SUPERGIRL - - The New New Punk Rock

Review by Adam Donato

A new female led superhero movie is coming out. Surely audiences will be reasonable about this one. Supergirl is the second movie in James Gunn’s DCU following last year’s hit, Superman. The title character is played by budding House of Dragon star, Milly Alcock. James Gunn promised that this new universe’s superhero movies will not be rushed into production without a solid script. Since Gunn can’t direct all of them, he turned over directing duties to Craig Gillespie with a script by Ana Nogueira. There was a Supergirl show about a decade ago, but the last time Supergirl had her own movie was in the mid 80’s and everyone hated it. Can audiences continue to carry the goodwill from last year’s Superman in this crowded summer box office landscape?

While James Gunn didn’t direct, his fingerprints are all over this one. It feels like last year’s Superman meets Guardians of the Galaxy. Both are beloved movies. You get the Superman Esq. hero who can fly around with super strength while wearing a bright red and blue costume. You also get the swashbuckling space adventure with an edgy hero set to a fun soundtrack. The Supergirl movie is strikingly similar to 2019’s Captain Marvel. A superhero of red and blue with her super powered pet. She flies around space with her bad attitude. Captain Marvel made a billion dollars, but was met with middling reviews. The superhero genre has reached peak levels of over saturation for cinephiles during the past decade. Luckily, Supergirl has some clear differences to these movies. 

The popular claim against Captain Marvel would be that she isn’t very likable. The difference is that Supergirl is likable and is clearly having lots of fun during this movie. Unlike Captain Marvel, Supergirl actually remembers her tragic backstory so it’s easier to forgive her character flaws and sympathize with her. She cracks jokes that are actually funny and has plenty of personality. To calm toxic male nerds, Supergirl isn’t some hyper feminist actively trying to alienate male audiences. Surely that crowd will still find something to complain about as they always do. Female audiences are sure to connect more with the cool Supergirl over the likes of wooden Wonder Woman and psycho Harley Quinn. 

This being the second movie in the establishment of a new cinematic universe and being a very similar concept to the first movie means there’s a lot of pressure on this one. While this does expand the universe literally as we’re off on an adventure to distant worlds and in space, the movie isn’t preoccupied with setting up Easter eggs for future films. The movie stands on its own in a way that most other superhero movies don’t these days. The stakes aren’t this big world ending disaster. The fate of the world isn’t at stake, the fate of Supergirl’s world is at stake. Can Supergirl stop the bad guys to save her dog? She’s like a superpowered John Wick in space. Who can’t relate to doing everything you can to protect your baby?

Superman does have a presence in the film, but he’s confined to short video calls. Every time he shows up in the film, it’s a delight. We’re in the same universe and are building upon the foundation, but still being our own thing. Supergirl has such a distinct personality that contrasts Superman’s. So while they may have a similar past, powers and look, they complement each other in an interesting way. He’s an optimistic dork boy. She’s a pessimistic cool degenerate. Their opposing worldviews are explored in this film. The contrast in each character’s arcs in their own movies and just the overall contrasting approach to both of these movies is fascinating. 

Joining Supergirl on her odyssey is a teenage girl who seeks vengeance played by Eve Ridley. They certainly have a dynamic that is frequent in movies like these. Our hero is accompanied by a small child they have to protect. It does somewhat feel unique in that it’s not an old man paired with a little girl. Here it’s more of a big sister relationship. Her arc works really well with Supergirl’s arc. She’s not overpowered, but is able to prove useful on the mission. 

It’s known nerd lore that Jason Momoa has desperately wanted to play Lobo for over a decade now. It’s very clear through his performance that he is on cloud nine getting to play this character. The look is spot on to the comic book character. He’s such a vain douchebag, but in a very fun way. His priorities somewhat align with our hero’s, which gives him the opportunity to periodically show up throughout this adventure. He was a fun interpretation of Aquaman, but it’s clear Lobo is the character he was born to play. 

The villain is arguably the weakest part of the film. Krem, played by Matthias Schoenaerts, is an alien who bullies the weak for his own evil purposes. While he does some things that give strong personal beef for our heroes, his transgressions aren’t personal to him. He faces off with our heroes throughout, but there’s nothing to talk about. The performance is filled with odd, silly choices, but he’s this very serious character. The look isn’t very interesting either as he’s just a dude with a bunch of tiny balls stuck to his face. Big whiff. 

Speaking of aliens, there’s so many practical aliens in this movie. There’s a couple moments that are reminiscent of the cantina scene from Star Wars. While there’s no fun alien music, it’s still so exciting to explore the different types of alien goons. It really helps to flesh out the universe and make this space world seem distinct from other science fiction franchises. 

If you’re tired of superhero movies or just plain hate women, then this movie is not for you. For everyone else, Supergirl is a fun ride with some heart. It’s a crowded box office for female centric blockbusters as Toy Story 5 is an absolute hit and the Moana live action remake is only two weeks away. Supergirl stands tall with the best of the female led superhero movies of the past. It’s sure to ruffle some feathers, but that’s very much so her M.O..

Supergirl flies into theaters June 26th!

Rating: 4/5