'Take an action-packed journey into the cinematic world of The Flash with this comprehensive collection of stunning images, behind-the-scenes stories, and interviews from the upcoming, highly anticipated film and its comic origins.
'Keep pace with the Fastest Man Alive with this compendium of facts and incredible images from the Super Hero's landmark film debut! The Flash Visual Companion satisfies your need for cinematic speed on every page, with making-of details and behind-the-scenes profiles of the characters, locations, and artefacts seen on screen, as well as an exploration of the Scarlet Speedster in comics, television, and beyond.
'Interviews with key cast and crew members, including Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, Ezra Miller, and more offer a one-of-a-kind look at the creation of the new film as well as the character's history on the page. The perfect gift for every fan who's been waiting for DC's iconic Scarlet Speedster to take the lead in a film of his own.'
I'm a fan of DC comics, and both Wally West and Barry Allen are in my top ten read comic book characters, 5th and 6th place respectively. Having read close to eight hundred comics with them in (and more than 1,300 if you include other speedsters like Jay Garrick and Bart Allen) I've been a fan of The Flash for a while, and was excited to see the character up on the big screen. I'm sure it's going to upset some 'passionate' fans to say this, but I was somewhat disappointed by what we got in both versions of The Justice League, and my excitement for the solo Flash movie fell; something that would only worsen when we started to see and hear more about the film before its release. But, as a fan of the characters in all of their other incarnations I was still willing to give The Flash: The Official Movie Companion a fair shot.
Having read through various movie companion books in the past I was excited to see some behind the scenes details, to read about how the story was plotted out, to look at all of the design sketches, behind the scenes construction photos, and post production work that went into the movie. Virtually none of this is in this book. Nor is it really about the movie, despite the title saying that.
The front cover gives this away somewhat, as even though Miller is front and centre in the image there are several other versions of the Flash behind them, including the Injustice game version, the comic counterpart, and the CW television series Flash. The CW Flash, played by Grant Gustin, will appear in this book a lot; as does the series. The back cover of the book, the contents page, and the introduction all show off images of the Flash speeding through Central City, taken from the series. The CW show is featured a fair bit in the first sections of the book, alongside the comics in order to fill out the background for the character and his world.
Topics like Barry getting his powers, the death of his mother, his relationship with Iris, Central City,his allies, and his Rogues all heavily pull from the comics. These sections of the book give those who might be unfamiliar with the character beyond the screen a chance to see what the source material is like; how else are they going to learn about characters like Abra Kadabra and The Turtle? However, this does lead to a pretty big revelation, that the film itself barely covers these things, and that the book needs to draw from other sources in order to fill in and flesh out the world of The Flash, because the movie doesn't.
These sections also end up being quite light on details, with perhaps a paragraph or two on each topic, such as the first Flash, the multiverse, the Flash Museum, and enemies like Grodd getting two of three sentences. Several of his most iconic villains like Captain Cold, Heatwave, Mirror Master, and Captain Boomerang are all thrown into one paragraph and barely get more than a name drop. The books promise of being filled with amazing facts proves to be an empty one for the early stages.
The second and third chapters, titles 'Super-Speed' and 'Flashback!' do at least begin to incorporate more of the film, and start showing some behind-the-scenes stuff. There's a paragraph about how the running scenes were filmed, accompanied by a page of images from the film, three paragraphs about the 'baby shower' scene that comes with some concept art (some of the first in the book), and largest section, with half a page of text, goes to how the Batcycle was made. The third chapter takes more time to talk about the film, chiefly discussing how Barry ends up in the Flashpoint-style timeline, and how they made certain choices for how the two Barry's will interact. Whilst this section puts more emphasis on the film it's information that's very light on real details, and pretty much just tells the reader stuff they saw on the big screen.
The final chapter 'Heroes and Villains' has the most time given over to the movie, but also demonstrates some of the worst aspects of the film; chiefly the reliance on Michael Keaton's Batman for nostalgia purposes and attention. The title page for this chapter is a full page image of Batman, and from here it becomes about Batman, Wayne Manor, the Batcave,the suit and gadgets, the vehicles. It's the most the book seems to have given over to actual behind-the-scenes stuff like concept art and set photos, and it's not even of the Flash. The rest of this chapter is rounded out with Supergirl and the Kryptonians.
The back of the book boasts interviews, including key cast members such as Keaton, Aflex, and Miller. What are these like? Almost non-existent. There are no segments of the book where you get to read an actual interview, there's no page given over to Miller talking about playing the Flash. Instead, the text incorporates a few word quotes from some of the cast and crew at times. These quotes are spread throughout the book, used to emphasise a point the writer was making, and barely add much. I honestly can't really remember the huge majority of them, and flicking through the book whilst writing this I can't even find any from Miller, or the two Batman actors (though I just might be missing them).
Is The Flash: The Official Movie Companion a good in depth dive into the movie? No. Not at all. Much of the book's contents cover things that aren't even a part of the film, and the bits that do feel more like half page snippets taken from promotional magazine articles. Even as a Flash fan I was struggling to find anything interesting or insightful in the book. The book served to highlight a lot of the issues the film had, whilst providing nothing new or interesting. And with a cover price of £29.99 it feels like a ridiculous price for what it is. I hate to talk badly about books, but this is a book that I'd honestly struggle to recommend to anyone. You can get more info from movie websites and social media, or by going to The Flash on Wikipedia. If you're absolutely desperate to read the book I'd suggest looking for a library copy over the cost of an actual purchase.
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