I will say up front I have been a Supergirl fan for a long time and I have to say up front that I never thought she would get another solo big screen movie. So at a gut level, I am thrilled by this.
I will also say that I am not a fan of Tom King's Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow so I don't know if I am thrilled that the solo big screen movie is based on that work.
And there is a lot to mull over about how this movie really has embraced the drunk, angry, sad party girl vibe from that book. From intoxicated cameo in the Superman movie to the 'Look Out' earliest teaser poster to the this latest poster with the 'Truth. Justice. Whatever.' tagline, it all seems to veer into the edgy, nihilistic, depressed Kara from that mini-series.
Yesterday the teaser trailer dropped (here in case you didn't see it yet - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqdAEdkHrwo ) and it is visually stunning throughout. There is more of that same tone for the majority of the trailer. There is a lot I could focus on that shows me a Supergirl I don't want to see.
But I am going to choose to focus on one image in the trailer that gives me some hope. And when I link it to the brief synopsis of the movie at the end of this, I might even have more hope. Because all along, I thought this might be a redemption movie. That Kara sees the ultimate destination if she stays on the road she is on in the damaged, lover Lobo and she does some good for Ruthye, and ultimately decides that maybe she should be more like her cousin. That would fit with the James Gunn pattern of misguided, somewhat shady protagonist veering to the light for sure. The preview feels very Guardians of the Galaxy.
I have to have hope.
So if this is a hero's journey of a sort, you have to start at a low point. And we sure do.
Krypto peeing on a newspaper applauding Superman for doing good. Another headline shows Supergirl congratulated for saving cats. You can't read the byline but I bet Clark wrote that and had it put in to help his cousin.
Anyways, Kara is shaking off what must be a killer hangover in her live-in trailer, thrilled Krypto mostly hit the paper.
I mean really ... peeing on Superman? A bit on the nose. And a bit off-putting. But clearly we are trying to set a tone.
Now I will say that Milly Alcock looks great in the Supergirl costume and is able to so some acting chops even in this brief trailer.
But like Woman of Tomorrow, we see her in a bar, getting drunk, celebrating her 23rd birthday (aging her up a bit from the comic) and hoping it will be a better year than the last.
And then, we see her jamming to Blondie in the old west style saloon, a bit out of control.
The visuals are great.
We see Ruthye.
And we get this really stunning shot of Argo City having the force field dome activated to save them. We see Kara in white robes on Krypton in what appears to be a funeral procession.
But she bemoans that not everyone was lost in one day. The gods aren't kind. You might recall that Tom King made his own Supergirl timeline to smush all the trauma she has dealt with in multiple continuities into his own depressing one.
Still, Argo City and Kara walking its streets look great.
And then some action as Supergirl stomps on people in a bar.
Throughout the trailer we see solid action sequences. From saving Ruthye by flying out of the bar to swinging construction equipment to bash more bad guys, she looks impressive.
I didn't think they'd include the 'poisoned, dying Krypto' subplot but it looks like it was there.
And then a 'blink and you miss it', look at Lobo, mostly in shadows.
So overall, for the vast majority of the trailer, it looks like the depressing, dark, edgy Woman of Tomorrow.
But it ends with this shot. While she says she is different than Superman because he sees the good in everyone and she sees the truth, the image itself is inspirational and hopeful.
She's smiling. The sun is behind her. No more duster jacket. Maybe this is the ending when she sees a new path.
This is the most important image I took away from all this.
And then one more nugget.
Apparently a brief synopsis of the movie dropped. Here is one link:
And here it is:
DC Studios’ Supergirl hits theaters this summer, starring Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl. When an unexpected and ruthless enemy threatens, Kara Zor-El is forced, against her will, to team up with an unlikely companion. Together, they embark on an epic cosmic journey where revenge and justice are at stake – and where Kara must confront her origins to find her own path as a hero.
Interesting.
