Kara Zor-El can fly and is much stronger than a human. She is Superman’s cousin, but when we meet her in Supergirl, she mostly wants to drink and spend time with her dog, Krypto. She visits planets with red suns, where she loses her powers and can get drunk. Milly Alcock is fun to watch as this rude, unhappy young woman, especially when Kara tries to act as though other people’s problems do not concern her.
Then Krem, a violent criminal played by Matthias Schoenaerts, poisons Krypto. Kara has three days to find a cure. A young girl named Ruthye, played by Eve Ridley, joins her because Krem killed her family. They are chasing the same man for different reasons: Kara wants her dog back, while Ruthye wants revenge. You can follow their search without knowing the DC comics.
Director Craig Gillespie gives us an easy reason to worry about Kara: she might lose the companion she loves most. But once the chase gets going, the film spends too little time on Ruthye and Krem. Alcock makes Kara worth following even when the people around her need more of a story.
Kara remembers the family she lost
Superman left his home planet, Krypton, as a baby. Kara was old enough to remember it. Scenes from her childhood show what happened in Argo City, a place that survived Krypton’s destruction only for the people inside it to begin dying too. Her anger makes more sense once we see what she lived through. She has already watched people she loved die. Now she faces losing Krypto as well.
Alcock does not need another joke or an angry speech to show how much Kara is hurting. In one scene, Kara floats above a planet and screams into the silence of space. Alcock shows how sad Kara is when she is alone. It also leaves us wanting more time with her memories. The film moves back to the chase before her life in Argo feels fully explored.
Ruthye needs more than a reason to hate Krem
Ruthye asks Kara for help because she cannot take on Krem alone. Kara does help, but she also questions the girl’s plan to kill him. Their disagreements give the journey something to talk about beyond where to find the villain. Ridley makes Ruthye’s determination easy to believe. She does not behave as though she is simply thrilled to be travelling with a superhero.
The trouble is that we barely get to know Ruthye’s family before Krem kills them. We understand why she is angry, but we know much less about what her life was like before Krem arrived. More time with her family would have made her loss harder to watch. Instead, much of her story depends on reminding us that she wants him dead.
Krem has a similar problem. Schoenaerts looks and sounds threatening, and poisoning a dog certainly gives us a reason to want him stopped. The script offers little about him beyond his cruelty. Following Kara is interesting because we learn why she acts this way. Following Krem mostly means waiting for someone to catch him.
The flying fights can be hard to follow
When Kara flies into a fight, the camera moves so quickly that it can be difficult to track who she is hitting. Bright light and blurry computer effects add to the confusion. Some action scenes need a steadier view of the people fighting. The speed should make an attack exciting; here, it sometimes makes us work out what just happened instead.
Jason Momoa briefly joins the film as Lobo, a loud alien bounty hunter who enjoys causing trouble. His grin and rough humour are funny, but his appearance does not fix the problems with Ruthye or Krem. Lobo is an entertaining extra, not a reason to watch the whole film.
Supergirl is worth a look if you want to meet Alcock’s Kara, particularly now that it is on HBO Max. Her affection for Krypto and the scenes about her childhood give us reasons to care about her. The thin villain and difficult-to-follow fights keep our recommendation cautious. Pixel Twelve’s score: 6.0/10. Alcock makes us want another film with Kara; this one needed a stronger story for the people travelling with her.
Supergirl runs 108 minutes and is rated PG-13 in the United States. It is streaming on HBO Max. Availability varies by country. Visit the film page for the cast and more images.
More from Supergirl
2 screenshotsImages: DC Studios / Warner Bros. Pictures.
Loading results
