“Supergirl”: The Latest Superhero Fiasco
The recently inaugurated DCU by James Gunn has just given us the worst female-led superhero movie in recent memory. Let’s talk about the catastrophe that is Supergirl.
It seems it was only yesterday when I came back from the theater after James Gunn bored me to death with his Superman movie. But here we are, almost a year later, now following the antics of the hero’s bratty and uninteresting cousin, Kara Zor-El.
The first installment of the new franchise told me everything I needed to know about its creative direction and left my expectations for any other remaining project on the floor. Supergirl was merely a confirmation of what I had already imagined: there is a higher chance of Zack Snyder coming back than of James Gunn figuring out this universe.
What is Supergirl About?
Supergirl starts with Kara traveling around with her dog Krypto to planets that have a red sun. Why? Because those are the only places where she can get drunk. She is also ignoring Superman’s messages asking her to return to Earth.
When Krypto gets poisoned by a group of space pirates, Kara must go on a mission to get the antidote before it’s too late. Accompanying our hero on her journey is Ruthie, a young girl who wants to avenge her family.
Where Are The Good Screenwriters?
There must be some who are still alive, right? Time and time again, we are being subjected to films that, beyond any other defect, fail at the essential: having a decent script. I’m not even asking for a good script anymore; just a competent one would be a win at this point.
Ana Nogueira, who, according to the information I could find online, has only one other writing credit (for a short film) and two theater plays, was put in charge of the Supergirl script. And I’ll tell you more: she is also set to write the screenplay for a future Wonder Woman film for the franchise.
Which makes me wonder, how does the hiring process work? Can anyone apply for the job? I have no experience writing screenplays, and I know next to nothing about comics, but if anyone can do it, I’d love to give it a shot!
Irony aside, I don’t think you absolutely need to hire a writer who is a fan of the source material, though if you do, it would be a plus. A good screenwriter would get the job and immediately start deep research on the comics and the characters. Everything is online these days; that’s not even hard. Situations like this happen because no one in that production team cares enough about delivering a good project.
That’s how we end up with a film that makes little sense, relies on plot contrivances and conveniences to work, and tries very hard to manufacture “iconic moments” with formulas that stopped working years ago: the female characters whose only personality trait is “being a girlboss,” the redundant cameos, and Gunn’s signature pop rock songs during action scenes; all things you have already seen millions of times, and much better done.
Generic and Incompetent in Every Way
As with many films today, Supergirl’s tone is inconsistent. It’s too dumb for adults, but it delves into topics that are way too dark for children. Aside from the female hero being a drunk, there are deaths and a dark subplot about young girls being sold as wives that is not given much space. So, who is this for?
Kara Zor-El’s hero journey is non-existent. In the last couple of minutes, the script decides that she wants to return to Earth to help Superman. She doesn’t really learn anything or experience big changes that make her see the error of her ways. The film just decrees that she has had “character development” and makes her wear the suit.
The only part of the story that is somewhat interesting is the flashbacks, when we see the events that caused Kara to end up on Earth. In fact, had the movie been about that, I would have found it more appealing. Just like in Superman, the film insists on Jor-El being an evil person who sends his son to another planet to be a conquistador. On the other hand, Kara’s father sends his daughter with “altruistic motives.” Anything to discredit Superman and his origin.
In visual terms, Supergirl has the quality of a B movie, something you could find on TV on a Sunday. Early reviews compared it to Mad Max, which I suppose had to do with the planets the characters visit looking like the Wastelands, the slave wives, and having a villain who would set off every metal detector. But more than Mad Max, I was reminded of that awful Borderlands film that came out two years ago. It suffers from the same lack of creativity that makes every planet look exactly the same.
The Characters: Nothing is Salvageable
The first critics who got to watch the film knew very well that it was trash, but as they did not want to lose their access, they had to find something nice to say. Supergirl was so bad, they couldn’t even use the usual scapegoat of praising the photography. So they had no choice but to praise the performances instead.
And honestly, the performances are nothing to write home about. They range from acceptable to bad, and that is if we are being generous.