She is 'forced against her will' to team up with Lobo? Perhaps he is who is hunting Krem and Kara is along for the ride?
She has to find her own path as a hero? As long as she ends up as one!
Interesting.
Hopeful.
It's been a while since I last read Woman of Tomorrow but I seem to recall Kara not being keen to get involved until the attack on Krypto so I think it is her that the synopsis is referring to rather than Lobo
ReplyDeleteBased on literally nothing I think Lobo's involvement is going to be quite limited and can see him standing in for Comet at the end as a super flying man horse might be slightly too much to explain even for James Gunn (I know he neither wrote or directed it but, presumably, did have to approve it)
On the whole though I think it was an excellent teaser and whilst it probably isn't possible for me to be looking forward to the movie more than I was it was possible for me to start being concerned about it and this did not do that. So two thumbs up
I read the synopsis and based on the book, as the unlikely companion being ‘Ruythe’.
ReplyDeleteAs for Lobo’s involvement, as he is not featured in the original comic, I could only imagine him being hired by Krem as a bounty hunter to get rid of her but soon sees the errors of his ways (possibly by brute force, when Kara puts the slap down on him), rather than something romantic.
I think trailer was good but it's going to reignite conversation about Tom King's Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow were a lot of people going to be pretending to be experts on the character because they read that book
ReplyDeleteWell, it looks to be a faithful adaptation of a comic book I didn’t enjoy, and Millie Alcock seems good in the part.
ReplyDeleteI think I’ll dislike the story less as a film than as a comic because the print version was presented alongside the character we were currently reading about in Action and elsewhere, implying it was the same Supergirl, though I don’t recall that actually being stated… anyway, the world of the film is its own thing, screen audiences have already been introduced to this version of Supergirl, and now we get to see her show a heroic side too.
Let’s just hope some of the more awful aspects of the comic have been excised, such as Kara’s idea of an appropriate public event for a disturbed little girl to attend.
Oh, and I really hate a Krypto that’s not housetrained!
I shall be there on the first day and hopefully will enjoy it for what it is.
I haven't read it in ages, but there was a Mark Waid mini-series in Brave and the Bold with an issue with Supergirl and Lobo. I recall it was funny, Lobo being the crude horny fellow he is. Maybe that will form the basis of their interaction in the film. (Is it too much to assume the writer and Gunn did that deep a dive? Someone could have pointed it out to them.)
ReplyDeleteWoman of Tomorrow doesn't have much humor apart from vomiting (which I suppose we will see), or not that I remember, but a James Gunn film is going to have plenty of it. And viewers are going to want and need them too - this will be mass entertainment, not a miserable and violent, dreary slog.
Like in Superman, nothing was better than watching Mr. Terrific roll his eyes. And Krypto was humor especially for the kids.
Hopefully they will change the plot enough to find a way for Krypto to not be unconscious for the whole film.
T.N.
Thanks for great comments. Really appreciate.
ReplyDeleteTN, love the point that as mass entertainment it can't be the feast of depression King gave us.
Mart, I'll also be there first day. I can be hopeful too. And I just worry that the movie somehow translates as *the* version even into the comics.
And Anon, I have already heard some of the 'Supergirl experts' on line misrepresenting her comic history. I'll just be here doing my job and hoping I get noticed!
Seriously, thanks everyone for the comments.
Yeah i am not a fan of that book also but i don't care i am just excited to see Supergirl in the big screen and the trailer gives me some hope that it want all bad.
ReplyDeleteTo tell you the truth a Kara that has fun but has some issues is a good premise, i just hope they nailed it and most important the movie is a success so we can see more or Kara adventures and i kind a like how milly alcock looks as Supergirl and i hope to see her again in more projects.
Although i am scared that even that won't matter in the long run with what's happening at WB with who is get to own them next, if Netflix get's them then it's game over but Paramount too may want a reboot of their own.
