The Flash has very quickly established itself as a confident, effervescent superhero show, one that has been firing on all cylinders right from episode one. A spin-off from Arrow, the show has only aired nine episodes thus far, but they have been nine of the most enjoyable comic book adventures yet committed to celluloid. Currently holding a 96% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, The Flash hit the ground running and shows no signs of letting up. Given that The Flash is made by the same production team as Arrow, it is obvious that they learned from any teething problems that it experienced in its early days and made sure they would not be repeated with this show. In its early episodes, Arrow sometimes struggled to balance its tone, veering awkwardly from attempts at gritty realism to sub-par teen romance. The Flash has, thus far, experienced none of this and actually has one of the best tones of any comic book adaptation yet produced. It is fun and enjoyable, a light-hearted romp in many ways, but also manages to pull things back with more serious elements that somehow don't feeling jarring or tacked on. A lot of credit has to go to the cast, who are uniformly excellent. Grant Gustin has an innate likeability as Barry Allen, a boyish charm that is offset by his capable handling of the more dramatic elements. His relationship with Jesse L. Martin's Detective Joe West is played to perfection. The chemistry between the two actors is brilliant, making what could have been a cliched 'father figure who doles out sage wisdom' character into a fully realised person; their interactions feel entirely real. The show also benefits from some top special effects and magnificent production design. Pure, unadulterated fun.
