‘The Flash’ proves beyond doubt the biggest curse in the DCU is being branded ‘the best since The Dark Knight’

Christopher Nolan has a lot to answer for after delivering one of the greatest comic book adaptations, direct sequels, and blockbusters in general when The Dark Knight arrived to worldwide acclaim in the summer of 2008, with The Flash the latest to end up being sucked into its tractor beam.

Almost every single time a DC-branded follow-up, reinvention, or reboot edges closer and closer to release, the early buzz more often than not touts it as “the best DC movie/sequel since The Dark Knight,” only for audiences to be left feeling somewhat burned every time. It happened with Wonder Woman 1984, The Batman, The Suicide Squad, Shazam!, Aquaman, and Black Adam to name but a few, but how many of them turned out to genuinely be as good as Nolan’s all-time classic?

The reasonable answer – bar an exception or two depending on your personal preference – would be none, and The Flash is merely the most recent to fall into the trap. Touted as one of the best superhero spectaculars of the modern age by everyone from James Gunn to Tom Cruise, the first wave of reviews have proven to be every bit as polarizing as star Ezra Miller.

While there are a lot of critics out there who showered the Scarlet Speedster’s long-awaited debut with the highest of praise, there are just as many who failed to see where all of the hype came from. Manufacturing buzz is a key part of the marketing for any big budget epic with designs on conquering the box office, but let’s hope that Warner Bros., DC, and James Gunn try and nip the whole “best since The Dark Knight” thing in the bud as soon as possible, because it’s getting real tiring.