Buy it... if you can combine a handful of excellent new secondary themes with smart references to vintage Batman music to form a highly attractive suite.

Avoid it... if you cannot forgive Benjamin Wallfisch for devising a barely serviceable and forgettable main theme for this sometimes awkwardly processed score.

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Wallfisch

The Flash: (Benjamin Wallfisch) Endless studio wrangling about the future of the DC Comics movie franchises and the fate of the character of The Flash was in part financial but mostly artistically driven. Too many studio executives with divergent opinions led to perpetual production hell for the character over several decades. Even after Warner Brothers dedicated itself to creating The Flash in the early 2020's, continued leadership disagreements at the studio and the disturbing behavioral issues of its lead star threatened to derail the movie several times. Debate ensued within the studio about the extent to which to reboot the entirety of the DC Extended Cinematic Universe, and The Flash suffered from reshoots of its ending due to these various paths. The story is thus a mess, postulating that Barry Allen uses his superspeed capabilities to travel back in time and save his mother, only to disrupt various timelines in several universes. The multiverse aspect of the tale allowed for a flurry variations of favorite DC screen incarnations to exist, though the resurrection of the 1989 version of Batman is easily the highlight among them. Allen accidentally disrupts his own timeline on one reality where Michael Keaton's Batman and a Supergirl replacement for Superman battle General Zod and attempt to restore the universe as best possible. With multiple Allens and plenty of unsavory deaths, The Flash is a confusing and disappointing mess, and both critics and audiences bemoaned the missed opportunity to bring greatness to the nostalgic heart of the film as relating to Keaton. The immense bad press for actor Ezra Miller caused some boycotting of the project and further threw the whole concept into limbo. Trying to make the best of his opportunities in this film is composer Benjamin Wallfisch, who turned down a chance to score a second Shazam! entry to tackle The Flash instead. With so many references to other DC properties in these films, the soundtracks become ripe for muddy inferences or lack thereof, and Wallfisch takes a rather conservative approach to his place in DC history here.

Wallfisch's general approach to The Flash blends the lyricism inherent in A Cure for Wellness with the heroism of Shazam!, complex layering of It, and edgy electronic tones from Mortal Kombat. Like always, the writing is thoughtful and intelligent, the orchestrations spread well through the symphonic ensemble. Use of electronics isn't as brazenly obnoxious as the dichotomy intended for The Invisible Man, but it does at times mimic some of the more tedious and distracting portions of Mortal Kombat. (The worst of Mortal Kombat interjects in "Now We Try Not to Die.") Thematic development is nearly constant but not always obvious. There are details in the writing that suggest John Williams techniques in some places, which is nothing less than a top compliment. The style of the score is meant to shift significantly partway through, as Allen leaves behind the familiar, modern universe and traverses into a more romanticized version of the past. Perhaps not surprisingly, therefore, the general style of the work shifts from early Hans Zimmer emulation to incorporating and channeling Danny Elfman in the middle portion. Most intriguingly, Wallfisch blends them together into a mixture that matures into Dario Marianelli territory by the end of the work, which is perhaps appropriate given Wallfisch's years working with Marianelli prior to a stint with Zimmer's production house. Because of this meandering focus on style, The Flash struggles to maintain a narrative personality outside of the thematic elements, which are themselves not as well defined as hoped. Complicating matters are some questionable choices in the mix of this music. Wallfisch scores tend to sound amazing, their spread and reverb often intoxicatingly fantastic. This entry is different, however, the balance of organic and inorganic tones suffering from seemingly unnecessary manipulation that may be due to tinkering with reverb. A flat ambience with occasional distortion without enough reason exists in many cues, and the fantasy element is definitely restricted by the lack of expansive soundscape caused by reverb issues. Outward manipulation in post-production isn't extreme, but it's evident to the extent that some listeners will think something is "off" with the recording.

