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?
She has to find her own path as a hero?
Interesting.
Hopeful.
1 comment:
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
Based 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
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