Supergirl (Movie Review)

Not to be upstaged by the Man of Steel himself, the Girl of Steel flies into action in her own dedicated movie, the second overall film of the Gods and Monsters phase in the James Gunn-led DC Universe. And while we've gotten quite a few iterations of the character over the years, in movies like The Flash and shows like Supergirl and Smallville, this one marks her first standalone movie since the ill-fated 1984 Helen Slater film of the same name. So does this one manage to soar where that one fumbled, or does it mark a costly misstep for the DCU?

The film opens with Kara aka. Supergirl in the midst of her week-long 23rd birthday celebration, just as she'd hinted at during her Superman cameo. We.are soon introduced to the villain, Krem, a fine specimen from a clan of so-called Brigands with an affinity for young girls. Do with that information what you will. Kara is soon swept up in a race-against-time mission to save Krypto when the superdog gets shot by one of Krem's poisonous darts. And she is joined by a young girl with a thirst for vengeance. Oh, yeah, and they run into Lobo at some point too.

From the moment she'd made her debut in last year's Superman, something about this particular iteration of Supergirl rubbed me the wrong way. Perhaps it was her carefree, party girl disposition. Something about the writing for the character seemed, for lack of a better word, forced, like they really wanted to communicate how different from prior iterations this one was. But it just ended up making her come across as insufferable. Which was a shame because I really love the actress, Milly Alcock, especially after her star-making turn as young Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon. 

So the decision to have the very next movie in the newly-minted DCU center upon her was certainly an interesting one. I say all that to establish the fact that I had minimal hype heading into Supergirl. The trailers certainly didn't do much to move the needle either, from their generic, cookie-cutter space adventure look, by way of Guardians of the Galaxy, to the questionable song choice. But I knew I still had to give the movie a fair shot. After all, they've been many movies in the past that I had little hope for that ended up blowing me away. Sadly, this one won't be joining their ranks.

Right out of the gate, I could tell I was in for a rough two hours. The visual of Krypto taking a piss on a news clipping of Superman was a strong statenent of intent. And it doesn't take long into the movie for the plot holes and various contrivances to rear their heads. A part of me is still unclear what Krem's ultimate goal was. The film tells us it is the propagation of his clan but yet he still seems to treat his "brides" like disposable objects. The same thing goes for Lobo, who seemed to be just there for a bounty but perhaps not? The film doesn't seem to be able to make up its mind.

And it is such details that makes me wish that someone had given the script a few more passes during the writing stage. Or at least gotten more competent writers to help bring it closer to the finish line. Because there are certain elements that could have made for a compelling enough narrative. The stuff on Krypton was nice to see as well as other bits of Kara's backstory doled out through flashbacks. But the film seems content with being a jumbled up mess of ideas that never fully congeals into something worthwhile. 

At least there's the action, right? Well, it pains me to report that even that is muddled and hard to follow, owing to the one-two punch of choppy editing and too many closeups. The cinematography definitely left a lot to be desired but the film's technical shortcomings extend well beyond just that. Even the sound mixing felt off, with important dialogue often clashing with background music, resulting in an experience I can only describe as headache inducing. The songs themselves range from borderline jarring to terribly on the nose, right down to the cover version of Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle" that plays during the climax.

I realize that this review has turned out quite negative. I suppose this is merely a reflection of my experience with the movie. But as I always try to do in all my reviews, I'll keep things balanced by also highlighting what I liked about the film. In terms of positives, the Supergirl suit did look good on Milly Alcock and it was a joy to see her don it for the climactic battle. It was also nice seeing David Corenswet as Superman once again; his scenes were certainly a highlight, as they slowed things down to let the movie breathe. But those moments were few and far between, and not enough to save what is essentially a poorly made film.

Supergirl might not be the worst comic book movie ever released, but it damn well puts in a valiant effort for that dishonor. It is rare for a film to fail on so many fronts but this one somehow manages to do just that. It tries so hard to be a female-centric superhero film for younger audiences, from the quirky humor to the song choices, that it forgets what makes these superhero movies worth watching in the first place: their heart, soul and overall sense of awe and wonder. And while a few missteps should be expected with any franchise or cinematic universe, I worry to think what one this early might mean for the DCU going forward.