The latest installment in the DCU’s Gods and Monsters chapter, Supergirl, has had a disappointing opening weekend at the box office. The film, which has been beset by online troll attacks and mixed reviews, did not meet Warner Bros.‘ expectations.
The studio had tapped Ana Nogueira to write the script, a holdover from the former DCEU plans for a standalone Supergirl film. They reimagined the project when James Gunn and Peter Safran took over and launched the “soft reboot” DCU.
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Craig Gillespie signed on to direct the film, which is adapted from the comic book miniseries Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. The story follows Kara Zor-El/Supergirl (Milly Alcock) as she teams up with Jason Momoa’s wild bounty hunter, Lobo, in a dynamic reminiscent of Mattie Ross and Rooster Cogburn.
The film opens with a montage showcasing a rebellious Kara celebrating her 23rd birthday by bar-hopping around red star planets with her space dog, Krypto. She mostly ignores the concerned calls from her cousin Kal-El/Superman/Clark Kent (David Corenswet).
Kara isn’t inclined to be a superhero, although she does help young Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley) when some bar lowlifes try to steal Ruthye’s father’s sword. But she declines Ruthye’s plea to help her find the man who slaughtered her family: a Brigand leader named Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts).
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The strongest segments of the film are the flashbacks to Kara’s childhood on Argo City. In this telling, while Kal-El was evacuated to Earth as a baby right before Krypton was destroyed, Kara’s father, Zor-El (David Krumholtz), figured out how to dome off the city in a separate chunk so it survived.
Alcock is terrific as Kara, combining manic pixie/burnout energy with hidden depths and vulnerability. She has a solid onscreen rapport with Ridley’s Ruthye. And Krypto naturally dominates his brief scenes.
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It is likely that several factors contributed to the film’s financial underperformance, with ongoing superhero fatigue being a major one.
Supergirl is currently playing in theaters. It might not be an instant DCU classic, but on a scorching hot summer day, it’s a great way to beat the heat for a couple of hours.
