It looks like we have the first leaked Pilot of the fall season. This time, it’s the CW’s The Flash. The show is a spinoff of their highly successful Arrow series, this time following Barry Allen, better known as The Flash. To respect the network I will not be posting a full review until the series premieres, but I will do a quick rundown of what I think worked, didn’t, and whether you should give the series a chance.
First of all, the series is no where near as dark as its counterpart Arrow. The episode is littered with wonderfully corny one-liners and somewhat ridiculous situations, but it closely follows the superhero origin road map with all the important plot points. The style of writing gets a bit old after a while. It’s hard to appreciate the campiness after a while, but I did find a large majority of it entertaining.
The series does have wonderful pacing that makes the episode go by in a flash (lame joke of the day). The visual effects are strong and the overall craft is there. I think everything else will come in time.
While Grant Gustin is an endearing lead and has a wonderful little scene at the end of the episode that allows him to emote, there are some questionable lines that come off a bit amateurish. I think that he’ll eventually settle in, but I did see some weakness there. Actually, overall the acting was underwhelming, but I suppose that was expected. Some of it comes from the campiness of the script, but it did get old after a while.
As for the question of should you watch it, I will say that if you enjoyed Arrow or even Smallville that this might be a series for you to look at. The stereotypical superhero plot lines still do wonders here and Barry Allen’s awkward charm will reel you in. However, the next few episodes will be a huge test to see how the series sustains those plot lines, while still be surprising.
Hey, I'm Karl, founder and film critic at Smash Cut. I started Smash Cut in 2014 to share my love of movies and give a perspective I haven't yet seen represented. I'm also an editor at The New York Times, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and a member of the Online Film Critics Society.