Supergirl
Film
Last year's Superman, written and directed by James Gunn, served as the launch point for Gunn's new DC comic universe with its introduction of the new Man of Steel, aka Clark Kent, aka David Corenswet. Not only was it wildly successful in the box office, but it also introduced a litany of side characters to jumpstart Gunn's broader vision such as the Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) and for just a brief moment, Supergirl (Milly Alcock). It sounds like a lot to digest, but I thoroughly enjoyed Superman for what it was, a borderline-silly if not overly optimistic vision of Superman's identity and ethics. If Gunn's Superman is the idealistic ray of sunshine to kick off his DC Universe, then Supergirl is the grimy underbelly following it up. Filled with a dirty, punk rock, industrial aesthetic, Craig Gillespie's directorial spiritual sequel to Superman is a mixed bag of highs and lows without the consistency to truly push this new era of superheroes toward anything. Even if it might stand out visually in Gunn's DCU, it unfortunately doesn't possess enough of its own distinct qualities to get out from the shadow of Superman.
On the bright side, Milly Alcock reprising her role as Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl is a real treat. She's the only character that gets anything to work with, a more tragic backstory than the classic Clark Kent tale, along with emotional beats that Alcock delivers tremendously. Kara's personality comes through Alcock's acting and for a while, Supergirl feels like a fresh take. A pseudo-coming of age story about redemption where Kara helps Ruthye (Eve Ridley) exact revenge on the psychopathic Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts) who murdered her family in cold blood. If that gives you some True Grit vibes, it's because it basically is the same story, but in space.
Sadly though, the general outline comparison is the only thing Supergirl has in common with True Grit, in that it fails to capture the growth of its characters or even give them anything to grow from. Ridley's static performance as Ruthye fails to capture her anguish, preventing us from really empathizing beyond Krem's brutal killing and leaving us to rely more on Kara's need to save Krypto, who was poisoned by Krem, and of course only he possesses the antidote. Even more frustrating is that all we know of Krem is that he leads an army of Brigands, they want really nice swords (no, seriously), and traffic young girls to populate their army of men. There's nothing else to him, or the Brigands, as far as Ana Nogueira's writing goes. I did enjoy the darker elements of Nogueira's story, especially contrasted with Gunn's prior film, but an antagonist devoid of motivation or reasoning makes him simply uninteresting.
Yet it isn't all gritty, grimy, sadness for Supergirl as the makeup and technical design of almost all of the side characters makes an incredibly fun atmosphere. Prosthetics, costumes, makeup, and hair designs all deliver sensational practicality to the aesthetic of the film and craft a strong sense of world building that may be nonsensical at times, but looks fantastic. And if I'm highlighting strong aspects of Supergirl I would be remiss to not talk about how perfectly cast Jason Momoa is as Lobo, to the surprise of no one. He looks to be having a blast in the role, delivering the best lines of the movie, along with most if not all of the humor that succeeds, and once again the character design is flawless.
Although the highs of Supergirl are worthwhile, the inconsistency of the film can be frustrating especially when the lows are so low. I will, however, mention my appreciation for Supergirl not being a stepping stone film towards an MCU type of team-up film or whatever Gunn's inevitable Justice League looks like. Instead, Gillespie works on constructing Kara as a standalone character, with Alcock doing a lot of the heavy lifting, and even if I found the overall end result disappointing, I can't be mad about the direction of the DCU and look forward to seeing more of Alcock's Kara Zor-El.
Froth
Well, just a few short weeks after Spielberg's Disclosure Day, we've returned to another space-centric pairing in Supergirl. Thankfully, I had just enjoyed a delightful astrology named beer from Aslan Brewing which I think works just well enough in this regard. Gemini Sun is an American Pale Ale that also serves as a celebratory brew for Aslan's 12th anniversary. It's piney and citrus flavors give it a nice backbone, along with a smooth drinkability, crafting a delightful depth. But the floral elements of Gemini Sun are what really take center stage here. They're not overwhelming, but strong, and I mean that in a very welcoming sense. The florals are the focal point and make this particular pale ale a sensationally light and fresh experience. Not to mention coming in at a cool 5.5% ABV makes for an easy repeater, and with a pale ale this nice, you're gonna want it twice.
