‘Supergirl’ Review: Milly Alcock’s Kara Is Powerful and Perfectly Messy in Her First Solo Outing

Supergirl is finally here and despite what men online want you to think, this movie is a beautiful exploration of this character. Milly Alcock’s Kara Zor-El is less hopeful than her cousin Clark (David Corenswet) and it makes for a beautiful balance between the “truth” and “hope” these characters represent.

Directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Ana Nogueira, the film follows Kara as she tries to find an antidote for Krypto after the villain Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts) shoots him with a toxin that will slowly paralyze and kill him. It forces Kara to work with Ruthye (Eve Ridley) to track down the Brigands.

For the most part, a lot of the movie is Kara realizing that she doesn’t have to be alone, drunk on other planets to drown out the pain she feels over losing her planet and her parents. But the dynamic between Kara and Ruthye is fascinating because it shows not only how innocent Ruthye really is to the world but how Kara feels so different about it.

A fascinating dynamic between Ruthye and Kara

Ruthye comes to Kara for help and getting to see how that help shifts into Kara understanding Ruthye better than she understands herself is part of the joy of Supergirl. That being said, the biggest issue within the movie is Ruthye’s motivation. Her family is killed by Krem and the Brigands and she is on a quest for revenge. That’s fine. But Kara can see through her repeated phrase that she doesn’t really want to have Krem’s death on her hands.

Repeatedly, Kara tells her that she doesn’t want to actually do the things she says she does but there isn’t really anything that shows the audience why Kara knows that. Even if Ruthye wavered for a moment, then we could understand Kara’s opinion on the situation. But it seems more rooted in Kara’s own desire to protect Ruthye and less of Ruthye’s own will and truly that’s the only real big of criticism for the film that I had.

Well, that and CGI floating hair is never going to look normal we have to figure out a different solution. Other than that, Supergirl was everything I wanted it to be and more.

Krem (with some necessary changes)

As a villain, Krem really takes the “oh he’s like BAD bad” to heart. There is really no redeemable part of him as a villain and that works for this movie incredibly well. Kara has no remorse in going after him for what he did to Krypto and the audience is fully on her side as it happens.

Obviously this ventures off course from the graphic novel by Tom King that is the inspiration that is the source material for this version of Kara but it was necessary for this movie. Having a complex villain often works but sometimes, a movie really just needs a bad guy to root against and that’s what Krem is.

Lobo is cool af

It is fun to watch someone who has loved a character for years get to bring them to life. And that is the appeal of Jason Momoa’s Lobo. He very clearly loves the character and getting to watch him play the motorcycle riding Lobo with his cigar in hand really was a nice touch to the film as a whole.

Lobo basically serves as comedic relief at times. He calls Kara “Tits” and doesn’t really get in the way of the women trying to stop the Brigands and it was a nice change of pace from every other movie where a man steps in to save the day. Momoa just got to have fun and it was refreshing to see.

Kara and Clark are not the same but do need each other

The strongest moments in Supergirl come from her scenes with Corenswet’s Clark. We see him continually try to call her on her birthday, flashbacks to when they first met, and more. Those scenes really ground Kara and how she’s feeling about everything happening to her. She’s 23, she has no people, and she doesn’t know who she’s meant to be and her cousin is trying his best to guide her through that.

But seeing the two in scenes together really drives home that Kara is not her cousin. He is hopeful and looks for the good in the world while Kara is very much of the opposite mindset. It works to remind us all that Kara is not just a female Clark and it makes for a really exciting future for these two Kryptonians.

For the girls who would do anything for their pet

There’s a lot to love about Supergirl. The lore of Krypton, her upbringing, and the understanding how the suns work on Kryptonians all part of that. But for me, the part of Supergirl that really was moving and beautiful came from Kara’s relationship with her dog.

We know that Kara and Krypto love each other but there is an added layer to their relationship in this movie that I truly loved very dearly. As someone who has memories with my deceased relatives tied to my cat, I understood why she would move Heaven and earth for Krypto. And it was refreshing to see.

Yes, we know that John Wick would kill for his dog but even that isn’t the same. Kara’s dedication to Krypto isn’t rooted in some sense of justice. It is just rooted in her love of Krypto. I found that incredibly relatable. My pet is my entire heart and Kara is very much the same.

The messy girls need heroes too

At the end of the day, Kara is representative of a different kind of hero. Much like the appeal of Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones in the Marvel world, this Kara isn’t prim and proper. Her hair is definitely 2 or 3 days post wash, she would wear the same shirt for days at a time, and she doesn’t really care much about what she has on. Her hair is always a little messed up and it is glorious.

It is important for girls to see themselves in their heroes. We’re not all windswept goddess’ from hidden worlds or beautiful red heads from the sea. There are layers to women in the same way our male heroes are represented and Kara is helping to bridge that gap.

Supergirl really made me feel special and like I could, if I wanted, flip a car and hey, isn’t that what these movies are all about? You can see it for yourself when it hits theaters on June 26.

(featured image: Warner Bros.)

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