Supergirl Movie – Review
We are only about a year and a half into the new James Gunn and Peter Safran’s led DCU. This has included two television series and two movies: Superman and the recently released Supergirl. We are eagerly waiting to see how this new shared universe works out.
How does Supergirl do in evaluating this project? It depends on how you look at it.
Supergirl has received very mixed, leaning to negative, reviews. The movie is also looking to be struggling financially in the theatres. That is rather disappointing.
But having seen the movie, I have a different reaction. I happened to have loved the movie!
We can all agree that Supergirl is very different from Superman, both in terms of movies and characters. In fact, the few appearances of Superman in the movie highlight this.
I think that many of the concerns about the movie are based on misunderstanding of what the movie is trying to be. Supergirl is not trying to be a bright and cheerful hero battling a well developed villain.
The movie is really about a young woman who experiences severe trauma who ends up trying to help a younger girl in her own trauma from taking a step from which there is no coming back.
Criticisms of Krem’s portrayal miss the point. He is not supposed to be a three dimensional character with a developed backstory. He is supposed to be a cruel and unredeemable villain whose actions seem to demand harsh justice. It is almost as if he removes all obstacles to receive vengence.
I thought Milly Alcock did a fantastic job as Supergirl. I had my doubts when it was first announced but she proved herself. She made me believe that she was going through the emotional journey that we are witnessing.
And then there is Lobo. Jason Mamoa was born to be Lobo. He is fun and violent and I have doubt we will see him again. Probably fighting Superman.
But what about the bad reviews and lack of ticket sales?
I would say that Supergirl did something better and that is it told a great story. While not a perfect movie, it is better than most of the recent Marvel movies and most of the previous DCEU.
We have a tremendous portrayal of Supergirl that has been introduced into the DCU. She will continue to appear in other movies even if she never gets a sequel.
