I didn’t expect a 1:1 adaptation of Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow, but I felt like so many parts of the movie just weren’t good.
Major spoilers obviously
The pros:
- I think Millie Alcock and Eve Ridley did good with what they had, honestly I think everyone did a great job for the acting.
- I loved the alien designs even though I wish the aliens that got the most interaction with weren’t just humans.
- the cinematography at times was nice
- I did like the ending, this supergirl doesn’t have the phantom zone for that repentance so killing Krem is the next best bet and I do like how it was Kara who killed him. It was less “killing is bad” and more “killing taints you, and I don’t want Ruthye to hurt any more” which is nice considering how many Brigands Kara probably killed, I find it silly when MCs go “no killing is bad” after slaughtering the henchmen of the big bad
The cons:
- I felt like they kept forgetting Kara’s powers, you’re telling me she couldn’t hear that they were about to be betrayed? That she couldn’t X-ray vision to see Krem? Why is she getting kicked around on a yellow sun planet? Even a quick “oh I need to recharge more I’m not at full power rn” would make more sense
- so many changes to the story felt so unnecessary, why was Lobo there?? Why did they take out the numerous genocides in favour of the wives (something that they didn’t even handle well! I thought it was going to be but no!)
- Ruthye calls Kara good and kind but she has very few moments in the movie that remind me of the comic where she is being good or kind (yes I understand that we don’t have time for a lot of things like the handwashing scene) but we didn’t get the guy hitting Kara after the death of his family, no mass graves, no mention of the Blues and Purples
- the cinematography flip flopped between “wow this is great” and “why am i getting another shot of Kara putting her arms out to fly?” It was just strange to me I’m sorry
- I liked the ending but it didn’t feel earned in some way, like multiple times it felt like “killing is bad and wrong” and then Krem would go murder more people before Kara finally killed him
- there’s more but I’m just so unhappy with it and I wanted to like it *so much*
I have seen the Supergirl movie! And it was good. I liked it more than last year's Superman, honestly. Having read the comic it's inspired by, Woman of Tomorrow, I can say that it's true to the general idea and themes of that story while still very much doing its own thing.
All the spoilers under the cut.
What I Liked
As expected, Milly Alcock absolutely killed it as Kara. Pitch perfect casting. She was phenomenal the entire way through.
Kara's characterization is excellent, as well. I love that she's not just a girl version of Clark, a trap which some adaptations have fallen into. She has her own experiences that have shaped her into a different person, someone a little more complicated and sharp and messy. The Krypton flashbacks come at just the right time, always fleshing her out more to better explain the somewhat broken woman we're seeing.
The darker tone of the movie compared to Superman suits that, as well. This is a world where crime is rampant, where brutal murders are commonplace, where little girls are taken as child brides. And this is the world Kara has to navigate and make sense of. Clark probably would not handle this as well, and that's sort of the point.
I was very fond of Ruthye in the comic, and she did not disappoint me in this. Eve Ridley stole so many scenes, and watching her become a little badass made me so happy. I was a bit sad to see her overly formal and polite speech patterns changed a bit, but the core of the character was very much still there.
This is not a one-to-one adaptation of the comic, and I think it's better for that. It uses the general premise of the story before jumping off into its own thing, with only a few overlapping plot points along the way. I think some of the comic sequences wouldn't have translated as well to the big screen, so streamlining it makes a lot of sense.
I also greatly prefer the film's ending to the comic's. Kara talking Ruthye down from killing Krem, comforting her, and sending her away before ruthlessly dealing the final blow herself is perfect. It says so much about her character and what sets her apart from her cousin.
What I Didn't Like
The movie started to feel repetitive after a while. There were just a few too many fight scenes, a few too many beats of Kara rescuing Ruthye and telling her to stay down, etc. I feel like one of the action setpieces could have been cut and replaced with another Kara and Ruthye bonding scene — while I did buy their relationship, an extra few moments could have solidified it further.
While most of the movie's song choices were fine, there's a needle drop of some acoustic cover of Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle" during the climax, which does not fit the tone whatsoever. I think they were trying to copy that "5 Years Time" scene from Superman, but it wildly missed the mark. Utterly baffling decision.
This movie either needed way more Lobo or way less Lobo. As it stands, he's frankly a confusing presence who doesn't add much to the story. He doesn't develop much of a dynamic with Kara or Ruthye, and feels like he's just sort of there. I either would have introduced him much earlier and treated him as a third key character alongside Kara and Ruthye, or just cut him altogether.
Visually, this is underwhelming. Everything is sort of dark and brown and the different setpieces don't stand out from each other.
saw Supergirl last night. it breaks my heart to give it a negative review. putting aside they removed my favourite scene from the comic, i just... it had serious character issues, less so with Kara (altho i certainly DO have fucking problems with that! i understand the movie made it 3 days instead of several months like the original comic but that is no excuse to remove Kara's compassion and selflessness. No scenes of her rescuing babies, digging mass graves, feeding the dying and injured. gone for what? i dont even know!) and more with Ruthye. she had like... zero bite, zero agency, her fight was taken away. like she didn't even use the sword?? she still had her persistence but it was the Ruthye i love on the screen. Krem wasn't a redhead anymore he was a bit boring but whatever. Lobo was fine, you can really tell Jason Mamoa loves Lobo and that came through. the acting from everyone was honestly good. idk. im just mad. why was Kara always de-powered what the fuck was going on in this movie
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