After a full decade of hype, The Flash movie is finally here and, wouldn’t you know it, it’s proving to be another divisive entry in the DC canon. Although our guts were always telling us this would be the case, myself and many other fans found their expectations buoyed by ringing celebrity endorsements from the likes of Tom Cruise and Stephen King, as well as James Gunn promising us it’s one of the best superhero films ever.
As it happens, though, The Flash‘s opening Rotten Tomatoes score isn’t even enough for it to break into the top 20 highest-reviewed DC movies on the site. In fact, at the time of writing, with its score at a middling 73 percent, the Scarlet Speedster’s first solo cinematic outing is sitting just above the first of Dwayne Johnson’s two DC flops, DC’s League of Super-Pets (72 percent) – don’t worry, it’s way better than Black Adam‘s 38 percent. So it’s not exactly the new Dark Knight.
Incredulously, however, The Flash is just one percentage point down from one of the most legendary and influential DC movies of all time. A movie whose legacy, ironically, has only gotten stronger thanks to this very film. Yes, with its shockingly low 74 percent score, 1989’s Batman is coming dangerously close to being beaten by the blockbuster that’s reviving Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne after 30 years off our screens.
While 1992’s Batman Returns is currently the 14th greatest DC movie of all time, according to RT-approved critics, its predecessor is down at 22nd place and could easily be overtaken by The Flash once more reviews flood in. If Andy Muschietti’s effort does manage to top Tim Burton’s groundbreaking Gotham City caper, that would be an unexpected turn of events considering it’s so keen to ride on the coattails of the fandom’s continuing fondness for what Burton and Keaton cooked up.
DC die-hards can judge whether The Flash deserves to be rated so close to Batman ’89 once it sprints into theaters from June 16.