First announced all the way back in 2014, The Flash movie has been in the works for almost an entire decade, and it's finally out in theaters now. After a disappointing set of movies from Zack Snyder, and a few middling releases technically set in the same universe but not really, James Gunn is being given the reins to the DC universe. But before the DC universe can be scrapped completely and rebooted once again, The Flash is here to give the old gang one final outing.
Loosely based on the Flashpoint comic arc, The Flash sees the titular speedster go back in time and save his mother from being murdered. But, as anyone that's ever seen a time-travel movie will guess, this little change has drastic effects on the timeline, resulting in The Flash now being trapped in a completely different world. Despite being a Flash-centric story, some of the best moments of the movie actually come from the other superheroes on screen, and Batman in particular gets a few big moments to shine, with one sequence being the perfect blueprint for the next Batman video game's traversal mechanics.
The Next Batman Game Should Take Inspiration From The Flash Movie
The Flash is by no means a perfect movie. There are some serious CGI issues, some ghoulish moments of fan service, half-baked plot points, and arguably an emotional core that doesn't quite stick the landing. But all that being said, it also isn't the worst DC movie in recent memory, with some action sequences showing some genuinely creative moments for the superheroes involved. Batman, in particular, gets a few standout action moments, and one of those comes right at the beginning of the movie.
Set sometime after Justice League, The Flash opens up with the titular hero getting an emergency call from Ben Affleck's Batman. Batman tells Barry he's currently in the middle of a high-speed pursuit in Gotham, chasing down a member of the Falcone mob family, and asks for the speedster's help with securing the area. Barry zips over there and as he starts to clear civilians out of the way of debris left in the wake of the chase, a Batman-centered action sequence takes place.
During this scene, Batman gives chase on his Batcycle, albeit a modernized version of it complete with a front-mounted shield. As Batman elegantly weaves between oncoming traffic, Falcone continues to fire upon him. Eventually, the Batcycle is caught up in an explosion, and Batman takes to the skies, gliding through the air and eventually latching onto a speeding vehicle with his grappling hook. From there Batman continues the chase on foot, grappling onto cars and leaping between lanes. Though fans have seen the Batcycle in live-action before, this level of agility for Batman hasn't really been seen on screen yet, and the whole scene is one of The Flash's biggest highlights and a scene that future Batman games might want to take inspiration from.
The Batman: Arkham games featured great traversal systems, with players being given free rein over Batman's grappling hook and wings. Arkham Knight upped the ante with the Batmobile, and while its extensive use in the game proved controversial, the actual mechanics behind it were good. But there's still room for improvement there. In the Arkham games, Batman can feel fairly heavy to control, and though that certainly fits that series, it would be great to see a more agile and quick Batman in future games, one that's capable of grappling onto the back of cars and gliding along the road behind them for a speed boost. Similarly, it would be great to get a better Batcycle in future video games, as Gotham Knights' version of the iconic vehicle left a lot to be desired.
The Flash is now playing in theaters.