Funnily enough, the one who received the most praise was Jason Momoa for his “performance” as Lobo. A performance that consists of Jason Momoa playing Jason Momoa, but with a different costume. If you watched the Aquaman movies, A Minecraft Movie last year, or any other film this guy has made in his career, this is exactly the same. I know a lot of people like him; he seems to be a nice person, but will these people pay for a ticket to watch a movie where he is on screen for ten minutes? Lobo as a character is redundant for the plot; he is around to be used as comic relief and to intervene with his motorcycle when the girls are about to be defeated. Which is not very feminist of Ana Nogueira, now that I think about it.
David Corenswet is also there for like ten minutes. I’m really sorry for him, for he could make an excellent Superman if the films were not produced by people who are intent on dumbing the character down. As in last year’s Superman, he is the only actor aside from Nicholas Hoult who feels natural in his role and brings some unmanufactured charisma to the screen. And as usual, the film gives him stupid lines to make him look like a clown.
No one is talking about Eve Ridley, who is terrible as Ruthie. I don’t want to be too hard on her, because she is fourteen, but it is completely irresponsible for the studio to put a young actress in that position. Her performance is wooden and uncharismatic to a degree that makes it uncomfortable to watch. I must say in her defense that her character is so unlikable and is written so poorly that even a more experienced actress wouldn’t have been able to pull it off, but the fact stands that she does not have the skill to play a leading role yet.
Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El
To no one’s surprise, Milly is a young actress who speaks too much. Her multiple stupid comments about the film’s themes and the audience’s “hate towards women” have been sufficiently documented online. It was a good preparation for watching Supergirl, though, because Milly seems to be just as unlikable as her character.
As shown in the trailers, Kara is irresponsible, rude, and nasty. She is also a drunk, a great example to all the young girls Milly Alcock wanted to watch the film. Her “too cool for school” attitude, far from making her relatable and edgy, makes her annoying as hell. Not even having a dog can redeem her. Overall, for what the character is, the actress was alright. Whether she was acting or playing herself as Momoa is something I cannot say.
I must add that Kara’s action scenes made me miss Wonder Woman’s slow-motion fights in the SnyderVerse films. And I reiterate: action scenes with pop rock music get old really fast. It’s not cool anymore; do something else.
Box Office Results
The box office projections predicted a dim first weekend for Supergirl, but it has gone worse than expected. Made with a budget of $170,000,000 (or maybe higher, according to ScreenRant), the film has grossed only $68,000,000 worldwide on its opening weekend, remaining, as expected, below Toy Story 5.
And we know for sure the movie will not recover. The word of mouth was terrible even before release, so there is no miracle scenario when more people get interested. It wouldn’t surprise me if Warner Bros. pulls it from theaters early and has it on streaming before the end of July.
Remember, Superman ended up making $618,723,803 at the box office. In my review from last year, I mentioned that, considering the $225,000,000 budget, around $600,000,000 would be the bare minimum to break even. And they spent more than that because the marketing campaign for that movie was huge. As much as they want to paint it as a success, it was just a modest victory.
And now they are following up less than a year later with a straightforward failure.
Is This The End of The DCU?
I cannot say that for sure, but the truth is: it better be. Because controversies aside, we have to admit it’s not working out.
If the change of leadership in Warner Bros. was not dangerous enough for James Gunn’s universe, having two failed movies in a row and such a divided audience is not a great letter of introduction. As I said, Superman’s theater run was not the worst, at least compared to the rest of the superhero movies of the last couple of years, but it was definitely not the success an opening entry of a new franchise needed.
Over the past twenty years, we have had three different attempts to bring Superman (and, by extension, the rest of DC Comics characters) to the big screen, and not one has managed to have a successful run. We can argue that there are a number of reasons for the failure of every iteration, but I believe we can agree on this point: the superhero genre has been bleeding for a while. Even if there was a competent group of people behind the project right now (which there’s not), I seriously doubt the interest in a new superhero franchise would be high.
This is not going to take off. Maybe it has a few more movies left, if they are already in development (we already know that Clayface and Man of Tomorrow are coming out), but everybody will have forgotten about the whole thing in four to five years. My professional advice would be: give it a rest. Leave superheroes in peace for a decade or so before even considering trying again.
And one last thing: when it comes to female-led superhero movies, Madame Web is the best production of the last six years. Deal with that, Hollywood.