Like other superhero films with guest appearances from ancillary properties, The Flash does insert prior recordings where a re-recording isn't necessarily. In this case, such usage is most notably the existing Wonder Woman material from Zimmer inserted wholesale during one scene. Otherwise, Wallfisch's new music takes center stage, and his thematic applications are immense. He devises six significant new themes for the film while revisiting three prior identities, though two of those are minimally adapted. The success or failure of the score for The Flash may, for some listeners, depend upon a tolerance for a main theme that is poorly devised and developed. Wallfisch succeeds in his thematic tapestry overall, but his primary theme for Allen and The Flash is surprisingly limp and leaves absolutely no lasting impression. Its main melodic portion sounds like the second phrase of a larger theme and is not clearly based on prior identities for the character. Although it's used extensively in the score, average moviegoers will remember nothing of its progressions, especially when juxtaposed against such a famous Elfman theme making many appearances alongside it. This nebulously rising superhero theme is like a rejected castaway from Shazam! and is hampered further by Wallfisch's tendency to complicate the guises of all his themes. On the upside, the composer does utilize blasting brass clusters like Don Davis did in The Matrix for the concept of multiverse shifting, a technique teased at the end of "Are You Actively Eating That Candy Bar?" The actual melody debuts in its default ascending form at 0:04 into that cue and, in early passages, is often accompanied by Mortal Kombat-styled percussion and altered electronics, which makes sense for the character. The theme is embedded into action rhythms at 1:32 and 2:33 into "Sounds About Right, Bruce," supplying a quick burst at the end of "Collapsing East Wing" and again in action at 1:43 into "Baby Shower" and choral suspense at 1:01 into "Run." It begins its transformation as it diminishes softly on piano at the outset of "Not This Time, Kid" and takes a melodramatically swirling turn in "See You Soon" with Williams' Harry Potter-like secondary phrases. With nervous anticipation, the theme is tentative at the start of "Today's the Day" and informs rest of cue in mere pieces. As expected, the brass clusters return in "Phasing" while the theme takes a suspenseful role later in the cue.

The main theme of The Flash continues to litter the work but not in the most obvious of ways. Slight and tentative in the first half of "Escape From the Lab," the theme yields to terrible synthetics and horrendous mixing before a muscular performance at 1:46 on brass. The chord progressions, along with the composer's secondary family theme, persist late in "What is This Place?" and "Spaghetti," bleeding over to the start of "Into the Batcave." Impressively, Wallfisch applies his main theme over Elfman's Batman rhythm at 1:24 into "I am Batman" and joins that legacy material throughout "Escape From Siberia," consolidating nicely in the final moments. It takes over for Supergirl's theme in the middle of "What Could Go Wrong?" before yielding to Elfman's Batman theme again. The idea is playful at 1:14 into "You Wanna Get Nuts?," building to a big brass crescendo at the end, and it indirectly contributes to the action announcement early in "Let's Get Nuts," mingling with hints of Elfman's Batman chords later and closing the cue in bloated agony. The main theme defeats the Zod material in the second half of "Cyclonic Diversion," supplants the Elfman Batman theme early in "I'm Not Going Alone," and returns to the Davis-like brass clusters at the opening of "We Can Fix This" with even more distracting manipulation to the reverb. Fragments ramble through the background of "Inevitable Intersection," and the theme is tormented early in "The Dark Flash" before a massive choral outburst; Wallfisch smartly twists the melody in the latter half of this cue to give it a downward formation. Its original form doesn't have much impact on the final cues, its presence slight at 2:00 into "Worlds Collide" and very brief as part of the closing crescendo at 3:00 into "Call Me." Meanwhile, Wallfisch creates a family theme that serves at times as secondary phrasing to Allen's main theme. Though somewhat nebulous and unreachable by design, this material exists throughout "Nora" on strings and is appended to the main theme late in "Not This Time, Kid." It stews on The Invisible Man strings in "Can of Tomatoes," provides solemn fantasy on solo female voice in "Please Work" (later joined by fuller ensemble and choir), and evolves into a more readily relatable identity with The Flash theme influence in "I Loved You First." This family theme seemingly guides the Supergirl material late in "I've Got You," enjoys a poignant moment in the middle of "I'm Not Going Alone," returns late with troubles in "You're My Hero," and is on redemptive strings in the first minute of "Call Me."

