Film & Television

John Maguire on film & TV: Superhero’s overdue outing is all Flash and no substance

Andy Muschietti’s movie about venerable comic book character the Flash is a confusing and carelessly rendered multiverse of other people’s ideas

Ezra Miller in The Flash, which relies on references and cameos to fill the holes in its own logic

The Flash, directed by Andy Muschietti; nationwide, 12A; rating: **

The last significant superhero from the Golden Age of Comic Books without their own standalone film, the Flash has been on the go since the 1940s. That long heritage, however, still isn’t enough to give the character centre stage.

Instead, for this desperate summer programme filler, Ezra Miller’s fleet-footed Barry Allen (a junior member of DC Comics’ Justice League) is the star of a film ...