1 of 6 | Milly Alcock is “Supergirl,” in theaters Friday. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment and DC
Supergirl’s cameo at the end of last year’s Superman introduced a different take on the heroine from the 1984 movie and six-season TV series. Supergirl, in theaters Friday, makes a strong case for the new Supergirl.
Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) is turning 23 sometime this week, and is getting drunk on planets with red suns that don’t give her superpowers (or metabolism). Into one such bar enters Ruthye (Eve Ridley), a 13-year-old seeking revenge on the brigand Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts) who murdered her family.
Kara doesn’t want to get involved but she doesn’t like seeing big aliens bully Ruthye. Then Krem shoots her dog, Krypto, with poison, so now Kara has to find him in three days to get the antidote.
Between Kara’s sarcastic sense of humor, and her begrudging partnership with Ruthye, this Supergirl is more like a buddy cop movie. Alcock’s delivery is impeccable, and adjusts her bravado depending on the scene partner, from bimbo to confrontational.
Without superpowers, Kara is still scrappy, taking down aliens larger than her strategically. When Sklarian Raiders rob the interplanetary bus she and Ruthye are riding, Kara improvises with a teleporter she stole off the leader.
Yellow suns not only quickly cure Kara’s hangover, but she recharges her superpowers so Supergirl still delivers on heat vision and flying.
Too many fights happen in front of screens. The red sun planets also give much of the film the unfortunate aesthetic of a dank dive bar.
People complain the 1984 Supergirl had cheesy effects but at least they looked like she was interacting with things. And when Helen Slater flew in front of a screen, the screen was also live-action filmed footage, not a computer animated background.
Alas, this is how superhero movies are made now. Alcock is still performing impressive feats in front of those screens, and with the help of stunt doubles they’re all accomplished athletes.
Many of the aliens are achieved with practical makeup applied to actors, or people wearing full suits such as an endearing blob who attempts to hit on Kara at a bar.
Superman (David Corenswet) himself appears in the film, lending further continuity. First, he sends Kara video calls, but appears directly in flashbacks to her arrival on Earth after he had already grown up into Superman.
Flashbacks to Krypto as a puppy also provide adorable reprieves while Krypto is ailing in the present. The launch of Argo City from the ruins of Krypton, and Kara being the lone survivor after growing up there, poignantly establish why it’s harder for her to make Earth a second home.
Focusing on the differences in their upbringings also deftly avoids potentially sexist notions like “the female Superman is a hot mess.” The sarcasm is a defense mechanism for a very real wound, though one not quite as bleak as that faced by The Flash’s Kara (Sasha Calle).
Ruthye also questions why Kara isn’t called Superwoman, in an appropriately brief meta update to the character’s 1950s origin.
Kara tries to spare Ruthye the inevitable dissatisfaction revenge would bring, which has become such a cliche in movies that viewers often forget it’s still true. Ruthye does get to say she’s allowed to freak out, which is a good reminder to well-meaning people who want to silence uncomfortable feelings.
Kara and Ruthye’s travels also introduce them to Lobo (Jason Momoa), a very R-rated DC Comics character. Though toned down for the PG-13 Supergirl, the character, which is even more flamboyant than Aquaman, is a strong fit for Momoa.
The film seems reluctant, though, to reckon with what kind of villain Krem is. Ruthye got away but Krem leads a gang of sex traffickers.
While a film like Mad Max: Fury Road can confront such horrors and empower its survivors, this film only uses it to make sure viewers want to see Krem get punched a lot by Kara. That is a bit simplistic considering what it invokes.
The needle drop soundtrack fits in with the films that producer James Gunn directs himself. Sleigh Bells’ “This Summer,” Halsey’s “Safeword” and a cover of “The Middle” by Keltye Greye and KidMotel are among the pop songs scoring Kara’s intergalactic adventure.
For viewers looking for a Supergirl who more embodies Clark Kent’s idealism, both the 1984 movie and all six seasons of the CBS/CW series are all worth watching. This is a new Supergirl and she’s a lot of fun.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