Average:		3.53 Stars
*****		65
****		61
***		57
**		31
*		18
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This could've been a perfect score DumplingWarrior - June 22, 2023, at 12:09 p.m.

1 comment  (635 views)

Why would Wallfisch write such a poor main theme? Noah - June 21, 2023, at 9:29 p.m.

1 comment  (722 views)

Digital Album Tracks   ▼ Total Time: 83:06 • 1. Are You Actively Eating That Candy Bar? (0:58) • 2. Sounds About Right, Bruce (4:16) • 3. Collapsing East Wing (2:49) • 4. Baby Shower (2:08) • 5. Nora (3:22) • 6. Run (1:44) • 7. Not This Time, Kid (1:11) • 8. Can of Tomatoes (1:54) • 9. See You Soon (1:14) • 10. Please Work (1:28) • 11. Today's the Day (1:44) • 12. Phasing (1:31) • 13. Escape From the Lab (2:01) • 14. Zod (1:15) • 15. What is This Place? (1:20) • 16. Spaghetti (1:24) • 17. Into the Batcave (2:14) • 18. I Loved You First (1:35) • 19. Fate (1:03) • 20. I am Batman (2:06) • 21. Batdoneon (0:56) • 22. Kal-El? (1:24) • 23. Escape From Siberia (2:18) • 24. Now We Try Not to Die (1:17) • 25. Supergirl (2:45) • 26. Want Some Help? (1:56) • 27. I Gave You a Warning (1:26) • 28. What Could Go Wrong? (1:25) • 29. Let's Get Electrocuted (1:30) • 30. I've Got You (2:15) • 31. You Wanna Get Nuts? (1:56) • 32. Let's Get Nuts (3:30) • 33. Cyclonic Diversion (2:30) • 34. I'm Not Going Alone (2:32) • 35. We Can Fix This (1:55) • 36. Inevitable Intersection (1:08) • 37. We Can Save Her (2:17) • 38. The Dark Flash (2:09) • 39. Worlds Collide (Superman Version) (2:32) • 40. You're My Hero (1:43) • 41. Into the Singularity (1:00) • 42. Call Me (3:21) • 43. Worlds Collide (2:29)

CD Album Tracks   ▼ Total Time: 80:37 CD 1: (43:00) • 1. Are You Actively Eating That Candy Bar? (0:58) • 2. Sounds About Right, Bruce (4:16) • 3. Collapsing East Wing (2:49) • 4. Baby Shower (2:08) • 5. Nora (3:22) • 6. Run (1:44) • 7. Not This Time, Kid (1:11) • 8. Can of Tomatoes (1:54) • 9. See You Soon (1:14) • 10. Please Work (1:28) • 11. Today's the Day (1:44) • 12. Phasing (1:31) • 13. Escape From the Lab (2:01) • 14. Zod (1:15) • 15. What is This Place? (1:20) • 16. Spaghetti (1:24) • 17. Into the Batcave (2:14) • 18. I Loved You First (1:35) • 19. Fate (1:03) • 20. I am Batman (2:06) • 21. Batdoneon (0:56) • 22. Kal-El? (1:24) • 23. Escape From Siberia (2:18) • 24. Now We Try Not to Die (1:17) CD 2: (37:37) • 1. Supergirl (2:45) • 2. Want Some Help? (1:56) • 3. I Gave You a Warning (1:26) • 4. What Could Go Wrong? (1:25) • 5. Let's Get Electrocuted (1:30) • 6. I've Got You (2:15) • 7. You Wanna Get Nuts? (1:56) • 8. Let's Get Nuts (3:30) • 9. Cyclonic Diversion (2:30) • 10. I'm Not Going Alone (2:32) • 11. We Can Fix This (1:55) • 12. Inevitable Intersection (1:08) • 13. We Can Save Her (2:17) • 14. The Dark Flash (2:09) • 15. Worlds Collide (Superman Version) (2:32) • 16. You're My Hero (1:43) • 17. Into the Singularity (1:00) • 18. Call Me (3:21)

There exists no official packaging for the digital version of this album.