By Ben Miller
You can blame Superman for plenty of the failures with Craig Gillespie's Supergirl. The critical and audience success of that entry reignited the DC Universe. Now, the expectations are too great and the middle-of-the-road film that follows is sure to be considered a disappointment.
It's not like the film does anything wrong, it's just slight. I love not having a plot hinge on universe-changing implications, but this film just establishes the Supergirl character enough to lead to other stories. Table-setting is always a part of the deal with these connected universe stories, but it's surrounded by such low stakes and forgettable characters, it's hard to care...
None of this is the fault of Milly Alcock, who gives her all to the character of Kara Zor-El/Supergirl. Any characterization of hers is lush, full, charismatic, and welcome. At the same time, despite making a Supergirl film, the filmmakers go out of their way to act like you should care about the Brigands, Kryptonian backstory, and the logistics of red, yellow, and green suns. It's a very busy film for essentially a plot that contains two simple story elements.
That plot revolves around Kara, who is celebrating her 23rd birthday by traveling the galaxy with her dog Krypto. She spends her time at planets with red suns, which allows her to get drunk. On one planet, 13-year-old Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley) seeks revenge after Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts), the leader of the space pirate group The Birgands, kills her family.
Ruthye attempts to recruit Kara to her cause, but the distraction allows Krem to steal Kara's ship and shoot Krypto with a poisonous dart. Needing the antidote from Krem, Kara heads out to confront him while Ruthye tags along seeking retribution. Along the way, the pair run into alien mercenary Lobo (Jason Momoa), who has business with the Brigands himself.
Supergirl very obviously wants to follow the ideals and style of James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy. While Gunn is on-board as a producer (and co-CEO of DC Studios), his trademark humor and wit is largely absent from this film. Gillespie and writer Ana Nogueira attempt to inject some fun and needle-drops, but it all feels like a copy of a copy. It's not bad or in any way offensive, it's just a film without a clear vision or style.
Not to keep comparing this film to Superman, but that film flipped the idea of what Superman had become as a character for the previous 10+ years. Instead of dark and brooding, Superman was light, hopeful, and eternally optimistic. He was also surrounded by memorable characters you wanted to spend time with when Superman wasn't around. Here, the moment Kara is off-screen or incapacitated is a moment wasted. Krem is not a very imposing villain, there isn't much to his characterization, and Schoenaerts certainly does nothing to differentiate him from the dozens of other comic book rogues.
Even Ruthye's quest for revenge falls victim to the same-old-same-old of superhero morality. Kara doesn't want Ruthye to kill Krem because she wants to preserve her humanity. As it often does, this morality leads to further death and destruction. The film makes brief attempts to reconcile this fact, but it very quickly moves that idea aside. The film's morality of multiple innocent deaths to save one innocent is never dealt with further. I'm fine with contradicting the personalities of Superman and Supergirl, but it never makes a ton of sense why they have to be so black-and-white.
Alcock seems to be the one actor with a firm grasp on her character. Kara is tortured by grief of loss of her home, family, and without a firm footing on where she should be. Alcock expresses this with a sly smile and insulated feelings. Physically, she puts on quite a show when the action calls for it. She is a more than capable superhero. Ridley does what she can, but Ruthye is very undercooked as a character outside of her quest for revenge. We learn very little about her as a person outside of her single-mindedness.
I haven't talked much about Momoa, because there isn't much he has to do. He looks imposing, makes quips, and is a capable fighter. He barely makes any difference in the plot, as he is shoehorned in at some action sequences and shows up in others for plot mechanics. I'm not exactly anticipating his next appearance. David Krumholtz and Emily Beecham do nice work as Kara's parents in flashbacks, while David Corenswet occasionally pops in to remind you how good he is as Superman.
More than anything, Supergirl is ultimately forgettable. There isn't much to hang your hat on, though I was mildly entertained. It's a terrible middle ground to be when you put this much money and effort into a large-scale universe. It's an underwhelming start for the character, despite Milly Alcock's best efforts.
Grade: B-/C+