FILM REVIEW: Supergirl
‘Supergirl’ brings us a blockbuster adaptation inspired by the much loved comic book ‘Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow’. It is the first live-action Supergirl film since 1984 and it was about damn time that this character was brought into the forefront, and I am so glad she is getting the space she deserves. I saw the film earlier this week and here is my non-spoiler review.
‘Supergirl’ goes a long way to expand the world that has already been built in ‘Superman’ and throws us into a space adventure which is drastically different in tone and dynamic. That is not a criticism and I don’t mean to compare the two, but it just goes to show how vast this universe is and really shows the difference in the two characters. The film follows Supergirl (Milly Alcock) as she celebrates her birthday, at a bar on a planet with a red sun she comes across Ruthye (Eve Ridley) who is on a quest to get revenge on Krem of The Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts) for the murder of her family. Whilst Ruthye pursues Supergirl for her help in tracking him down and killing him, Krypto is poisoned and the only cure is carried by Krem himself who swiftly flees the location. In a desperate bid to save her dog, Supergirl tries to track him down with Ruthye beside her.
The story itself is solid and is one that audiences even outside of the DC Fandom would really enjoy which I feel is just as important as impressing the fans. As a female fan, it is great to get a relatable take on Supergirl like this, even if it is about a superpowered alien, she feels real, and she acts and speaks like the 23 year old she is. The film offers the chance for young, messy and totally NORMAL women to be seen and appreciated. Belonging, loss and consequence are the big themes in this film and that’s something we can all relate to. What I think some people have found issue with is the fact that whilst it is inspired by the original comic book ‘Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow’ it is not an exact copy and Director, Craig Gillespie has been very upfront about the fact that he purposefully did not read the comic before making this film. This film has a different tone entirely, but keeps most of the key plot points and heart and emotion of the original comic in tact, though there are some changes to the original story that I don’t agree with towards the end.
The visuals are great, as is the cinematography, seeing the different atmospheres and planets come to life was just incredible to see. The action is one of my favourite thing about this film, Supergirl is badass, she’s a practical fighter and is very tactful in the actions that she takes. Seeing that alongside the chaos that Lobo (Jason Momoa) brings makes for a great contrast which is just entertaining to say the least. Similarly to ‘Superman’ the use of practical effects really heightens the experience for this film and makes you appreciate the work that goes into creating a film of this scale. A highlight for me was the portrayal of Krypton, there are full scenes in full Kryptonese/Kryptonian, not only was that seriously impressive, but it really brought the planet to life in a way we haven’t seen done before.
Milly Alcock was spectacular as Supergirl, she was perfect. As they describe in this film she’s a little grumpy, she feels genuine, authentic and still has the endearing goodness that Superman has, but with a bit of an edge. She brings raw emotion and a speck of humour and chaos to the character and I love the drastic contrast between both her and Clark in terms of personalities. Though it does seem that she mentions his secret identity to strangers a little too often which felt a little odd to me.
Krypto once again stole the show in every scene he was featured in, I myself have a young and unruly pooch and every scene where he misbehaves brought me back to my dog, that was also the most emotional part for me. When I got home after seeing the film, I hugged my dog tighter. Eve Ridley who plays Ruthye was fantastic in this, for such a young talent, I was seriously impressed. Again, the raw emotion that she brought to the table was incredible and I loved the bond that she and Supergirl had together. Jason Momoa as Lobo was tremendous, he really was born to play that role, but I have to say there were a few lines that I felt were a little bit corny, but overall he nailed it and I’d love to see more.
There were a few things that I was disappointed with, firstly the score – whilst I adored the use of the soundtrack and the selections were on point, there wasn’t a moment where I got those goosebumps from the score itself and the action aligning, which for a superhero feature is unusual. Secondly, whilst I adored Momoa’s take on Lobo, I feel he wasn’t actually needed for this film. He was wildly entertaining and I could imagine no other taking on the role, but I think I would have liked a different introduction to him.
‘Supergirl’ was a fresh and bold new take on the character. It brought realism, hope and raw emotion to a larger than life character . I don’t think it’s as universal as ‘Superman’,due to it having some much darker themes along the way but I fell in love with Supergirl even more so during this film. But Alcock & Gillespie have just brought a brand new role model to the forefront for young women and I’m totally here for it. Oh, and don’t mess with dogs!
‘Supergirl‘ is out in cinemas worldwide RIGHT NOW! What are you waiting for… go see it for yourself! Oh – and don’t stick around for a post credit scene for this one, there isn’t one.
