Supergirl

When I read Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow I came out not only loving it but wanting to go back and dissect it. It's almost Shakespearean in its prose. The art is vibrant, beautiful, striking. Supergirl is portrayed in a near-perfect manner. So how did the movie stack up? The internet seems to hate it. Is that justified?

First, Milly Alcock's portrayal is an amazing interpretation. The writing and direction let her down, but her delivery is top notch. There's a moment late in the story where, overcome with grief, she soars into the upper atmosphere and lets out a gravity-defying, tear-filled scream. That scene is probably the best shot in the movie. It's heart-wrenching. It's epic. It's everything this film needed more of.

The movie is good. I can understand some of the frustration, especially from those who never read the source material. It feels like writer Ana Nogueira and director Craig Gillespie missed the entire point of the comic. I've heard there are two cuts, but I don't think there's any version where you just cut out the moral complexity of the book and come out ahead. The moral compass of the story should be Supergirl demonstrating her values through action, through her travels, rubbing off on Ruthye organically instead of being dictated at her. It's the perfect execution of show don't tell. The movie does almost the exact opposite. Supergirl doesn't want to help, she doesn't care about collateral damage, and she ends up going against her own stated position in the end despite explicitly telling Ruthye not to commit murder.

SPOILERS AHEAD That's another thing. Other people get killed and Kara is fine with it. But killing Krem? Oh no, that's a bridge too far. Then she kills him herself. It's cinematic hypocrisy and continuity whiplash. The entire point of the comic is that Supergirl killing Krem is a fake-out. It's a fictionalized account Ruthye tells the masses to give Kara an aura of finality, and to buy time so nobody comes looking for him while he serves out his actual prison sentence. He eventually repents, and after decades of imprisonment, Ruthye gives him a second chance at life. The movie says forget that, kills him, and moves on. It loses every ounce of nuance and makes Kara a failed teacher, a failed moral compass, and ultimately a failed hero. It's essentially Snyder letting Clark snap Zod's neck all over again.

Technically the movie is lacking as well. The score is middling, never jumping into high gear, never announcing itself. Flat and forgettable is unacceptable for a major tentpole. It's especially damning when you learn Claudia Sarne was actually the third composer on the project, replacing Junkie XL, who had himself replaced Ramin Djawadi just months before release. That level of production chaos behind the scenes is audible in the final product.

The cinematography, at times, is washed out and dark. Just like with Superman, this character demands bright, vibrant, oversaturated color. The film should reflect and project Kara's internal light. Instead the palette is as murky as the decision-making that led to the third-act ending.

The soundtrack feels off. The Middle acoustic cover is an interesting choice, but using a slow acoustic cover to drive the climax is a bold swing that doesn't land. It feels like better, more appopriate options were left on the table.

The casting is also odd, specifically Krem's henchman, who looks exactly like Krem from the comics. Why is he playing an unnamed henchman? Cast him as Krem. Meanwhile, Matthias Schoenaerts plays Krem as purely chaotic evil, Heath Ledger Joker energy with none of the nuance. Any moral ambiguity is gone before it starts. Jason Momoa as Lobo is fine. He's doing his best Beetlejuice impression and clearly having fun, but his presence feels entirely tacked on to introduce Lobo for a future project rather than serve this one.

The effects are mostly fine. It was nice to see practical suits, practical aliens, practical explosions. The CGI is standard affair. Krypto still looks awful. Whoever decided to use a shaggy-haired dog breed, which is exponentially harder to render convincingly, owes us an explanation. The Argo City and Krypton sequences look genuinely beautiful. One of the better portrayals in recent memory, making it feel unique while still honoring legacy interpretations. And it's welcome that this is a small, contained, standalone story. No world-shattering planet-destroying CGI mudslide.

Overall, the story changes gutted the heart of the comic, the moral compass, and the entire reason to root for Kara. Everything else is forgivable. That is not. The people I've talked to who haven't read the comic seem to confirm it too, they felt something was off without being able to name it. It's unfortunate, because I genuinely enjoyed parts of this film, and with a few targeted fixes it could have been something special.

It appears I'm in the minority, though, and the film is tracking to flop. That's a shame on multiple fronts. Maybe it finds its audience on streaming. Either way, it's another bumpy start for the DCU. I hope they don't reboot it yet again and instead tighten the writing and learn from this. Unlike, apparently, the writers of this film did from the comic.