Warning: SPOILERS for “The Flash” follow!
I was really looking forward to The Flash. And I should have celebrated the fireworks of cameos especially towards the end. We finally get Nicolas Cage as Superman – as a huge Cage fan, what could be better for me than finally seeing the star in the role he’s been dreaming of for decades as his favorite superhero? Unfortunately, this joy did not come true in the cinema. Not only did I not really care about the scene, it actually bored me and I think it even detracts from the movie as a whole.
Personally, I think this whole cameo spree is not well thought out in itself. Yes, you can describe the scene as nostalgic fireworks, yes I think the majority of the audience will be quite surprised, maybe even shrugging their shoulders at the cinema.
Christopher Reeve as Superman will probably be recognized by many, and some will definitely recognize Adam West as Batman – but that’s about it for die-hard fans. Who is that other Superman? (George Reeves!) What’s that other Flash doing? (reportedly played by Teddy Sears, who has denied involvement) And even at Nicholas Kooi you can recognize the star – but the whole joke, including the fight with a giant spider, can only be understood if you know about Tim Burton’s failed “Superman Lives”.
Of course you can still explain that away. After all, one sees: there is Superman, Batman, Supergirl, The Flash – it does not matter whether these are (digitally, by the way, still very poorly built) stars pointing at something or a nameless one. Then the intended jokes fly over the heads of many viewers because the knowledge required for them is too nerdy. But the scene’s real problem is bigger…
The cameo dance robs emotional punch
Because it’s not like you can put up with it with a short shrug. We are currently in the middle of an emotional conflict: Barry (Ezra Miller) must accept that he must let his mother Nora (Maribel Verdù) die, that he must end the world in which he has now spent much of his time to save the multiverse.
However, watching the other universes with its many cameos does not reinforce this emotional dilemma. It’s not about suddenly seeing the other worlds under threat. Instead, the scene seems to me like it’s all about stringing together as many cameos as possible, because you haven’t really had many so far and it tells a multiverse movie after all.
The scene isn’t boring just because of a series of characters and actors who seem completely random and who are, at best, a bit of fan service to a small segment of the audience (Reeve, Cage, and “Supergirl” Helen Slater). It also takes our eyes off what really matters: the Barry Allen conflict.
So the scene makes the movie even weaker for me – and I don’t think I’m the only one who will see it that way.