The Flash has a multiverse of 4K UHD visuals on display now that it’s on home video formats. The Flash’s red suit shines.
So much of The Flash is fully animated. It holds up. The visuals are surreal, but fully rendered. Barry’s night run looks particularly great in 4K.
Practical sets boast beautiful 4K shadows. Barry’s pitch black apartment, and the city block on which young Barry finds himself naked are highlights. The Bat cave casts pure shadows, including silhouettes of the double Barrys. Supergirl’s cel and the whole underground Russian station also provide deep shadows.
The sound mix has some fun effects. All of Barry’s speed runs zoom and whoosh around the room, as do Supergirl’s flights. Action sounds ricochet in the rear like glass shattering, bats fluttering and eletric static. Cartoon sound effects like trumpets in young Barry’s botched first run are cute, and the Batwing swirls when the gyro rotates the cockpit.
Many fans probably already watched the bonus features when The Flash came out on VOD but it’s nice to have a full 35 minute behind the scenes feature. Ezra Miller’s double Ed Wade gets on camera and you get to see him do his sides of the scenes.
I like that there’s no musical score to this feature. It makes the sound bites feel more sincere. They may be the same but it seems like it’s more about the movie than selling a package.
The shorter features are informative too. They innovated technology for this movie. I appreciate the attempt to make the finale feel more natural than green screen, though it ultimately created new issues.
In depth background on The Flash and Supergirl includes other DC players Melissa Benoist, Helen Slater, Laura Vandervoort, Grant Gustin and the comic and animated artists.
Deleted scenes include extra vehicular action, double Barry scenes with Wade even in the suit, some finished scenes of the Flashes goofing off with effects and a rough Batwing in the moon Easter egg. Young Barry learning he can’t stop bullets is a good scene and there’s some creepy young Barry creeping on Kara that I’m glad they cut.
You also get all 6 eps of the Escape the Midnight Circus podcast.
