'Supergirl' Review: A Strong, But Flawed Step Forward For The DCU
James Gunn’s DCU continues to broaden its horizons with director Craig Gillespie’s Supergirl, a flawed, but highly entertaining punk rock superhero film that continues to pave a bright future for this extended universe.
‘Supergirl’ centers on Kara (Milly Alcock), cousin of Superman (David Corenswet), who has decided to spend most of her days on planets with red suns getting numb and inebriated instead of following in Clark’s footsteps. However, when her dog Krypto is poisoned by an insidious new enemy named Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts), she must race against the clock to save his life as she reluctantly brings along a precocious young girl named Ruthye (Eve Ridley) who is seeking vengeance of her own against him.
After making a brief, but memorable appearance in ‘Superman’, to see a film centered on Kara was compelling to say the least. Fortunately, what director Craig Gillespie has cooked up here is not only a crowd-pleasing blockbuster film, but a fascinating exploration into a fractured hero who needs to find hope before she becomes a symbol of it. Alcock thankfully is more than up to the task of carrying this superhero film on her shoulders, making Kara a deeply flawed, but lovable heroine worth becoming emotionally invested in.
Kara is essentially the antithesis of Clark, leading an aimless, self-destructive lifestyle that puts everyone at arm’s length until she meets Ruthye and slowly begins to shake herself out of apathy and neglect for those in need. Alcock’s charm and magnetism are able to bleed through in Kara’s ugliest and most heroic moments, making every turn of her journey emotionally compelling. Alcock especially shines in the film’s most vulnerable moments, whether it be flashbacks of her time on Krypton with her parents or in her intimate conversations with Ruthye. Ridley and Alcock have terrific chemistry, their unlikely, prickly pairing making for an endearing and emotionally charged dynamic throughout the film. However, if anyone walks away with this film, it’s Momoa as Lobo, a brash, cigar-smoking galactic bounty hunter whose path collides with the duo during their adventure.
Momoa, even after he was cast as Aquaman, made it repeatedly clear that Lobo was the comic book character he yearned to play most. After finally being handed the keys to the beloved troublemaker, he doesn’t waste a single second on screen. From the second he arrives on camera, he is visibly having the time of his life, essentially inhaling the scenery and spitting it back out with a devilish smile from ear to ear as he seemingly spits the ashes from his cigar at the audience. His gruff charm is on full display, making the believed character one of the film’s most prominent and memorable highlights.
Gillespie is no stranger to making female-driven films, ‘I, Tonya’ and ‘Cruella’ proving he’s adept at not only making female characters shine, but bouncing from genre to genre with a versatility and dexterity that doesn’t get the attention it deserves. This blockbuster film is no exception, his visual flair and confidence seeping through every frame. The set pieces are wonderfully grounded, tactile and dynamic, utilizing a great mixture of practical and digital effects. He’s able to imbue Kara with a singular fighting style of her own as she dispatches countless enemies in a way that would make her cousin blush at the sight. The cherry on top is the stellar production design and makeup work that compliments his vision, making the film’s visual aesthetic and atmosphere wildly immersive. Simply put, audiences will get plenty of popcorn entertainment with bite, the film feeling like a bombastic hybrid of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘Mad Max’, leaning far darker than audiences might expect.
However, this comic book film’s greatest strength is its heart which it has in hefty supply. The film does a terrific job at fleshing out Kara’s past which has clearly informed her corrosive present, utilizing flashbacks with her parents and Clark, once again played to perfection by Corenswet, to add dimensional depth to her character throughout. This is a character riddled with anger, anguish and emotional trauma, but her good nature can’t help but break through as her relationship deepens with Ruthye and she begins to confront her demons for better and worse. A perfect superhero isn’t nearly as compelling as one who’s flawed, Kara making a noticeably strong case for why that remains true. As a result, by the time Kara puts on her iconic suit, it feels earned and more importantly like a natural evolution for her character.
Unfortunately, this superhero fare is riddled with a handful of issues that hold it back from being a standout. First and foremost, the majority of the humor here simply doesn’t land, tired jokes taking up a good chunk of the film’s surprisingly lean runtime. The ones that do work are more so due to delivery from Alcock and Momoa than what’s on the page. Speaking of what’s on the page, there isn’t much here for Schoenaerts’ villain Krem. The character is as one-dimensional and uninteresting as antagonists can come, with very little for Schoenaerts to do other than awkwardly mug for the camera as Kara and Ruthye attempt to track him down and bring him to justice. Naturally, he becomes one of the more forgettable comic book villains in quite some time.
‘Supergirl’, despite its shortcomings, is another strong, steady step forward for Gunn’s DCU. Alcock and Momoa properly take ownership of these iconic characters as Gillespie paints a colorfully cosmic and enveloping playground for them to work within. The potential for this extended universe is slowly being realized, each new project carving out a unique and exciting corner. If anything is abundantly clear now, it’s that these beloved characters are in safe, assured hands.