There is nothing super about Craig Gillespie's Supergirl. The movie, which simultaneously traces the titular character's origins and examines her present, is a super slog of epic proportions. It flies from one planet to another, though the visuals are so flat and putrid that every world resembles the same fuzzy wasteland. The green-screenness of it all is plainly visible. The various locations are simply used as disposable backdrops for interchangeable action sequences. Not a single frame or scene is lit with even a modicum of astonishment. Despite all the interplanetary travel, the movie is devoid of any sense of vastness, mystery, or wonder. The whole production drags with the dutiful objective of establishing the ground on which Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) will run in the future. The mood is mechanical, and the movie reeks of Superhero Lesson 101, which one must endure in order not to feel lost in the upcoming chapters. Kara is Superman's cousin. She loves Krypto the dog, and Kryptonians lose their godlike powers when near kryptonite or a green sun. The red sun makes them human, while the yellow one charges them with their superpowers.
Got all that? Yes? Probably. The next logical question is, "Why did we need a dedicated feature film to establish these rules when they could have been easily discussed in any film at any moment?" I am glad you asked because the filmmakers—Gillespie and writer Ana Nogueira—clearly didn't ask themselves that question. And so you sit through a half-hearted Kara 101 lesson that merely lays down her basic information. Since this is a female-centric superhero adventure, the filmmakers insert women-oriented issues like the trafficking of girls. The leader of the Brigands (they are traffickers and pirates), Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts), and his men kidnap women, keep them in cages, and refer to them as "brides." This, however, is merely a surface-level detail, given that we never see Krem making any deals, nor does he display any sexual interest in women. That crazy look in his eyes is generic—it's How to Look Like a Crazy Bad Guy 101.
The "themes" of girl power and feminism are stuck onto Supergirl like bumper stickers. The emptiness of the gesture is exposed by the paper-thin characters. After arriving on Earth, how long does Kara take to learn English? Does she try watching movies, reading books, or getting a job? Did she ever attempt to make any human friends? What did she initially think of Earth in general? The movie never bothers to explore what goes on inside the minds of its characters. It only flings them around swiftly to distract you from its ordinariness. The actors are thrown into stock roles, which means their entire personalities can be summed up by their assigned labels: Father, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Brother, Hero, Villain. This is all the description and responsibility they get. Without fleshing out these roles or developing any of the relationships, Supergirl tries to become sentimental near the end, but you can practically smell its desperation. It is, nonetheless, a cheap trick—one that, like everything else here, is sorely in vain. Supergirl, then, is super lousy and super dull. It's sloppy as hell.
Final Score - [1.5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
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Publisher at Midgard Times