Flash Facts – “Pilot”
The Fastest Man Alive almost passed me by but I’m all caught up now!
Apparently The Flash pilot leaked last week and despite knowing a ton of nerds (Love you, guys!), I missed it so I’m playing catch-up! I was thinking of doing reviews for this show, along the same lines as my S.H.I.E.L.D reviews but after seeing the show, I have to because this is going to be a smash-hit so without further ado, let’s get going with our inaugral Flash Facts!
Clocking in at a standard 45 minutes, I was surprised at how well-paced but jam-packed this pilot was. It feels longer than it actually is but never feels bloated or bogged down. The story jogs along steadily, hitting all the beats you need along the way. Barry’s childhood, his present, his origin, his adjustment, his big damn hero moment and the juiciest stinger to whet your appetite for the rest of the series.
Grant Gustin already proved himself to be a likeable everyman in his appearance during Arrow and this further expands upon that by showing his relationships with his surrogate father, Joe West and his surrogate sister/best friend/prospective love interest, Iris. Jesse L. Martin and Candice Patton prove to be likeable characters and play well alongside Grant. Later, we’re introduced to “Team Flash” in the form of Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh), Cisco Ramon (Carlos Valdes) and Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker). Cavanagh’s character is indirectly responsible for the metahumans we’ll be seeing throughout this show’s run while Ramon and Snow are named characters from the comics whom I presume will be receiving their powers at some point. Team Flash don’t have a lot of time but you see enough to get their characters and motivations down (some more than others) and what the team’s dynamic will be like.
Other noteable cast members include Rick Cosnett as freshly transferred detective who has such a douchey face, you hate him before you even hear his name (Eddie Thawne, which will probably have dire consequences in the future) and John Wesley Shipp as Barry’s father. Shipp gets a nice bonding moment with Gustin late in the pilot that comes off as a passing of the torch between the Flash of the 90’s and the Flash of today. Even the villain of the week (Weather Wizard, though not explicitly named that) proves to be a great first challege for our novice hero!
The special effects are spectacular, especially for a TV adaptation, and while they sometimes stray a little towards Smallville shiteness, it’s more than bringing the Scarlet Speedster to life in an amazing way! I can’t wait to see what they can pull off!
I’ve refrained from heavy spoilers (I’ll probably get into those when the show airs proper) but for now, I can highly recommend this series! I’m not saying you should go out right now and find it but if you want to, it’s certainly there to find! We’re three months away from the series debut on October 7, so until then…
“I’ll be back in a Flash!”