Flashpoint Paradox
Well that leak didn't take long to spread. I'm a tad worried about Warner Brothers/DC's reaction to the leak, so I'm posting about it in an f-locked entry here rather than at Tumblr -- although eventually I'll post this there too.
I saw the film today. I'll still be buying it, because they put the Top in it and I wish to reward such behaviour. The spoilery stuff will be behind a cut, but before getting to that I will say that people who don't like violence in their entertainment probably won't enjoy it -- there's a lot of fighting, killing, and a few rather graphic scenes.
As a Rogues fan I was quite excited for the film, and on that front it did and it didn't disappoint me. The Rogues are pretty tough, and put up a decent fight for the Flash. However, once Professor Zoom shows up they pretty much turn into comic relief. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but I suspect many Rogues fans won't be happy, and I was a little bit disappointed by how hapless and dumb they seemed. But overall I found their scene entertaining and enjoyable, and in the end that's mostly what I want from a film like this.
Also, the film gets extra points for actually giving Roscoe a bit of dialogue, which is the first time he's EVER said anything on TV or film (he does have dialogue in DCU Online, which I still haven't played because my computer needs an upgrade first). He even puns! Strangely however, none of the Rogues have credited voice actors in the end credits. Thawne does, but that's because he's such a major character.
Piper fans will be disappointed -- he has no dialogue and only makes cameo appearances in two scenes. Curiously, there's no Trickster or Weather Wizard at all. I have to wonder if the writer just really wanted the Top in there, instead of a Rogue who (frankly) would have made more sense in his place. Not that I'm complaining :>
Wally is not in it, BTW. While Citizen Cold is briefly shown, the Cold arc is entirely gone from the film, as is the Legion of Doom story with Heat Wave. The Rogues only make brief cameos once we switch to the Flashpointverse.
I do think Professor Zoom fans will be pleased, because he's a magnificent trolling bastard as he should be. But although the film's plot follows the original Flashpoint comics pretty closely once Barry winds up in the Flashpointverse, the story has a few odd changes: the story implies Barry's mom was killed by a random stranger, NOT Thawne (and Henry Allen isn't mentioned in the story at all -- it seems Nora was a single mom). I think that's a very strange plot choice, because now Thawne doesn't seem quite as monstrous or obsessive. He does troll Barry about what happened to Nora, but doesn't seem to have been personally involved. Why on Earth did the writers decide to do that?
Anyway, as gruesome as Eobard's fate was in Flashpoint, the film manages to make it even more graphic. So you're warned.
The designs and art style are a bit jarring in places, and the Rogues look pretty goofy once they're in comic relief mode. Still, it was something that didn't really bother me, perhaps because I'm not an artist.
Some Rogues screencaps from the film. The first three caps were taken by somebody else, the rest are mine. I'll probably add more in a bit.
TL;DR I enjoyed the film. It wasn't without its flaws by any means and is very bloody, but it was entertaining and I did enjoy seeing the Rogues.
I saw the film today. I'll still be buying it, because they put the Top in it and I wish to reward such behaviour. The spoilery stuff will be behind a cut, but before getting to that I will say that people who don't like violence in their entertainment probably won't enjoy it -- there's a lot of fighting, killing, and a few rather graphic scenes.
As a Rogues fan I was quite excited for the film, and on that front it did and it didn't disappoint me. The Rogues are pretty tough, and put up a decent fight for the Flash. However, once Professor Zoom shows up they pretty much turn into comic relief. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but I suspect many Rogues fans won't be happy, and I was a little bit disappointed by how hapless and dumb they seemed. But overall I found their scene entertaining and enjoyable, and in the end that's mostly what I want from a film like this.
Also, the film gets extra points for actually giving Roscoe a bit of dialogue, which is the first time he's EVER said anything on TV or film (he does have dialogue in DCU Online, which I still haven't played because my computer needs an upgrade first). He even puns! Strangely however, none of the Rogues have credited voice actors in the end credits. Thawne does, but that's because he's such a major character.
Piper fans will be disappointed -- he has no dialogue and only makes cameo appearances in two scenes. Curiously, there's no Trickster or Weather Wizard at all. I have to wonder if the writer just really wanted the Top in there, instead of a Rogue who (frankly) would have made more sense in his place. Not that I'm complaining :>
Wally is not in it, BTW. While Citizen Cold is briefly shown, the Cold arc is entirely gone from the film, as is the Legion of Doom story with Heat Wave. The Rogues only make brief cameos once we switch to the Flashpointverse.
I do think Professor Zoom fans will be pleased, because he's a magnificent trolling bastard as he should be. But although the film's plot follows the original Flashpoint comics pretty closely once Barry winds up in the Flashpointverse, the story has a few odd changes: the story implies Barry's mom was killed by a random stranger, NOT Thawne (and Henry Allen isn't mentioned in the story at all -- it seems Nora was a single mom). I think that's a very strange plot choice, because now Thawne doesn't seem quite as monstrous or obsessive. He does troll Barry about what happened to Nora, but doesn't seem to have been personally involved. Why on Earth did the writers decide to do that?
Anyway, as gruesome as Eobard's fate was in Flashpoint, the film manages to make it even more graphic. So you're warned.
The designs and art style are a bit jarring in places, and the Rogues look pretty goofy once they're in comic relief mode. Still, it was something that didn't really bother me, perhaps because I'm not an artist.
Some Rogues screencaps from the film. The first three caps were taken by somebody else, the rest are mine. I'll probably add more in a bit.
TL;DR I enjoyed the film. It wasn't without its flaws by any means and is very bloody, but it was entertaining and I did enjoy seeing the Rogues.