Supergirl

DC continues their dive into the Kryptonian-universe with the next chapter: Supergirl. Directed by Craig Gillespie, a newcomer to the DCU, the film takes a different approach to Supergirl, her history and involvement with the universe.

The film’s plot follows Kara’s departure from the Fortress of Solitude. Kara (Milly Alcock) flies off into the space to celebrate her 23rd birthday on a planet with a red sun. The red sun dampens her Kryptonian powers, allowing her to feel drunk. While visiting the bar, Ruthye (Eve Ridley) enters, seeking help. Kara initially avoids the conflict, opting to celebrate on her own, but ends up roped in an intergalactic struggle with Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts). This evolves into a larger conflict where Kara must make a significant life defining choice.

The Characters and Performance

Most of the actor’s characters work for me. Milly’s performance captured a Supergirl coping with strong traumatic experiences from her past. One scene you could feel her angst with the development of her quest. The film does a great job weaving in her past and bringing us up to date, including how she met and adopted Krypto. Throughout the film, we watch Milly’s Supergirl character unfold and become the person who she wants to be and what her parents aspire her to become. Unlike Superman, Kara had a much edgier approach to handling conflict. Eve’s role as Ruthye, the determined child, also torn with trauma, worked. Focused on one goal, one mission, willing to risk it all came out strong. However, I question Ruthye’s combat history. The film failure to focus on her combat history leaves one scene in the film strange. Jason Momoa’s character, Lobo, didn’t work for me. In fact, I would argue the importance of adding him to the film. Was it a marketing decision? Name dropping for the sake of filling seats? The plot could have easily progressed without having Momoa’s character in the film. Krem followed what seems to be the curse of most super villains, where the antagonist becomes so caught up in monologuing they lose the battle. He presents himself as merciless, but it’s unclear when he becomes merciful? The flip-flopping of Krem took away from the film’s tone.

The film’s action slowly unfolds because we start with Kara on a red sun planet, but once they depart, Supergirl emerges. The scenes are fast-paced following the pattern of most comic books, slow open, discover a problem, become involved, make allies, and defeat the bad guys. Of course, the creative team throws logic and realism out the window for a superhero film. Several scenes left me wondering how a character survived or the logic behind decisions made. Also, we lose the sense of urgency that was present earlier in the film.

Overall, I did enjoy the film, and some issues brought up in the film matched some of the political struggles we see in our world today, which one of the character highlights. The film’s plot loosely follows the comic book, Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King, Bilquis Evely, and Matheus Lopes. As mentioned, there were scenes that didn’t sit well with me, thus making my overall ranking for it 3.5/5 stars. I really enjoyed Milly’s performance, despite the animosity she’s receiving on social media. I really loved seeing an edgier character and pointing out how Kara is not Kal-el. I appreciate how she differs from Melissa Benoist’s Supergirl with the flashbacks of Milly’s Kara’s history to support her actions. Remember, they are two completely different Kara’s from different universes, a point DC makes through its CW Flash series And comic books.

If you plan to watch it, let me know your thoughts and if you would like me to dive deeper with a “spoilers” review in the comments below. Enjoy the film.