A decent superhero story in the vein of Burton's 'Batman'...
The one thing that has always annoyed me about super speed is the idea that nobody can see a person who is moving at super speed, or that they can move so fast that nobody notices. It happened in "Lois and Clark," it happens in "Smallville," and it happens again in "The Flash." Though there is an occasional rush of wind as he moves quickly, Flash cuts through the air like a knife, generally not disturbing anything or anyone. If you are shot at, you know a bullet just went past you; that doesn´t seem to be the case with the speedsters in the comic world and that bothers me.
I should take this moment to mention the costume. It would have been easy to go over-the-top with The Flash and make him silly-looking. In retrospect, Burton´s Batman costume doesn´t work for me as well as it once did. And yet 15 years later I still think Shipp looks slick in those red duds. He seems more fluid and less bulky than most superheroes, and by putting him in a suit he retains the muscled look of the comics. Tights simply wouldn´t have worked, regardless of the shape Shipp was in. Overall the costume works brilliantly (and has an inspired explanation).
There are some nice moments across the one-season run of "The Flash," and while the production values may have been high for 1990, they look incredibly dated today. Don´t go in expecting to see anything near the caliber of modern television. Most of the expositions of the Flash´s powers consisted of speeding up the camera and having people hold really, really still. It´s hokey, but no more so than the old "Wonder Woman" show or "The Incredible Hulk."
Is "The Flash" worth adding to your collection? If you´re a comic fan, then I think it is definitely worth a look for comparison´s sake. Would I like to see more of this show or a big screen incarnation of the character? I can´t say that I would; he´s just not that appealing to me. There is a little something for everyone here: romance, comedy, drama, and action--just not enough to hold this reviewer still for 21 episodes.
Video:
The 4:3 transfer is reflective of the original broadcast aspect ratio for this program. Being that it was shot on video, you shouldn´t expect magic on the video front. The transfer is muddy, blurry, and generally unattractive.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track is a decent piece. It isn´t anything fancy, but the dialogue comes through clear and the Elfman-esque soundtrack blares loud and true. On a tangent, getting Elfman to pen the theme for the show (considering the success of Batman and that catchy tune) was brilliant.
Extras:
Nil. Nada. Nothing. Sad, too, because it would have been nice to hear from the writers who are taking over the chores for writing the Flash comic book in 2006.
Film Value:
"The Flash" suffered from being rushed to market. I think, with some more time spent in developing the different aspects of the secret identity that more fun could have been had. Also, by casting him into the tragic, moody Batman mold a big piece of the spirit of the Flash was lost. I heard a lot of great things about this program before watching it, so maybe my expectations were too high. What I would love to see would be a renaissance of the character done with modern technology and sensibilities, in the vein of "Smallville." If this set does well, I´m not sure I would be against a new take on the Fastest Man in the World.
I should take this moment to mention the costume. It would have been easy to go over-the-top with The Flash and make him silly-looking. In retrospect, Burton´s Batman costume doesn´t work for me as well as it once did. And yet 15 years later I still think Shipp looks slick in those red duds. He seems more fluid and less bulky than most superheroes, and by putting him in a suit he retains the muscled look of the comics. Tights simply wouldn´t have worked, regardless of the shape Shipp was in. Overall the costume works brilliantly (and has an inspired explanation).
There are some nice moments across the one-season run of "The Flash," and while the production values may have been high for 1990, they look incredibly dated today. Don´t go in expecting to see anything near the caliber of modern television. Most of the expositions of the Flash´s powers consisted of speeding up the camera and having people hold really, really still. It´s hokey, but no more so than the old "Wonder Woman" show or "The Incredible Hulk."
Is "The Flash" worth adding to your collection? If you´re a comic fan, then I think it is definitely worth a look for comparison´s sake. Would I like to see more of this show or a big screen incarnation of the character? I can´t say that I would; he´s just not that appealing to me. There is a little something for everyone here: romance, comedy, drama, and action--just not enough to hold this reviewer still for 21 episodes.
Video:
The 4:3 transfer is reflective of the original broadcast aspect ratio for this program. Being that it was shot on video, you shouldn´t expect magic on the video front. The transfer is muddy, blurry, and generally unattractive.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track is a decent piece. It isn´t anything fancy, but the dialogue comes through clear and the Elfman-esque soundtrack blares loud and true. On a tangent, getting Elfman to pen the theme for the show (considering the success of Batman and that catchy tune) was brilliant.
Extras:
Nil. Nada. Nothing. Sad, too, because it would have been nice to hear from the writers who are taking over the chores for writing the Flash comic book in 2006.
Film Value:
"The Flash" suffered from being rushed to market. I think, with some more time spent in developing the different aspects of the secret identity that more fun could have been had. Also, by casting him into the tragic, moody Batman mold a big piece of the spirit of the Flash was lost. I heard a lot of great things about this program before watching it, so maybe my expectations were too high. What I would love to see would be a renaissance of the character done with modern technology and sensibilities, in the vein of "Smallville." If this set does well, I´m not sure I would be against a new take on the Fastest Man in the World.
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[release]18106[/release]