In terms of excuses that nobody’s going to buy into for even a second, The Flash director Andy Muschietti claiming that the sketchy CGI was done on purpose has got to rank up there was one of the most incredulous.
While he may be telling the truth, there isn’t a single soul out there refusing to accept his explanation as to why the visual effects in a blockbuster comic book adaptation carrying an estimated budget of $200 million are so terrible. In fact, things have gotten so bad the DCU’s multiversal epic is being compared to an infamous Dwayne Johnson blockbuster, and it isn’t Black Adam for once.
The Flash may be tracking for a domestic opening weekend that’s only slightly ahead of The Rock’s recent franchise debut, but the ongoing discourse surrounding the putrid pixelation of countless characters, backdrops, and action sequences has dredged up unwanted memories of The Scorpion King, the third act climax of which is still held up as the bastion of bad CGI.
It sounds ridiculous to compare The Flash‘s ropey renderings to a sequel that released 22 years ago and was even pilloried at the time for its horrendous call to reinvent The Rock as a PlayStation 2-era cutscene character, but it’s not exactly a million miles wide of the mark, either.
Muschietti might be adamant that it was all part of the plan, but that puts him firmly in the minority when it comes to the overwhelming negativity to drown the Scarlet Speedster’s visual palette, and it’s a conversation that’s going to end up haunting the film forevermore should it fail to live up to expectations in terms of its earning power.