Super Adequate

Took my 9-year-old daughter to see Supergirl yesterday, and we both thought it was fun. I had been looking forward to this one, for a few reasons. The first being that going to the movies with the kids has always been a favorite activity. And I was also a big fan of the comic book miniseries Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow that the film is based on.

I’m intrigued by the James Gunn era of DC cinema, and I’ve enjoyed some of his previous efforts in the short period he’s been at the helm. I tend to like the oddball stuff, like the Creature Commandos cartoon, which fires on all weird cylinders, but I also dug both seasons of Peacemaker. Back when Gunn was making tentpole Marvel films, I appreciated at least the first couple of Guardians of the Galaxy flicks—at the time, they were innovative and funny and action-packed in that summer popcorn way. I don’t base my identity around any of this, but if something’s quality, I’ll check it out.

Supergirl isn’t directed by Gunn, but it was one of the first films he put into production as head honcho of DC Studios, because he too was a big fan of the comic. Whether by dictate or directorial choice, Craig Gillespie seems obligated to follow Gunn’s most predictable flexes. For example, Gunn has pretty Catholic tastes in music, but for the most part his needle drops are solid. This and other familiar touches are deployed by Gillespie to somewhat lessened effect.

That makes the film easy to digest, but it also removes the freshness I was hoping the new DCU would commit to. Supergirl is “in the mold,” and like other things made on factory lines, there’s a certain homogeneity to it.

The cast is pretty great, at least the main attractions. Millie Alcock is super as this version of Kara, and Eve Ridley, who plays the kid character Ruthye, is solid too—though her character doesn’t have quite as much uniqueness as in the comic, which came through in overly loquacious, formal diatribes. I see why they trimmed some of that out, but in doing so she becomes more of a stock character.

Apart from a few striking shots, this also applies to the visuals. Guardians of the Galaxy is a clear touchstone, but Supergirl lacks that movie’s go-for-broke panache. There are sprinkles of Star Wars throughout, and a surprising amount of Mad Max, particularly in the villain—who’s just so-so, nothing as interesting as the comic version. And the idea of women kept as breeding slaves is straight out of Fury Road.

Jason Momoa plays Lobo—a comics favorite—in a standout performance. He rides a menacing steed, a.k.a. space motorcycle, and wields a cutting blade on a giant chain. He deals in heavy things like iron and exists outside conventional morality. He’s got blood-drinking fangs and red eyes, and is smeared in what looks like funerary ash. Lobo is an outlaw who honors his commitments; a fierce protector. As the guy who made Aquaman cool in movies I find the diametric opposite, Momoa was born to play this role. I expect we’ll see him again, and if my attention holds, I look forward to it.

Another bright spot is David Corenswet as Superman. He’s only in the picture for a few key beats, but every time he elevates the proceedings. He could be the best Supes of my lifetime—I’ve finally lived long enough to see somebody surpass Christopher Reeve.

One scene looked as though it had been shot on the Himalayan high plains, where an ailing Krypto is taken to see an Indigenous healer in her prayer-flag-bedecked yurt. It was a nice, small moment.

So there was plenty to like. You can take the ol’ brain out and give it a squeegee while you soak up the pretty colors, muted as they are. Not quite the Zack Snyder grayscale doom-macho aesthetic, but certainly not as eye-poppingly brilliant as Gunn’s Superman.

I don’t much care one way or another what happens with these IP behemoths, but Supergirl was a welcome distraction after a very intense week of work. And I’d probably even watch it again.