Movie review
June 13, 2023 · 144 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The Flash is a 2023 superhero movie where Barry Allen uses his super speed to travel back in time and try to save his mother from being murdered. This change creates a dangerous new world with no other heroes, so he must work with a younger version of himself, an older Batman, and Supergirl to stop General Zod and set things right. The story centers on family pain, the results of messing with time, and personal growth through action and some humor. The lead actor is openly non-binary, and Supergirl is played by a Latina actress in a big heroic role.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Flash.
Woke representation / casting
The lead is played by openly non-binary actor Ezra Miller, and major roles like Supergirl feature Latina actress Sasha Calle while Iris West features Black actress Kiersey Clemons. These add visible diversity and some source-material mismatches in prominent heroic and supporting parts, though the film treats them as standard modern casting rather than highlighted identity priorities.
Woke political dialogue
No activist speeches, identity lectures, or political arguments appear in the dialogue or scenes.
Identity-driven story themes
The plot lightly explores personal growth and versions of self through the two Barrys plus family bonds and time-travel regrets, but these stay emotional and action-focused without modern identity politics or social-justice framing.
Western institutional / cultural critique
The story supports heroism, family loyalty, and personal responsibility without criticizing traditional masculinity, patriarchy, or Western institutions as broken systems.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. Timeline and situation changes serve the time-travel adventure and emotional arcs rather than ideological rewrites of characters or history.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Some viewers and commentary tied skepticism or avoidance to the lead actor's non-binary public identity and progressive cultural ties, often alongside personal scandals, though few treated the story itself as actively pushing woke or DEI messaging.
Creator track record context
Director Andy Muschietti builds emotional genre stories with little activist history. Writer Christina Hodson brings female-centric experience and mild diversity-in-industry efforts, but the team overall lacks repeated strong identity-driven or left-political creative patterns.
Production
