Review: Supergirl Movie

I saw the movie on Saturday and I am going to do my best to wrap my head around my thoughts in a non-spoiler way (above the fold) and a little deeper once we get inside.

I will say, based on the source material and some stuff that I had heard before hand, I went into the movie with low, almost no expectations. And perhaps going in that way, I found that I liked it more than I expected. 

There is an underlying theme throughout almost all the movie that Kara is kind and good. Despite the self-destructive journey she is on during the majority of the movie, that continues to bubble up to the surface. So I felt in many ways, the core of Supergirl was present in the story. I was not expecting that.

But there is a Zach Snyder-esque event at the end of the movie that seems to completely unravel that message. An act that seems so out of character from what we have seen before that it comes as close to ruining the film as it can. And it is completely out of character for who I think Supergirl is.

I think Milly Alcock is solid in the role, showing the pain Kara is going through and then having her come out of it in the end. It is a tight rope of 'party girl', 'sad girl', and 'hero' that worked. Alcock is probably the best part of the film. I thought Lobo, played by Jason Momoa was fun to see and quite comic accurate. But he seemed to be sort of tacked on. I wonder if in one of the earlier versions of the movie (remember it had 10 pre-showings and therefore probably multiple edits) he had a bigger role in the finale. 

But the movie itself feels sort of episodic with Kara tracking Krem and luckily running into people who know where to point her next. The film is incredible dull looking with most of the planets and sets very dark, shadowed, and dull. There are plenty of things that happen in the movie that are hard to hand-wave away (non-powered Kara beating up an 8ft highly muscled brute, innocent Ruthye being combat ready in one scene and choking out a brigand with ankle fetters, overpowered Lobo somehow 'trapped' and stuck in a brigand prison).

Even those plot issues didn't seem important next to the 'be good' core.  But then that Snyder moment happened. So I guess it lands as a 3 out of 5.

I think the cast was solid. Alcock is very good as Kara. Momoa is great as Lobo. And Matthias Schoenaerts makes the most of the rather bland role of Krem, filling him with Tim Roth like mannerisms and energy. Krem is basically just a bad guy with no personality or story himself. I also liked all the Superman scenes. 

The movie basically tracks with Tom King's Woman of Tomorrow with Kara dealing with the trauma of surviving Krypton. 

But Kara is doing this while on a binge drinking pub crawl on her 23rd birthday. In flashbacks, we see how Argo City was saved by Zor-El, how she was born 8yrs later (no 'older than Superman' nonsense), and how the people there die from Kryptonite poisoning. There we see her as happy, playful, loyal to family. 

Most importantly, we see her parents love for her and the lessons they give her. They tell her to be kind and good. That she must protect people. That she is meant for something. In fact, the clearly call this out as the opposite of Jor-El's more conquering thoughts about Kal. What a wonderful thing to show, perhaps making her more like the Earth-raised Superman than she thinks.

Throughout the movie, we see that kindness and goodness, mostly in how she protects Ruthye in their adventures. She doesn't want Ruthye to suffer or to do something Ruthye will regret. 

Along the way, we see Lobo is on the trail of another brigand so the two semi-team-up. 

Finally Kara realizes she needs to do real good by rescuing a captured Ruthye. At last, with just 15 mins or so left in the movie,  she dons the Supergirl uniform. We get a large action sequence with Lobo and Supergirl taking out the brigands. 

But then that moment.

Kara stops Ruthye from killing Krem, saying that Ruthye will haunted for commiting murder. 

Finally facing her trauma, Ruthye breaks down and cries. 

And then, once Ruthye has run off, Kara kills Krem.

That's right. 

Kara kills Krem, stabbing him in the neck with Ruthye's sword.

Kara kills. So much for kindness and goodness.Yes, I know it ends with her back on Earth, calling it 'home' (a big moment), and clearing things up with Kal. 

But she kills.

You think DC would have learned from the Zod neck snap from the end of Man of Steel. You think they would want to stay true to the character they have shown us up to this time.

Nope.

I have to say though. I wonder if in earlier versions Lobo kills Krem. At one point, Lobo asks if there is a bounty on Krem's head. Was that because in another version Lobo kills Krem to gain that bounty? Why would Lobo stick around that Brigand fight after killing his bounty?

Or any other way to end this without Supergirl being a murderer.
It would have made more sense for Kara to say 'I am taking you in to face justice Krem'. 

She could have put him in the Phantom Zone. 

She could have called in Green Lanterns.

Or Lobo could have killed him with Kara looking at Lobo and saying 'I don't want to become him.'

There are a million ways this could have ended without Supergirl killing him.

But she did and that probably ruined this for me ...

Supergirl is a killer in this movie.

Which is tragic because despite the dull colors, the lack of S-shield, the drunken sadness, the movie was working for me because that 'good' core was there.

There are thanks.

I will sarcastically give my deepest gratitude to Tom King for bringing us to a place where a killer sad, drunk Kara is on the big screen. 

But it is an interesting mix of names. Cool to see Otto Binder and Al Plastino called out.

I would love to hear what everyone thinks.