The Flash (1992)

Superman and Batman get to star in their own movies, and now every superhero wants one. The Flash should have stayed on the TV schedule — the sleekly photographed, 94-minute premiere of the one-season series is a sugar-free screen treat. As a forensic scientist transformed into DC Comics' super-speedster, Shipp's Barry Allen is believably bewildered — and when he meets fellow scientist Pays, believably bewitched. Despite its stylization, The Flash resonates with genuine human emotion: When Barry cuddles in bed with his girlfriend (Paula Marshall), finds his cop brother (Tim Thomerson) killed by a terrorist cycle gang, or speaks at graveside with their grieving father (M. Emmet Walsh), this film evinces emotions, rather than effects, that are special. B+