PLOT: A young girl (Eve Ridley) attempts to recruit Supergirl (Milly Alcock) to help her avenge the death of her family at the hands of an evil space pirate named Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts). However, when the villain poisons someone close to her, it becomes a race against time to find the antidote.
REVIEW: Supergirl arrives at a pivotal moment for James Gunn’s DCU. Its first film, Superman, was a success, albeit not a runaway one. It turned a profit but ultimately grossed less than Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel (not even adjusted for inflation), and wasn’t quite the game-changing blockbuster the studio likely hoped for. Supergirl attempts to build out this new world, but while its heroine is well cast, it ultimately feels like an assembly-line superhero movie that offers audiences very little they haven’t seen before.
Derivative of virtually every superhero film that’s come before it, and seemingly borrowing many story beats from Mad Max: Fury Road, it’s an underwhelming second entry in Gunn’s slate, given how this series of movies was supposed to offer something fresh. There’s nothing here that hasn’t already been done to death, especially in the action sequences, which rely heavily on speed-ramping and slow motion, techniques that feel dated (and very derivative of Snyder) rather than exciting. A fresh approach was sorely needed.
Everything people complain about when discussing franchise fatigue is present here. It’s a small-scale story that feels like a side quest, complete with a disposable villain in Matthias Schoenaerts’ Krem. While undeniably evil—he kills innocent civilians, traffics girls, and even mistreats poor Krypto—he’s essentially a watered-down version of Fury Road’s Immortan Joe, albeit in a distinctly PG-13 form. The Mad Max influences are plentiful, right down to the yellowish color palette. Add to that a nonstop barrage of needle drops that undercut any sense of tension, and you have a movie that plays like a watered-down “greatest hits” riff on other, better superhero films.
Director Craig Gillespie has made great movies, particularly female-driven fare such as I, Tonya and Cruella (I also loved his Fright Night remake), but he’s not a natural fit for a superhero movie. This lacks the personal stamp he brought to his earlier work. It feels less like a Craig Gillespie movie than an attempt to imitate James Gunn’s sensibilities.
Yet Supergirl does have a saving grace—and it’s a big one. Milly Alcock, despite all the online discourse surrounding her casting, is actually quite good as the believably tortured Supergirl (she’s a far cry from Helen Slater’s sunnier take on the role). More traumatized than her happy-go-lucky cousin (who pops up here and there and is once again played by David Corenswet), she initially comes off more as an antihero, with her not even donning the iconic costume until the climax. It’s a unique take on the character, and by the time the credits roll, Alcock convincingly conveys genuine growth, even if the movie itself doesn’t give her enough material to fully sell the arc. She’s good, even if the movie isn’t.
As for Jason Momoa’s much-hyped debut as Lobo, his role is limited, with him only popping in here and there. To me, he often feels like Aquaman with a different haircut, with the performance leaning heavily on the same swagger and personality that made Momoa’s previous DC role so popular. Still, he injects some much-needed energy into the movie, especially during a lengthy stretch where Supergirl is sidelined and Eve Ridley’s Ruthye takes over the narrative.
Here’s the thing: Supergirl isn’t terrible. The folks behind the DCU have clearly spent a ton of time and money trying to bring it up to snuff, but it feels like any other assembly-line studio blockbuster. There’s no distinct flavor or personal stamp. One reason the superhero genre has struggled in recent years is because too many filmmakers keep making the same movie over and over again. Milly Alcock proves she deserves the role, but Supergirl itself is disappointingly generic—a forgettable launch for a character who deserved something far more distinctive.