Supergirl <img src="https://img.icons8.com/ios-glyphs/20/000000/star--v1.png"/><img src="https://img.icons8.com/ios-glyphs/20/000000/star--v1.png"/><img src="https://img.icons8.com/ios-glyphs/20/000000/star--v1.png"/>

Supergirl

This new superhero flick from the DCU is an incel's nightmare. Following on from James Gunn's Superman of last year, Craig Gillespie takes the director's reins for this spin-off, Supergirl. Quick deviation - partway through, there's a clever aside about how Kara gets the 'girl' label, while her cousin Kal-El can use 'man'. Starting as it means to go on.

Before we actually see the lead, we open with the motivating event of a family slaughter by the face-studded Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts), sending young Ruthye (Eve Ridley) off on a revenge quest, which eventually drags in Kara Kor-El (Milly Alcock). Kara is on a week-long birthday bender, making sure to stay in red sun systems so that her powers don't work and the booze does. This is significant for the showstopping transformation yet to come on an interplanetary bus.

Look, the film itself is fine, nothing new in the storyline structure (Andrew from The Curb notes that 'the only thing worse than a fetch quest is an escort mission' and this film packages them together). The slightly more interesting point is how this is cutting through (or not) socially, and why. By all accounts, this has tanked at the box office, particularly compared to it's predecessor, Superman, which took in around USD 618 million in its cinema run. Supergirl is sitting at about USD 108 million (at time of writing - 2 weeks after opening).

I think Gunn is a better director than Gillespie and his Superman is the marginally superior film for me. There have been rumours of disputes between Gunn (as producer) and Gillespie, test screening trouble, musical choice issues and a trimming of the final cut. But what I'm guessing is that there's one major reason this has failed with the punters, and that's your garden variety misogyny. It would sadly make sense after sample cases like the female-led Ghostbusters and Furiosa. If I'm right, these milksop knuckle-draggers can go and get fucked sky high.

Alcock is mint in the lead role, not taking any shit and clearly not the weak woman that many gronks require in their superhero films. Her response to Ruthye's question 'So when did you stop being angry?' is bittersweet and perfectly delivered. The supporting cast does what's required - this is certainly a step up for Jason Momoa (Lobo) in the DCU, after his bang average turn as Aquaman.

The story borrows a touch from Mad Max: Fury Road, especially with the dusty donuts on planet Barenton and the use of breeding 'brides' to propagate the brigand tribe. Finally, I quite enjoyed the bottom line - that Superman and Supergirl are very different people (aliens?), as evidenced by Kara's method of dealing with Krem (in that moment, I saw her as an intergalactic Michael Caine from Get Carter).

Supergirl isn't going to break your mind with innovation, but it does have its heart in the right place and Alcock is a charming anti-hero. Don't reject this on hearsay. Don't feed the beast.

Supergirl is still playing (for now) in most cinemas around Australia (and the world).

See also:

Alcock rose to prominence in a nice little Aussie drama series called Upright (2019-2022), created by Tim Minchin, Leon Ford and Kate Mulvany. As mentioned, the influence of George Miller with Fury Road (2015) and Furiosa (2024) is clear. Both are great films.

Stills and trailer © Warner Bros.

Comments

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