At the end of my review of last year’s Superman, I mentioned how the director (James Gunn) made a playlist for each of the main characters of the film.
For Supergirl, Spotify created a list specifically for the title character, I assume, to ensure we knew Kara Zor-El is not at all like her more famous cousin. While he is all about fighting for the American way, she is more along the lines of “whatever”. I’m not against a protagonist having this type of lifestyle, but it is sad when you feel this way when leaving a film like Supergirl.
Produced (but not directed) by James Gunn, the film picks up more or less after Superman, with Kara (Milly Alcock) celebrating her birthday week with her dog Krypto, binge drinking, and listening/dancing to music (plus a brief moment of watching Casablanca). As shown in the trailers, Krypto is poisoned by Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts), and Kara/Supergirl has only three days to track him and the antidote down. Meanwhile, a young girl named Ruthye (Eve Ridley) recruits Kara to help her kill Krem after he has massacred Ruthye’s family (ala True Grit).
There is also the introduction of Lobo (Jason Momoa), who is described as “an immortal with a God complex”. So, basically, Jason Momoa.
Alcock truly does a fantastic job in the main role, and Momoa is having the time of his life in his role. Yet what makes the film suffer is it felt (at least to me) a bit too rushed. I’m not sure if Gunn (and director Craig Gillespie) filmed this right after Superman, but it seems like it could have used some more editing in the story department.
Speaking of editing, the special effects are really not that good. Granted, they don’t reach below the line the way The Flash (2023) did, but that is one heck of a low bar. What is on the screen is basically a small step above gloppy.
Parents, the film is PG-13, mainly for images of peril, some strong swearing (no F bombs), and smoking (thanks to Lobo). If your kids saw last year’s Superman, they should be fine here.
While the film was not directed by a female, a female writer (Ana Nogueira) was used. While I am all for female empowerment, it was somewhat refreshing to have a screenplay that focused more on human drama (in this case, dealing with anger and revenge) than just fempowerment.
Sadly, the overall film is less than copacetic, leaving you with the feeling of being less super and more suboptimal.
Overall:
Nothing else to say 