Sasha Calle Steals the Show as Supergirl in The Flash

Between the pandemic, the CW series coming to a close and controversy swirling around its star Ezra Miller, I would be lying if Ididn’t roll into this screening with one eyebrow raised.  Well, rest assure, all the drama circling this title doesn’t stop it from being one of the more enjoyable super hero flicks to drop for Summer 2023.

Worlds collide when the Flash uses his superpowers to travel back in time to change the events of the past. However, when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, he becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod (Michael Shannon) has returned, threatening annihilation. With no other superheroes to turn to, the Flash looks to coax a very different Batman (Michael Keaton) out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian — not the one he’s looking for. Ultimately, to save the world he is in and return to the future he knows, Barry’s  (Ezra Miller) only hope is to race for his life. But will making the ultimate sacrifice be enough to reset the universe? 

Giving me vibes of “Back to the Future” meeting the ‘multiverse’ as Miller inhabiting two roles, while desperately seeking to change his present by correcting the past makes for an interesting, yet not entirely new premise.  Wasting no frame time at the start,  we watch as the Flash’s powers are transferred to a teen Barry leaving him virtually powerless.  In order to correct this egregious act, the  Flash  need to bounce through the multiverse, where in the process change the course of history and his life as he has come to know it. Ezra Miller is razor sharp  and massively gifted while straddling the lines of comedy as Barry.  His drama scenes expose his vulnerability during a final scene with Maribel Verdú (Barry’s Mom) breaking your heart in a million pieces, while simultaneously giving the Flash grit and realism.

Directed by Andy Muschietti and screenplay by Christina Hodson and Joby Harold, Hodson really grabs us by the heartstrings by tapping into the parental bond that is shared by Barry and Batman (Ben Affleck).  As razor sharp as Miller’s performance is, he is slightly upstaged by another Batman (Michael Keaton), various cameos of other superheroes along the way (George Reeves, Christopher Reeves, etc.), it is Sasha Calle as Supergirl who steals the show. “Playing Supergirl is an absolute honor. I think she’s a different superhero…very beautiful and strong, but has complexities like any other human being, even though she’s an alien, ” shared Calle. The actress continues, “I think she experiences everything ten times more than everybody else. Ten times the pressure, ten times the pain, ten times the responsibility, ten times the loneliness—I wish I would have had THAT Supergirl.”

Calle is dark and vulnerable as she kicks all kinds of butt along the way.  She inhabits Supergirl with a zest and fervor letting the audience know that ‘girl’ may be part of her name, but she is super in every sense of the word.

The Flash clocks in a little over two hours and for the most part paces well.  Judge for yourself as it hits internationally June 14th and domestically June 16th.