Film Review : "Supergirl'

 Time to get some things straight after hearing a lot of opinions online about this movie from people who have never read a "Supergirl" comic. To be honest, it's unlikely that director Craig Gillespie has ever read one either. Before we get started here, let me say I do not give a fuck about the opinions someone might have regarding a superhero movie if they have never read the source material, because they obviously do not know what they are talking about. Granted, in today's world, not knowing what you are talking about is more common on social media than not. This dismissal is not a one-way street, as I also extend it to movie critics, who are quick to scream superhero fatigue as they don't understand that comic books are the modern-day mythology and that being faithful to them is more important than making a hip art film worthy of an Oscar.

So while I am not going to dogpile any Superhero movie since it's the thing to do as a critic, it's important to remember that this blog is a comic book blog first and foremost. But on the other side of the coin, I am not so invested in wanting there to be a good female superhero movie that I am going to throw things out like a decent script and ignore CGI that looks like it is straight from the late 90s CW. If you want a movie with a strong female superhero to bolster whatever agenda you have, that is not happening here. She does not fully use her powers until the last 20 minutes of the movie. This is not unique to this movie. Hollywood writers don't know how to make an all-powerful characr relatable, so they dampen or strip them of their powers. This was first noted in the first Thor movie, but it is a recurring trope now because these writers don't read the comic books, so have no clue how to write the characters. 

Milly Alcock does fine in the role; she is just working off a terrible script. If they had her play the role a little more like the portrayal from the Flash movie, it would have worked better. I am mena even the CW's portrayal works better than her being a drunk. Jason Momoa's Lobo is a little underwhelming, not sure how he was contained in a prison cell for part of the movie, as he is only vulnerable to a rare lizard bacteria in the comics. He was better as Lobo than as his Point Break version of Aquaman.. The movie as a whole is a patchwork of the Mad Max movies, Star Wars, and Guardians of the Galaxy, when the budget of the movie might have been better spent grounding the movie in Metropolis and have ber facing a version of Brianic that addressed AI and perhaps modeled him after Elon Musk, but James Gunn is showing his hand as having a limited vision for what the DC Universe can be.

If you are just a fan of the character and want to see Kara on the screen, then brace yourself for a less-than-faithful version, but an actress who fits the look well. At the end of the day the lack of box office receipts is what will bury this movie, but it's not a terrible movie, perhaps it would have worked better if  it had been the Sydney Sweeny Barbarella instead as they did not want to make a super hero movie.