Fans aren’t thrilled with the latest footage released in The Flash marketing TV spots. Despite positive reception to the official trailer, the major criticisms revolve around its VFX, which has become a pattern in fan criticism with the footage released since.Time is running out for Warner Bros. Discovery, as The Flash theatrical release draws closer. But Warner Bros. Discovery may not see it that way since early reception has called it one of the best superhero films, with The Flash allegedly receiving praise from Tom Cruise, James Gunn, and Ben Affleck. Even so, fans still criticize the visual effects in the TV spots being released in the film’s marketing campaign. The latest series of TV spots leading up to The Flash's early screening and its new trailer set for April 25th show key moments that reveal the epic scale of this DC multiverse event. However, there is one blatant problem: the public discourse currently revolves around unpolished visual effects. The poor CGI becomes evident when compared to Zack Snyder's Justice League since it is not only some of the same VFX team working on The Flash but some of the shots are composed similarly.
The shot of Batman is being compared to the character's portrayal in Joss Whedon's version of Justice League. While it may be too early to make that comparison, it doesn’t bode well for a film that the DCU franchise's future is riding on. This juxtaposition is also in direct contrast to what Affleck has expressed about The Flash and his positive experience in the film compared to the Justice League reshoots. However, this stark difference represents the jarring disconnect between Warner Bros. Discovery's narrative about The Flash and the unpolished visual effect scenes being released by the marketing team.
Fans have come to the film’s defense by stating that the film is still in post-production, but this then calls into question why Warner Bros. Discovery would be so confident to not only release The Flash's unfinished VFX scenes but to showcase an early screening in April with two months left until its theatrical release. It was rumored that The Flash was pushed back six months due to more work being needed in the VFX department, but that may not have been enough, despite the excellent visual effects in Zack Snyder's Justice League with the small window of time that Warner Bros. Gave them amid the pandemic. Hopefully, the VFX team can get it together by the time of its release, or Warner Bros. Discovery could push the film back even further into 2023 to deliver the great superhero film that test screenings say The Flash is.
The Flash will premiere in theaters on June 16, 2023.