You might witness famous moments in history. Or shake hands with that legendary icon of the past. Maybe you’d play those old winning lottery numbers or invest in Google.

But when the novelty wore off, I bet many of us would use our power to go back and fix the tragedies of our lives. We’re only human, after all.

And isn’t that the same thing superhumans do? Stop tragedies from happening. That’s where we find Barry Allen in “The Flash.” Feeling hopeless about his innocent father’s trial for the murder of his mother, Barry determines he can use his speed to run back in time and make things right. Two birds, one stone—save Mom, the free Dad.

If only it were that easy. The theme of the movie is spoken by Barry’s mom in a flashback of obvious foreshadowing: “Not every problem has a solution.” It’s a cliche in time travel stories at this point, and in “The Flash,” it’s shoved down the audience’s collective throat.

Sure enough, by meddling in the past, Barry makes things much worse. But it sure does make for an entertaining movie. Barry lands in a different version of his world where he picks up superhero variants like Supergirl (Sasha Calle)—she’s awesome, here’s hoping for a spinoff—and my favorite Batman of all time (Michael Keaton). Together, they fly into action against the returning General Zod (Michael Shannon).

There are buttloads of wild cameos not seen in the trailer—which I won’t reveal here, but good luck avoiding spoilers on social media—and none of it would be possible without Barry’s headfirst dive into the newly fractured multiverse.

Is it enjoyable? Absolutely. Is it pretty? Eh, not always. I felt like I was the one who traveled back in time when watching the dead eyes of a computer-generated Barry—reminiscent of the soulless gazes from the 2000s in titles like “Beowulf” or “The Polar Express.” During several scenes, I was so glued to the bad CGI that I couldn’t pull away to look at anything else.

Unlike Barry’s predicament, these visual problems did have a solution. But coming in with a $220 million production budget, maybe the project was tapped out. Director Andy Muschietti tried to defend the look:

“The idea, of course, is … we are in the perspective of the Flash. Everything is distorted in terms of lights and textures. We enter this ‘Waterworld,’ which is basically being in Barry’s POV. It was part of the design, so if it looks a little weird to you that was intended.”

That’s like a chef saying, “Yes, I understand your steak tastes weird, but that’s what I was going for. Bon appétit!” Even if it’s intentional, that doesn’t make it better.

Fortunately, there’s enough suspense and excitement going on in “The Flash” that some crappy CGI doesn’t ruin the meal. And despite lead Ezra Miller’s recent allegations of grooming, abuse, and harassment—personal tragedies that may derail his career in the long run—he gives an amusing and heartfelt performance as multiple Flash variants.

It’s action-packed, nostalgic and full of DC lore that will please even the mildest superhero fan.

If I could go back in time, I’d happily watch it again.

Stars: 3.5/5