Prior to the trailer drop, it was my suspicion that at the end of the day, this movie would likely bomb and we'd be right back where we started with Supergirl by the end of next year (ergo, no dedicated feature and DC with no clue what to do with her). NOW I am firmly convinced "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow" will be a huge huge hit and this millstone will be affixed around our necks for the next decade. Why? Because there was not a single original idea or even a frame thereof in the entire trailer, it oscillates continually between "The Guardians of the Galaxy" and "True Grit" and it oscillates quite shamelessly too. Nothing succeeds like shameless plagiarism, it's as if the movie is grabbing the audience by the lapels shrieking and begging "Love meee I'll anything you want!!! Hey kids!! This is kewl raaaaight!??". Something this awful will no doubt land atop a vast pile of money, truckling pays after all. All the same I will see it, and despite venting grandly hereon, I will try to form an honest unbiased opinion, then again this is comic books and movies, and a complete lack of bias is boring :) :) :) JF
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy to think we've had both a TV show and now this movie in the last 10 years. Looking forward to seeing the film. It's too early to say, but at least from the trailer this looks to be fun, maybe even a little lighter than the source material. I'm curious to see what Kara's point of view of Krypton and it's destruction. Also, remember in the Superman movie we're led to believe that Superman was sent to Earth to conquer it. I wonder if this will be addressed in this movie and if Kara has anything to say about that. I'm hoping that we get to see moments where Supergirl's compassion shines through while they are planet hopping. Can't wait. I'll be there the first day too!
ReplyDeleteLastly, I hope that this movie gets more people to read and explore other Supergirl comics and media, not just the graphic novel that the movie is based on. Her history and her many iterations from the sliver age to present are fascinating in their own right.
It's been a little while since I checked in on this little blog. However, I was curious how many on here would start backpedaling after seeing the Supergirl teaser trailer hit all its marks. Disney/Marvel are probably sweating a bit about their Avengers retread for next summer already.
ReplyDeleteCertainly a teaser trailer isn't going to explain all its plot points in the span of a couple of minutes or so. But this is probably the first time a comic book-based movie actually promoted its source material explicitly. That's a huge win for comics.
Also, I've been enjoying how the trailer made sure to provoke and bait the haters, so that the flick would have lasting buzz around it prior to actual premiere. Misogynists and James Gunn haters unite! Genre geeks so conditioned to having Producer/auteurs like George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Kevin Fiege shape their imaginary universes with heavy handedness are spinning wild with conspiracies that Gunn actually directed, even though the trailer went out of its way to credit real director Craig Gillespie TWICE. If some of the outer space trappings and clothing look a bit like Guardians Of The Galaxy, that's not really a BAD thing; since all three of those movies were massive hits, so general audiences will find this movie's setting comfortable as well....since it's got be plenty of other unsettling scenes to unpack (such as the destruction of Krypton, and subsequently Argo City).
I do find it hilarious that there's still a fan contingent that were hoping for 'Super Purity Girl' to ogle at instead. Sorry, but that persona's not contemporary. Seems that this year's Superman flick pretty much set up that Kara was going to have more of a CBGB vibe than her cousin could ever hope to be. Loved the fact that the trailer uses Blondie's "Call Me" for a theme of urgency, ad I'm old enough to remember that the tune originally came from another, seemingly unrelated movie.
Milly Alcock definitely has the rising star chops to make this movie work easily. Jason Mamoa is going to be the hook for the guys to join in, which is wise that DC Studio's is rolling out his appearance in this film very slowly. Interesting that story author Tom King was originally inspired by Mark Waid's initial teaming of Lobo and Supergirl in his proposal for this story. Now perhaps we'll get to find out a little more of what he might have had in mind.
Plenty of story beats that haven't been revealed yet, which makes this teaser trailer unique in that it doesn't lay all its cards on the table, like so many mediocre genre fare in recent years. I also admire that this teaser makes clear character distinctions between Superman and Supergirl, which will likely come into play when James Gunn's Man Of Tomorrow is released.
KET