the crime lab when he’s not cleaning up messes caused by his buddy Batman (Ben Affleck). The one person Barry has not been able to help yet is his father Henry (Ron Livingston), wrongly sitting in jail for the death of his wife Nora (Maribel Verdú). When Barry discovers his superpowers can affect time, he decides to take matters into his hands (and feet, as it were) and prevent his mom from being murdered in the first place.

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The gambit works, with a catch: Barry winds up stuck in the past and meets immature college-age Barry (also Miller), who didn’t have to grow up too fast and essentially deal with the loss of both his parents. This reality also doesn’t have a Justice League or other supergroup of heroes, which is a problem when Kryptonian villain General Zod (Michael Shannon, reprising his “Man of Steel” role) shows up and threatens Earth.

After a botched attempt to get main Barry back home, he and his younger self seek out Batman only to find a retired old guy (Keaton) who’s been out of action for 20-plus years. And to combat Zod, their search for Superman finds instead his cousin Kara Zor-El (Calle), imprisoned in an old Cold War military base and not loving humanity all that much.

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The early part of “Flash” offers a fun scrappiness, and it really cooks when the two Barrys are forced to coexist and the high-stakes bigger picture is set aside to focus on their relationship. Miller's legal troubles might discourage some from watching, and nothing's concrete about his DC future, but as for what's onscreen, the actor is a standout conveying a wide range of emotions and expressions as he plays essentially two different characters.

Affleck’s small part reminds that he never really got a good shot at making the Caped Crusader his own, while Keaton hasn’t lost a step since 1992’s “Batman Returns,” again proving he’s the best Dark Knight of them all. And Calle pulls off a hefty character arc in limited time with her complex heroine. With James Gunn and Co. now resetting the DC universe, and a solo Supergirl film integral in those plans, it’d be a true injustice if Calle isn’t cast because she’s great in the role.

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“The Flash” arrives at a real flashpoint for the DC movies after a decade of ups and downs. This superhero universe has so far failed to figure out the same interconnectivity that rival Marvel did long ago, and the struggles still show: Without saying too much, “Flash” loses its way in the end by bending over backward trying to link a ton of disparate elements.

Meanwhile the movie’s stronger underlying themes, like the importance of living in the present and learning to let things go, are overshadowed by the multiversal gymnastics. And as much good stuff as the "The Flash" features, including a nifty scene where Barry slo-mo saves a slew of falling babies in entertaining fashion, the film can't help but get tripped up by the same old hurdles.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'The Flash' review: Ezra Miller's fun DC film faces familiar hurdles