For some people, birthdays are hard. They are reminders of grief. Of what they have lost in life. Of the people they can never speak to again. Of the home they lost. That is where Supergirl begins – with a young woman drinking her way around all those issues. And she has to do it by leaving Earth because it’s yellow sun does not allow her to get drunk.
On a red sun planet, Kara and Krypto find themselves drawn into a revenge plot by a teenage girl named Ruthye who watched some baddies kill her family. Kara is reluctant, but when Krypto is poisoned and the only person who has the antidote is the very person who killed Ruthye’s family, she goes on a jaunt across space in search of these men who also happen to sex-traffic women. This misadventure leads her to a planet with two suns. A yellow and a green. The green sun is her undoing while it’s high in the sky. Still, when the yellow sun rises, so does Kara.
There is a lot to enjoy about this film. Milly Alcock’s performance is perfect. She embodies who Kara is every moment of this film and it’s utterly brilliant. I could watch her play this character all day. Eve Ridley is great as Ruthye too as is Jason Momoa as the slightly unhinged Lobo. Action sequences are done well and put between emotional moments where Kara and Ruthye both embody what it is to carry grief with you. For me, the themes about revenge not offering the catharsis we crave are well established. Instead, Kara and Ruthye find friendship during their journey.
Where the movie falls a bit short is in the villain department. While this band of villains are cool to look at – their costumes and makeup are more Mad Max than anything else – they don’t offer much in the way of character development. They are just bad guys being bad guys. Also, the sex trafficking subplot is there but just barely. I get that Krypto is Kara’s link to Krypton and she her quest to save the dog is the core of the film, but she seems to only care about the female victims when they are right in front of her. Even Ruthye’s revenge plot takes a back seat to her need to save Krypto. In the end, Kara does save the women from these Mad Max style villains but only after Ruthye reminds her they are still alive. I would have loved to see that subplot be a larger part of the film, but Kara is young and the self-centeredness of youth is only just starting to wear off.
There’s a pretty good chance I liked this better than last year’s Superman but time will tell. Lex Luther was such a great villain in last year’s film that it elevated the movie. Supergirl lacked that good of a villain but it did offer up an emotional arc for two young women who are still growing into who they want to be. Their imperfection and youth is the strength of this film as it gives them room to grow. Also, I have a soft spot for seeing women be badasses in film so kudos to Milly Alcock for giving us that.
4 out of 5 stars. Supergirl is a fun comic book movie with a character who I hope will be a common fixture in the DCU going forward.
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Becky Tyler Art and Photography 
For some people, birthdays are hard. They are reminders of grief. Of what they have lost in life. Of the people they can never speak to again. Of the home they lost. That is where Supergirl begins – with a young woman drinking her way around all those issues. And she has to do it by leaving Earth because it’s yellow sun does not allow her to get drunk.
On a red sun planet, Kara and Krypto find themselves drawn into a revenge plot by a teenage girl named Ruthye who watched some baddies kill her family. Kara is reluctant, but when Krypto is poisoned and the only person who has the antidote is the very person who killed Ruthye’s family, she goes on a jaunt across space in search of these men who also happen to sex-traffic women. This misadventure leads her to a planet with two suns. A yellow and a green. The green sun is her undoing while it’s high in the sky. Still, when the yellow sun rises, so does Kara.
There is a lot to enjoy about this film. Milly Alcock’s performance is perfect. She embodies who Kara is every moment of this film and it’s utterly brilliant. I could watch her play this character all day. Eve Ridley is great as Ruthye too as is Jason Momoa as the slightly unhinged Lobo. Action sequences are done well and put between emotional moments where Kara and Ruthye both embody what it is to carry grief with you. For me, the themes about revenge not offering the catharsis we crave are well established. Instead, Kara and Ruthye find friendship during their journey.
Where the movie falls a bit short is in the villain department. While this band of villains are cool to look at – their costumes and makeup are more Mad Max than anything else – they don’t offer much in the way of character development. They are just bad guys being bad guys. Also, the sex trafficking subplot is there but just barely. I get that Krypto is Kara’s link to Krypton and she her quest to save the dog is the core of the film, but she seems to only care about the female victims when they are right in front of her. Even Ruthye’s revenge plot takes a back seat to her need to save Krypto. In the end, Kara does save the women from these Mad Max style villains but only after Ruthye reminds her they are still alive. I would have loved to see that subplot be a larger part of the film, but Kara is young and the self-centeredness of youth is only just starting to wear off.
There’s a pretty good chance I liked this better than last year’s Superman but time will tell. Lex Luther was such a great villain in last year’s film that it elevated the movie. Supergirl lacked that good of a villain but it did offer up an emotional arc for two young women who are still growing into who they want to be. Their imperfection and youth is the strength of this film as it gives them room to grow. Also, I have a soft spot for seeing women be badasses in film so kudos to Milly Alcock for giving us that.
4 out of 5 stars. Supergirl is a fun comic book movie with a character who I hope will be a common fixture in the DCU going forward.
Discover more from Becky Tyler Art and Photography
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
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