How much bloodshed started on screen because bad guys made the mistake of shooting a dog?
A side note to said bad guys, be they supervillains or low-life criminal scum: just leave the dogs out of whatever your deal is, always.
In any case, that's what unfortunately once again happens in Craig Gillespie's Supergirl, where the titular Kryptonian, Kara (Milly Alcock), simply wants to celebrate her birthday week in peace, going from planet to planet partying hard, drinking a lot, and generally only being able to tolerate the companionship of her dog, Krypto.
The status quo gets shattered when the leader of the Brigands, Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts), wounds Krypto, setting Kara on the path of finding the former and retrieving the antidote. Conveniently (or not), Kara already has a willing sidekick in her quest, young Ruthye (Eve Ridley), whose family was murdered by Krem and who now wishes to execute her revenge.
None of what kicks off this story and what will be unfolding later on really matters, though. Supergirl isn't the kind of film we watch for its plot, just like no one really watched last year's Superman to see if there are some new, unexpected developments in the classic tale of a feud between a super-strong nerd and a super-rich one.
It isn't honestly about the VFX or the action sequences at this point, either. Most of all, it is about the film's ability to entertain by way of injecting something that feels remotely relatable and vital into the familiar story, where you always know something is going to happen a good while before it does.
In James Gunn's Superman, that thing was about the wide-eyed earnestness that poured from the screen, which seemed to have worked for the majority of the audience at the time (whether this tone really benefits the film in terms of longevity and rewatchablity is up for debate). In Supergirl, the main attraction and the point of relatability is the heroine herself.
Alcock's Kara is a character we have seen on screen before. She is Rooster Cogburn (both John Wayne's and Jeff Bridges' versions), Porco Rosso, and Max Rockatansky. A bit of John Wick. And definitely a lot of John McClane from Die Hard with a Vengeance: grumpily snarky, hungover, and could benefit from an intergalactic version of aspirin. In other words, Kara is a very reluctant hero, saddled with life experience and trauma. Sure, the fact that this kind of character is female for once shouldn't be an achievement by this point, but here we are.
All space adventures and Star Wars-like lore aside, the film ironically recreates a very realistic and universal part of the female experience: the desire to be left alone, while the world around keeps butting in. From Craig Gillespie's own body of work, Supergirl might come closest (at least in spirit) to his 2017 I, Tonya, a film that also presented a complicated heroine who wasn't all that interested in making excuses for who she is. Here, Ana Nogueira's script takes it further by giving its protagonist no wish to ascend or to really aspire to anything.
Supergirl is a film that's very easy to find fault with, citing predictability and the lack of originality. At the same time, it's a movie that is perfectly self-aware of what it is and focuses on delivering just that. With the exception of a few cringy flashbacks (the traditional bane of the genre), the film deals in irony and a sense of playful nihilism.
Its protagonist wants to cling to a childlike state with as little responsibility as possible. Its main big bad is truly, no-shades-of-grey, bad (which comes off as a relief after having to witness the great Nicholas Hoult trying to breathe life and nuance into lines like "Brain beats brawn"). And Jason Momoa predictably brings camp aplenty when he appears as an unhinged bounty hunter who might not be as great at what he does as he thinks.
These are not two hours that will be able to truly amaze anyone. But these are definitely two hours that are easy to enjoy while they last, and not regret spending them afterwards.
The film opens wide Friday, June 26, only in movie theaters, throughout the known universe, via Warner Bros. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.