You know the pattern by now. About a week before the professional press reviewers print anything, the online outlets are given screenings. They flood social media with their reviews and reactions. Then, just before release, the professionals are let loose, and there is frequently clear blue water between their opinions and those of the online contingent. So it is again with Supergirl.
Last week, the headlines from the online reviewers were near universal praise. This week, the people who actually get paid to write about movies are decidedly softer. With 75 reviews now in, Rotten Tomatoes has been pushed down to 61% by the professional opinions, and 49/100 on Metacritic. Pretty much everyone says Alcock is great as Supergirl, but has issues with the rest of it.
To the summary pages!
“Supergirl is not as assured as Superman, and it knows it too well. What it has instead is temperament; a roughness, a willingness to let its protagonist be wrong.”
Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
“Alcock’s Supergirl has to grow into the hero she’s destined to become, and by the time the credits roll, it’s her performance – not the increasingly oversized spectacle surrounding it – that leaves the strongest impression.”
Zaki Hasan, San Francisco Chronicle
“Kill Krem! Save the dog! Those are the motivations driving the entire not-even-interesting-enough-to-be-convoluted plot of “Supergirl.” Maybe that’s why the movie is full of action yet numbingly flat.”
Owen Gleiberman, Variety
“What makes “Supergirl” stand out — and what might, unfortunately, alienate fans looking for more of the same — is its interest in staying small while asking some very big questions indeed.”
Kate Erbland, Indiewire
“This likeable but underwhelming sci-fi adventure only sporadically presents its protagonist in her best light. That said, Milly Alcock certainly has the chops and gravity for the role.”
Tim Grierson, Screen
“The mandate here appears to be to keep things as distinctly Gunn-esque as possible. In return, Superman’s moodier, more cynical relative has been robbed of the chance to speak with her own voice. It’s the superhero equivalent of a Vegas impersonator.”
Clarisse Loughrey, The Independent
“Alcock, with her smirk and her anguished eyes, is a very watchable lead, but this aggressively minor movie doesn’t know what to do with her or her character. And where’s the mystery in that?”
Allison Willmore, Vulture
“Despite being fairly light on its feet, Craig Gillespie’s bratty, high-flying space western is fatiguingly overfamiliar in a genre that can’t help but keep looking backward for inspiration as it clings to relevance.”
Rocco Thompson, Slant
“Like watching an endless orangey-grey rehash of scenes from Mad Max and Star Wars. Who is faster than a speeding bullet and can leap tall buildings in a single bound? Supergirl’s novel answer: who cares?”
Robbie Collin, Daily Telegraph
Supergirl opens tomorrow, and box office watchers will be paying attention.
