IR Film Review: SUPERGIRL [Warner Bros.]
"Supergirl" hasn’t been attempted in a while...and rightly so in some ways because it has to get the tone right. With Milly Alcock, they have cast completely right but somehow the story doesn’t quite feel up to snuff and the villain a little too eccentric. There are moments when it really locks in like when Kara at one point jumps into orbit off a dying planet. Her devil may care attitude works well. The story is about helping Krypto so that does make sense. But the adjoining story of a little girl who needs help and the bad villain Krem (played by a well hidden Mathew Schoenaerts) doesn’t quite hit right. Even Jason Momoa as Lobo seems to be holding back a little. The thing is director Craig Gillespie is on the verge of making it exceptionally cool. Kara is not Clark. She tries to lead the straight and narrow but she is conflicted and always will be. She doesn’t pull any punches. There is no sympathy for Krem but also Schoenaerts plays him just with evil cruelty and not a sense of purpose or explicit intelligence. That is why Zod made so much sense. Director Muschietti made Kara in a different form in "The Flash" into something much darker which was cool in a different way. It is too bad "The Flash" failed because it was actually pretty good overall.
“Supergirl” actually is a better movie than the recent "Superman" but that has to do with perhaps the actor. David Corenswet is not bad but the characterization is nowhere as good as Henry Cavill. Gunn’s "Superman" was all over the place. "Supergirl" is more focused like Star Wars combined with an older form Superman. The fact that is even Lobo is tamed down. Granted Momoa said the only way to do a solo Lobo movie is a full R. Supergirl as an R rated film would have worked too but it also wants to be aimed at both teen girls and boys. It is just the throughline with Krem and human trafficking as well as the vengeful Ruthye (Eve Ridley) tries to tick off too many boxes. It needs to feel full "Guardians Of The Galaxy". Alcock again has the chops and the timing. She has the stakes (but the film also has a contradiction in it that lingers: that question of Superman was why he was sent to Earth from Gunn's earlier film). Whether that was changed or not by Lex Luthor really does cause a conflict for what Kara’s parents want of her. She is not there to protect Kal-El which is what was indicated in the past.
After a pretty cool yellow sun transformation in orbit which really plays to its strength, the rest of the film just progresses through set pieces that don’t really give the stakes like one would like. "The Flash" suffered from the same problem but made up for it in the end. Ruthye is part of the story problem but not the cause. Gillespie faced a similar issue with "Cruella" which was great for the most part but it was able to stick the landing better. Kara’s final action is correct and that was done well and for the right reasons. "Supergirl" isn’t bad but it is not really that great save for the fact that Milly is exactly the right choice to play her. Many of her character points are good but the mission and the villain (albeit he is great actor) just don’t work as well as they should. B-
By Tim Wassberg
