'Supergirl’ Review, Beyond Thunderdome

It was about 25 minutes into Supergirl, the second film of the new DCU – this one directed by Craig Gillespie; a director whose movies, like I, Tonya and Cruella and Lars and the Real Girl, I like — when I wondered to myself why I was not totally enjoying the Supergirl experience. Even kind of actively resisting it.

I have never read the source material it was based on, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and even though I’m well aware Gillespie is the director, I think, maybe even somewhat subconsciously, I expected a lighthearted superhero movie, with the tone of last year’s James Gunn-directed Superman and the laughs of Guardians of the Galaxy. So why wasn’t I laughing? Finally, it hit me: oh, I see, it’s not really trying to be funny. It’s about a woman in a really bad place, on a revenge tour, visiting dirt-filled worlds and fighting gross-looking villains who look like they belong in Mad Max. (See picture above.) Kara is Max Rockatansky, who has lost almost everything and has nothing to lose, except her dog. Okay, also, let me clarify that…