Craig Gillespie’s Supergirl is a movie I really wanted to enjoy, but unfortunately, the film itself left me with very little to get excited about. There’s a potentially entertaining story buried somewhere in this intergalactic revenge adventure, but the screenplay never manages to bring it to life in a satisfying way. What should be a fun, energetic addition to the DC universe instead feels surprisingly dull, with a story that struggles to give its characters or its larger-than-life premise the kind of impact they deserve.
The film has plenty of recognizable names and some ambitious ideas, but the execution is where things fall apart for me. The appearances by Superman and Lobo don’t do much to improve the experience, and the script’s attempts at humor and emotional weight rarely land the way they’re intended to. There are moments that work, but they are too few and far between to overcome the film’s larger problems. By the time the credits rolled, I found myself more disappointed by what the movie could have been than excited about what it actually delivered.
That said, Warner Bros. has given Supergirl a very impressive 4K presentation. I may not be a fan of the film’s overall visual style, but there’s no denying that it looks excellent on disc. The new 2160p/HDR10/Dolby Vision transfer is clean, sharp, and consistently well rendered from beginning to end. Fine detail is excellent, with facial textures, costumes, production design, and the film’s various visual effects all benefiting from the increased resolution.
The color palette is somewhat different from other recent DC releases, but it works well with the movie’s visual approach. Colors are rich and vibrant when they need to be, while darker scenes benefit from deep blacks and strong contrast. The Dolby Vision grade is handled with care, giving the image a natural sense of depth without pushing everything into an overly bright or artificial appearance. The movie’s various locations, costumes, and visual effects all look great, and the presentation does a fine job preserving the intended look of the film.
The disc encoding is also excellent. Housed on a triple-layered 100GB disc, the film maintains a consistently strong bitrate, and I didn’t notice any banding, macroblocking, or other compression-related issues. This is a smooth, polished presentation that looks exactly the way a modern 4K release should.
Ultimately, Supergirl is a movie that didn’t work for me. I appreciate the ambition and the effort that went into bringing this story to the screen, but the weak script, uneven pacing, and lack of emotional weight make it difficult to recommend. There are some fun moments, and fans of the characters may find more to enjoy here than I did, but I can’t help feeling that this should have been a much better movie.
Thankfully, the 4K release is a different story. Warner Bros. has delivered an excellent presentation that looks and sounds fantastic, and fans who enjoyed the film will be very happy with this edition. For everyone else, though, it’s worth a rent.
Have you seen it yet? Are you a fan of this movie? Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Cheers,
Matt.
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