We might as well call this movie “Stuporgirl.”
“Supergirl” represents Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El A.K.A. Supergirl as a young drunk played by Mily Alcock and trying to numb the pain of her tragic past, while letting her dog Krypto pee on a newspaper with Superman’s picture on it. Yes, apparently, if you saw James Gunn’s “Superman” last year, you would know that the super dog is Supergirl’s pet in this version. And she’s also the kind of drunk who would buy an icee and a cup of alien insect pellets at an alien convenient store. Even she thinks it’s gross, but was her eyes opened or was she still groggy from the booze?
If you ask me, that cameo was one of the few lame elements of an otherwise good DC entry. And her extension into a feature film doesn’t give her justice. Pun intended, and I’ve used that before. It tries to be like “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Mad Max,” and while it has some better choices than “Borderlands” did in that combination, I still don’t see anything lively or exciting about “Supergirl.”
The villains of the film are a band of brigands, whose leader Kram (Matthias Schoenaerts) has a lot of piercings on his face, murders the family of a young girl named Ruthye (Eve Ridley), and shoots a poison dart at Krypto. The dog has only three days to live, unless Supergirl and Ruthye can find Kram, who holds the antidote on himself.
There are many planets with different colored suns Supergirl travels to. Yellow suns gives her powers, red suns allow her to drink excessively like she should be in a “Hangover” or “Binge” sequel, and green suns are kryptonite. You know. Superman’s weakness. In fact, it’s anyone born on Krypton’s weakness.
In his first DC role since playing Aquaman in “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” Jason Momoa basically has Kiss make-up on as the cigar-smoking motorcyclist Lobo. He probably would have been better suited for his own movie, but we don’t really get to know him, other than the fact that he looks cool and I guess he would be on Supergirl and Ruthye’s side.
Even though this “Supergirl” is a short film running for about an hour and 50 minutes, I still think it takes too long for her to overcome a green sun and to get Krypto’s antidote off the villain. I basically felt the same way with the fights in “Mission: Impossible-The Final Reckoning” and “Avatar: Fire & Ash.” Only I’m glad the dog is CGI, because as an uncle to two dogs, I would have felt worse if it was a real dog.
The movie tries to be emotional by showing Supergirl her backstory when her father (David Krumholtz) sent her and Krypto to Earth where she would eventually find Superman (David Corenswet). And it tries to show her vulnerabilities regarding her emotions. Alcock is a cute actress to portray her, but I think even after all this, Supergirl is kind of a jerk and a cynic. And I don’t even think she watches movies, because she should know better than to drink tea that strangers offer her.
“Supergirl” is still produced by Gunn and is now directed by Craig Gillespie, and both these filmmakers have done better and can do better than succumb to the cliches and mannerisms that come in. I have nothing against female superhero movies. After all, I praised both “Wonder Woman” movies. But this one just doesn’t cut it. I know there are those of you who are ambitious out it, so I’ll throw you a bone. I’ll give you one spoiler alert: no post credit scene. And this is your reaction: “What?! I’m glad I wasted my time.”