Milly Alcock’s DC Universe superhero bursts onto screens with her own solo movie. Here’s our Supergirl review. Superhero films have taken a bit of a dip, haven’t they? Much has been written about Marvel’s post- Avengers: Endgame momentum, and James Gunn’s DC universe is only just getting started after David Corenswet’s Superman flew into our ... Supergirl review | The Woman Of Tomorrow takes flight
Milly Alcock’s DC Universe superhero bursts onto screens with her own solo movie. Here’s our Supergirl review.
Superhero films have taken a bit of a dip, haven’t they? Much has been written about Marvel’s post- Avengers: Endgame momentum, and James Gunn’s DC universe is only just getting started after David Corenswet’s Superman flew into our lives last summer.
That latter film’s obviously notable here. In it, Milly Alcock made a short, but memorable appearance in that film as Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, Clark Kent’s cousin. As promised, she gets the full spotlight now in Supergirl, directed by Craig Gillespie.
Based on the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic books, we meet Kara on a pub crawl, trying to drink away her deep-set depression. Clark is trying to get her to come home to Earth or to at least cheer up a bit during her birthday week. Yet an encounter with young Ruthye, a child on a revenge mission after her whole family has been killed, throws Kara’s life into even more chaos.
Fun stuff. And if you’re expecting a cheery superhero film with a heroine flying around in a colourful outfit and spitting one liners in the James Gunn style, you won’t be getting it. There’s a couple memorable jokes, but there’s also a lot of dead kids, human trafficking and a poisoned dog – as well as the aforementioned alcoholism and depression.
Yet it’s really a shame Gillespie hasn’t found more to do with such a premise. Supergirl could have broken some new ground in the world of superhero movies by resisting the usual conventions, but instead, Gillespie drives straight towards them. After a promising start, Gillespie’s efforts to mix Star Wars and Guardians Of The Galaxy into something coherent mostly fall flat.
Superhero villains have also proven to be tricky to master. From Doomsday to Kaecilius, both Marvel and DC have struggled to make the villains as memorable as their heroes. In Supergirl, Matthias Schoenaerts’ Krem is a weak, unmemorable villain with weird contact lenses who mostly exists to sneer at the camera without much effect.
Despite all its flaws, there is a lot to highlight here, too. Alcock is excellent as is Eve Ridley as Ruthye and the two have great chemistry. Their journey and growing friendship is what keeps Supergirl moving and just as the film threatens to fall apart, it’s them two who pull it back together. The surprisingly dark themes of the film are a nice change of pace to the usual superhero fodder (although Thunderbolts deserves credit there) Alcock is able to mix the character’s vulnerability and messiness into something that hints at DC’s willingness to put characters first.
Jason Momoa is Lobo, a role he has been chasing for years and while he’s not a huge part of the film, he sure leaves an impression. Lobo isn’t part of the original comics that the film is based on and his inclusion does feel a little surface-level but the character brings some much-needed levity to the film without allowing it to dip into ridicule. And keep your ears peeled for that long-rumoured Seth Rogen voice cameo!
Good but not great, then. Solid on the surface with a wobbly base.
Supergirl is messier than Gunn’s more classic Superman, but it offers a much more compelling character with bigger, bolder themes. It’s an effort that should be applauded even if the execution lacks. Alcock’s Kara will return in next summer’s Superman: Man Of Tomorrow, but she deserves a sequel of her own. Alcock has such a great grip on her character and she deserves a better solo outing. If we’re willing to make three Ant-Man films and two Aquaman films, surely there’s room for another Supergirl movie?
Supergirl is in cinemas 25th June.
