Review by Brad Balfour, Arts Editor
Film: “Supergirl”
Director: Craig Gillespie
screenplay: Ana Nogueira
Cast: Milly Alcock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, David Corenswet, Jason Momoa
As James Gunn’s DC Studios evolves, the latest feature hitting big screens is “Supergirl” offers a variation on a style and theme he’s explored in other films such as “Guardians of the Galaxy.” And, he’s brought in award-winning director Craig Gillespie as his analogue. The Australian-American unleashed Ana Nogueira’s script, largely based on the DC limited series/graphic novel of “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow” which details a very un-Supergirl-like Kara Zor-El. She’s on a revenge-driven course of action across stars and planets, weird cultures and aliens, with space battles and violent encounters leading to death and destruction.This is not our usual view of the character. She doesn’t even don the Supergirl outfit until 2/3rds of the way through the film. Once she has embraced it, the action commences. Then we see a Supergirl who kills and cries as she behaves in a very different way from her expected role as Superman’s little cousin from Krypton.
Created by Tom King and artist Bilquis Evely, the comic book’s narrative revolves around themes of hope, sacrifice and justice. It’s all expressed because of an effort to save a young girl, Ruthye (Eve Ridley), from following the despairing path that Kara has been on since she survived the collapse of her planet. Ruthye witnessed the execution of her parents by Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts) of the Yellow Hills, leader of the Brigands, a group of ruthless and brutal space pirates and human traffickers. Ruthye is bent on vengeance for her murdered family. After meeting Kara — who’s also been assaulted by them — the two join forces. Kara sort of adopts the 13-year-old as a surrogate sister, trying to save her from herself while flailing about through drunken bouts and morning-after hangovers.
Though the film breezes through a lot of the character development suggested throughout, the relationship between Kara and Ruthye is one that was worth exploring further. Some might find Kara’s pet Krypto — a cute addition to the Kryptonian catalog but the further the film progressed, the more I was glad the mutt had been immobilized by a slow-acting paralyzing drug that had been injected into it by the monstrous Krem. Though it’s a powerful motivating factor for the action it prompts, having Krypto out of the way for most of the film was a blessing. The few moments where we see the super powerful pup tearing it up was one of the things that made me want to send Kara and Krypton to an obedience class.
Aussie actress Milly Alcock stars in the dual role of Supergirl and Kryptonian survivor Kara Zor-El. She’s Kal-El’s cousin, son of scientist Jor-El, the man who detected and predicted Krypton’s demise from a collapsing planetary core. Lacking support from the government council, he rockets his infant son in a prototype pod all the way to Earth where the yellow sun can turn Kryptonians into super powerful beings. Her cousin becomes Superman/Clark Kent when the baby is discovered and adopted by the kindly Kents.
Meanwhile her father, Zor-El, tries to save a chunk of the destroyed planet Krypton. She watches as everyone around her dies, making her jaded rather than like her cousin Superman. As her dad, actor David Krumholtz, lends the character the nobility that was and, with Emily Beecham as his wife, expresses the elevated morality of Krypton. David Corenswet’s Superman provides a further counter to Kara’s despair and cynicism. Meanwhile, Jason Momoa, as the powerful bounty hunter Lobo, offers a humorous counterpoint to the grimness underlying this story.
So instead of being a predictable superhero as expected, we see her as an interplanetary nomad. She veers from getting drunk on Red Sun planets to being an all-powerful being who can rip up any assholes in her way. And when her starship is stolen by the Brigands, she’s really aroused to fight back.
For sure, this Supergirl exudes her own brand of heroism, predicated on the values instilled in her on Krypton — but always expressed on her own terms. She can be headstrong and reckless, but she also employs world-weary wisdom and a survivor’s practicality. Those traits get her through the many engagements and conflicts with the alien characters she encounters here.
Though not quite the complicated and dark version of the DC universe imbued in director Zack Snyder’s set of films, this movie recalls Marvel’s wildly funky cast of otherworldly characters seen in “The Guardians of The Galaxy trilogy (and a bit of the Avengers’ set as well.) There’s also a big visual injection of “Mad Max/Road Warrior” as punkified bad boys who inhabited post-apocalyptic Australia.
Behind the camera, Gillespie is joined by cinematographer Rob Hardy, production designer Neil Lamont, costume designers Anna B. Sheppard and Michael Mooney, visual effects supervisor Geoffrey Baumann, and all their teams who lavishly create this elaborate alternate universe. I can only imagine all the material that editors Tatiana S. Riegel and Fred Raskin had to put together to streamline this taut and energized production. Music supervisor Susan Jacobs and composer Claudia Sarne provide touches of edgy rock tunes and an anguished and energetic soundtrack. That further propels the film. And a film that includes a Wetleg track can’t be all bad.
All that being said, this is by no means a superhero film without flaws in its construction. Too many characters’ backstories could have been fleshed out; too many are just one-note sketches. The various aliens seen provide a rich landscape and I wanted to know more about the planets and sectors they came from. The retro-futuristic visuals were great but more context would have enhanced the film further. Sometimes, it felt like a series of set pieces truncated into a single two-hour film. Though I’m tired of streaming series that go on far too long — films offer a gratifying antidote to that — there are times when more could be better.
In any case, in this day and age of the revisionist rebooting of our mythic characters and classic hero tropes, this “Supergirl” is a refreshing touch, one worth seeing. Having a lot of it shot in Iceland and the highlands of Scotland just added to its alienness, while making it a bit of a galactic travelogue.