Warner Bros. may have put too much stock in the hype train for The Flash, with the reviews and box office projections hardly reflective of a movie the studio had spent months hyping as one of the greatest comic book adaptations of all-time.
That doesn’t mean it won’t be a fun time at the theaters – and it’ll almost certainly do a decent turn at the box office – but the cynics were out in force when the celebrity endorsements started rolling in. Tom Cruise and Stephen King were just two of the names to praise The Flash, but the skeptics were out in force at the mere suggestion the Mission: Impossible icon was so effusive in his assessment.
Confirming the story once and for all in an interview with Total Film, director Andy Muschietti reflected on such titans of industry having a soft spot for the Scarlet Speedster’s long-awaited solo debut.
“If anything, [we got] more confidence in the thing that we did, because the movie was finished by the time that [Cruise and King] saw it, so it was a confidence boost if anything.”
His sister and producer Barbara echoed those sentiments, spilling the dirt on Cruise calling up The Flash team and gushing over their hard work for 15 minutes, which must have been as big a pat on the back as any.
“It’s a very cynical industry, and to hear people that really have no skin in the game, because they have nothing to gain, just say something that lovely – in the case of Tom Cruise, he called us, talked for 15 minutes, praising Andy, praising the film, and it just feels very good because we really work very hard to make these movies.”
If it’s good enough for Tom Cruise, then that’ll be enough for a lot of people. However, the proof will be in the pudding, by which we mean the number of paying customers who show up on opening weekend. That being said, the A-lister will no doubt be one of them, seeing as he makes a point of watching almost everything that releases at the multiplex while undercover.
