Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, joins forces with an unlikely companion on an interstellar journey of vengeance and justice when an unexpected adversary strikes too close to home.
(C) Warner Bros.
Look (not up), if there's one thing the film fully succeeds at, it's making us want more of Milly Alcock's Kara Zor-El. With a different upbringing, she serves as a perfect contrast to Gunn's Clark Kent. This also creates the foundation for a compelling character journey, and Alcock delivers the emotional beats needed to portray it. And yes, everyone's going to want to be friends with Kara. By the end of the film, she firmly establishes herself as a must-see character in this universe.
This makes it even more frustrating that the elements around her can't quite keep up. The film has plenty of action that fans want to see. It has a space aesthetic similar to that of Guardians of the Galaxy. It even borrows a theme from Mad Max: Fury Road, which arguably fits well here. Despite all this, the film becomes somewhat boring in the middle, feeling like we're simply following the characters from point A to point B. It's a bit contrived. There's always a glimpse that we're heading toward something great, but the film never quite gets there.
Instead, we're given various so-called needle drops that many people—including me—would probably love. And to a point, I did. However, it turns out even I have a limit for that sort of thing. Jason Momoa is pretty cool as Lobo, but how many times do we really need another cool shot of him? Perhaps there's not quite enough variation between them to justify repeating the idea. Some of the action also doesn't fully land because of how it's presented on screen.
But when it does work, it's pretty cool. For instance, the final action sequences are excellent: you can clearly follow what's happening, and the stakes are easy to understand. Eve Ridley joins the action and does a great job. When the payoffs for Ruthye's and Kara's character journeys arrive, the film still manages to feel rewarding.
Supergirl is a decent superhero adventure. Despite the glimpses of what it could have been, what we ultimately get still has a heart worth following. It has just enough elements that work to keep it from being dismissed as merely "whatever." 3/5.
