Film Review of the Week

Action

The Flash (12A)

Review: At the end of Back To The Future Part III, the blockbuster time travel saga which is explicitly name-checked in The Flash, Emmett “Doc” Brown (Christopher Lloyd) tenderly parts ways with Marty McFly (Michael J Fox) by reminding his protege: “Your future is whatever you make it, so make it a good one.” Those optimistic words ripple throughout Christina Hodson’s script to this self-referential adventure for the fleet-footed DC Comics superhero, which revisits cataclysmic events from the DC Extended Universe beginning with the 2013 film Man Of Steel.

The socially awkward title character of director Andy Muschietti’s picture, who drolly describes himself as “essentially the janitor of the Justice League”, is acutely aware of the dangers of meddling in the space-time continuum. After all, it took Marty and Doc three films to unpick the mess they caused by reshaping events in 1955 California. However, cool heads cannot prevail when there are almost two and a half hours of screen time to fill, allowing Hodson to gleefully ricochet through five decades of DC Comics tragedy and redemption as far back as Tim Burton’s dark and brooding 1989 incarnation of Batman.

Putting aside lead actor Ezra Miller’s widely documented mental health issues, he delivers endearing dual performances as Barry Allens who collide and collude (in direct violation of laws which state you should never interact with your past self) to save the world from an intergalactic menace. Michael Keaton lightly wedges tongue in cheek as he gamely dusts off his bat suit, catalysing a touching father-son dynamic with Miller that tugs heartstrings with an inevitable pay-off.

Barry Allen (Miller) discovers he can abuse his powers to travel back in time to the day his mother Nora (Maribel Verdu) was killed in the family home and his father Henry (Ron Livingston) was arrested for her murder. Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) advises Barry against rash decisions fuelled by grief: “There’s nothing broken about you that needs to be fixed. Don’t let your tragedy define you.” Alas, Barry persists, creating devastating ripples that bring him face to face with a different incarnation of Batman (Keaton), Kryptonian prisoner Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl (Sasha Calle), a defiant General Zod (Michael Shannon) and the despot’s ferocious second-in-command Faora-Ul (Antje Traue).

The Flash is one of the most enjoyable DC Comics films outside of the darker Batman/Joker series, powered by the dynamic duo of Miller and Keaton. A barrage of pithy pop culture references provides a steady supply of giggles to complement the boisterous action. Like the Back To The Future trilogy, Muschietti’s picture runs out of steam in a messy final act, which falls into the same trap as some recent Marvel movies by sacrificing human drama to an overload of questionable CGI.

Comedy

Greatest Days (12A)

Review: “Today this could be the greatest day of our lives” croons Gary Barlow, easing into the title track of an exuberant and unreservedly feelgood jukebox musical adapted by screenwriter Tim Firth from his 2017 stage production The Band with a toe-tapping songbook courtesy of Take That. While Greatest Days can’t quite scale the dizzy heights promised by that lyric, director Coky Giedroyc’s film is a gently effervescent celebration of female friendship that fizzes pleasantly on the tongue, regardless of whether you’re an ardent fan of the extensive back catalogue of Barlow and bandmates Mark Owen and Howard Donald.

The chart-topping trio enjoy a fleeting cameo when the on-screen action shifts from the East Lancashire market town of Clitheroe to sun-dappled Athens via a Busby Berkeley-style song and dance sequence on the tarmac of Stansted airport choreographed by Olivier Award winner Drew McOnie to the upbeat anthem “Shine”. McOnie’s exemplary work energises a late-night bus ride home to “Relight My Fire”, which explodes as a sequin-laden camp fantasia replete with bus driver in full drag make-up, and a splash in a Greek fountain that magically brings five statues to life to the rousing title song.

In 1993, 16-year-old Rachel O’Flynn (Lara McDonnell) daydreams through the streets of Clitheroe with four best friends, Claire (Carragon Guest), Debbie (Jessie Mae Alonzo), Heather (Eliza Dobson) and Zoe (Nandi Sawyers-Hudson). The girls excitedly tune into Top Of The Pops to fan the flames of their mutual love for a dreamy pop five-piece (Aaron Bryan, Dalvin Cory, Joshua Jung, Mark Samaras, Mervin Noronha), who they affectionately refer to as the Boys. Rachel, Claire, Debbie, Heather and Zoe secretly sneak off to Manchester to attend the Boys’ concert at the Apollo and miss the last bus home. They end the night exchanging wristbands on the rocks that overlook their hometown, promising to be friends for life.

Twenty-five years later, Rachel (now played by Aisling Bea) is a paediatric nurse afraid of committing to her long-term boyfriend Jeff (Marc Wootton). Miraculously, she wins four tickets to the Boys’ reunion gig in Athens and Rachel nervously invites Claire (Jayde Adams), Heather (Alice Lowe) and Zoe (Amaka Okafor) as her guests. The women are reunited for the first time since the fateful Manchester Apollo gig and its tragic aftermath and they heal emotional wounds by reconnecting to their younger selves.

Greatest Days is a quintessentially British jive through sisterly solidarity, regret and boyband hysteria, which harnesses some of the unabashed joy and exuberance that distinguished the film version of Mamma Mia. Younger cast outshine older counterparts led emphatically by McDonnell. Full-blown renditions and melodic refrains from hits including Back For Good. Could It Be Magic, Everything Changes, A Million Love Songs, Never Forget, Patience, Pray and Rule The World keep toes tapping for almost two, nostalgia-steeped hours.