Awards Radar Community: Share Your ‘Elemental’ and ‘The Flash’ Reactions!

This weekend, two really big films are hitting theaters. There’s a Pixar animated offering in Elemental and a massive superhero movie in The Flash. Both are appealing to wide audiences, though obviously they can’t both catch on with everyone. Still, with yours truly having seen and liked both a lot, it’s a really strong slate this weekend. So, this latest Awards Radar Community Question is aimed at those who have checked out the flicks. In short, if you see Elemental and/or The Flash…what are your thoughts?

First up, we have Pixar’s latest in Elemental. An old-fashioned love story meets a high concept and cutting edge visuals, resulting in a really nice time at the movies. In my review from earlier in the week, I had this here to say about the charming Pixar effort:

When you sit down to watch a Pixar film, you have a certain set of expectations. You go in expecting a story fit for adults and children alike, alongside some cutting edge visual achievements. Well, not only do you get that with their latest effort in Elemental, but there’s a bonus as well. What Pixar is doing with this movie is telling an old-fashioned love story. In fact, it’s the animation giant’s first romantic comedy. Unsurprisingly, the studio is a good fit for the rom-com, which also has an immigrant story subtext, in addition to some technological achievements that will boggle your mind.

Elemental is a classic Hollywood romantic comedy, which is a definite compliment. The budding romance of our central characters is lovely. Additionally, the social commentary at play fits well within the rom-com vibe. If the overall plot is a bit thin, with a crammed in almost action subplot that’s not as engaging as the rest, it’s just what prevents this from being a full-on Pixar classic. That being said, it’s still incredibly warm (no pun intended) and supremely entertaining.

The other big release is, of course, The Flash. Now, the Ezra Miller of it all has complicated things, but taken just as cinema, it’s a supremely entertaining DC effort, with some major surprises that will thrill fans. My review here a few weeks ago for the flick began as such:

Now this is what the DCEU was capable of. With a few exceptions, much of what DC and Warner Bros. was doing with their superheroes tended to underwhelm. Sure, the Snyderverse, as it was called, had its fans, but nothing ever consistently clicked. Now, with that world closed, here comes at long last The Flash, which is the sort of big, fun, and even emotional, adventure that we knew they had the abilities to do. It’s perhaps too late for the prior era of DC and WB filmmaking, with James Gunn taking over to go in a new direction, but if nothing else, it shows just how good a well done version of this can be.

The Flash mixes heart, humor, and large scale action to tell an epic story that ties in so much. I’ll be sure to steer clear of spoilers, of course, but I will advise you all to do the same. So many of the surprises work best when they wash over you without knowing them in advance. Now, you won’t enjoy this any less, but seeing it as blind as possible is a plus.

What are your thoughts on Elemental and The Flash? Let us know!