io9 asked Andy Muschietti and his sister, Barbara Muschietti, the producer of the film, why the sound effects in the film look weird compared to the ultra-slick, often realistic effects seen in most big blockbuster superhero movies. The interviewer quoted an early scene in the movie where the Flash rescues a dozen babies who had been blown up from the window of a maternity ward, dozens of floors above the street. Because the Flash can move so fast, he can hook up falling pieces of rubble, catch babies and string them on a stretcher, and then guide them safely to the ground. But why did the babies look so strange? Barbara jokes that they actually use real dolls. Andy later explained:
“Of course the idea is… we’re in the Flash’s perspective. […] Everything is broken in terms of lights and textures. We enter this ‘water world’ which is basically Barry’s point of view. That was part of the design, so if that sounds a bit odd to you, that was the intent.”
Indeed, all of the weird-looking CGI moments, including the Superman cameos, happened while The Flash was in the middle of using his speed powers to slow the world down. If the flash travels faster than the speed of light, it makes sense that it perceives light and gravity differently. The movie doesn’t have technoblog scenes to explain it, but it’s also a large, expensive superhero fantasy, so a little artificiality is appropriate.
Popular, “Batman Begins” that distorts realism After all, it came out 18 years ago. Also, “The Flash” is part of the same universe as “Aquaman”. Maybe obeying the laws of gravity and realism isn’t that important anymore.