Nolan at the Movies: Supergirl...feels like Kryptonite

By Nolan Cleary

Look up in the sky. It’s a bird, it’s a plane it’s… boredom. 

"Supergirl" is the second feature length installment in the highly anticipated DC Universe, or rather, the latest attempt at trying to set up a shared world of DC superheroes to rival those of Marvel. 

The film is directed by Craig Gillespie, known in the past for critically acclaimed efforts such as "I, Tonya," which earned Margo Robbie an Academy Award nomination.

Though Gillespie is often notable for his unique narrative and editing style, that talent is almost completely lacking in Supergirl.

Following the ending of the last "Superman" movie, the character Supergirl - a/k/a Kara Zor-El - who was introduced as the unintelligent and intoxicated cousin of the Man of Steel, must now embark on a journey to find a cure for her dog, Krypto, when a villain poisons him.

Kara must team with a young girl named Rutheye, to bring the evil ones to justice. Along the way, they encounter Lobo, a fan favorite anti-hero played by Aquaman’s Jason Momoa. 

The first thing audiences will notice about Supergirl is its lack of imagination.

DC Studios President James Gunn, who directed Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and the mostly successful recent reboot of Superman, was said to have played a big role in the making of this film..., and it shows. 

The cinematography in Supergirl feels derivative of Gunn’s vision of Guardians, painted with uninspired color and visuals that feel ugly and vomit-like. This kind of design has been done before, and better. 

The storyline feels more recycled than a cardboard pizza box, dumbing down any stakes to another action film about saving an animal and helping a young child. 

Milly Alcock, who plays the titular character of Supergirl, is serviceable in the part, doing all she can to try and make this protagonist layered in some way. Unfortunately, not even superhuman strength of any performance can carry the abysmal dialogue contained in Supergirl’s palling screenplay. 

Meanwhile, Momoa’s much anticipated Lobo performance turns out more like a bad Elvis impersonation at a Comic Con. 

Supergirl’s editing feels choppy and off-putting, with the placement of scenes obscuring the film’s emotional core. Musical choices feel out of place in this scatterbrained attempt at a production.

In a time when superhero movies are increasingly flopping, there should be a lot more here - better plot, better acting, better cinematography, better choreography, better sound - from this once-thriving genre about flying men in tights: Supergirl, sadly, is not coming to the rescue.