Movie studios have a lot to do in order to finish a film. Departments have budgets slashed, and deadlines pushed up, and as a result, sometimes things aren't quite as polished as they can be. One of the easiest departments in which you can see where there's been an issue with things like that is in the visual effects area. They always say that CGI should be subtle - you should never notice good CGI but you will always notice bad CGI. And that, unfortunately, would appear to be the case with DC's The Flash, which has just opened in theaters.
Ezra Miller's Barry Allen - the titular Flash - runs fast, we know that, and it's difficult to portray that realistically, given it's not actually possible. He runs so fast - "the Speed Force" - that things are a blur. And when he runs so fast he can turn back time - "the Chrono Bowl" - things don't get blurred. They get... bad. Whenever the movie ventures into the realms of the Speed Force or Chrono Bowl, any non-Barry human character appears noticeably peculiar. It's as if the filmmakers had to adhere to a strict release schedule and were unable to fully polish the visual effects.
One sequence stands out slightly more than others, and it's at the very beginning of the film. Barry, while waiting for a sandwich, gets a call and heads to Gotham City to help out Ben Affleck's Bruce Wayne as he attempts to stop a hospital building from collapsing. As this happens, a full nursery of babies - and their midwife on duty - plunge to what will surely be a horrible opening to a lighthearted film. The effects, for want of a better term, do not look great. Think Breaking Dawn's Renesmee Cullen but somehow less human.
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It's Meant to Look Like That
However, the director and producer partners Andy and Barbara Muschietti have now addressed the potential issues with the CGI - and clarified that it was entirely their intention to make the effects look unrealistic - if that is actually something people wanted to see. Speaking to Gizmodo, Barbara said, "No, we used all real babies," before Andy added: “The idea, of course, is...we are in the perspective of the Flash. Everything is distorted in terms of lights and textures. We enter this ‘waterworld’ which is basically being in Barry’s POV. It was part of the design so if it looks a little weird to you that was intended.”
If you've already seen the film, maybe you'll be slightly unconvinced. That said, it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the film - it's just a shame it wasn't a bit less distracting. The Flash is in theaters now.
