Plot Summary: After Supergirl arrives on Earth she must adjust to a human life while drawing the attention of Darkseid.
Review: That has got to be one of the most misleading titles out there. There is no apocalypse, nor a real threat of one, and Batman hardly does anything. They should have kept the original comic title of "The Supergirl from Krypton" since that is the character this movie is really about. I mean, yes, Superman is doing tons, and is the main character, but the heart of the story revolves around Supergirl. Batman mostly plays support while you also have Wonder Woman and Big Barda playing significant roles in the fights. I guess this will annoy Batman fans, but, honestly, he stands no chance in a fight against Darkseid who serves as the antagonist this time around. For the most part, this is a good action movie that showcases a fair amount of DC characters and what they're capable of, but the overall events feel pointless and rushed for some reason.
The story begins with Supergirl, referred to as Kara until the movie's end, landing on Earth in Gotham City where she wreaks all manner of havoc as her powers inexplicably manifest out of her control. Don't worry about the voices, it's still Tim Daly as Superman, Kevin Conroy as Batman, and Susan Eisenberg as Wonder Woman; the beautiful Summer Glau serves as the voice for Supergirl. Eventually Batman and Superman get Kara under control and help her learn the basics of living on Earth. Kara may come off a bit annoying since she is supposed to be a teenager, but she grows on you as she focuses and gets stronger. Since, apparently, Darkseid monitors Earth for whatever reason, he wants a new leader for his honor guard, dubbed "the furies," and sees potential in Kara. Annoyingly Darkseid is not voiced by Michael Ironside, but it's not a deal-breaker for me at least. When taking a stroll around Metropolis, in an attempt to show Kara the better aspects of living on Earth, they get into a fight with Wonder Woman and the amazons who, with Batman's approval, believe Kara needs better training and isolation until she's older and with a better understanding of her powers. Uhh, not sure how attacking Kara proves this since she reacted how most would. And are you trying to tell me collateral destruction would not be guaranteed if two people with godlike powers clashed? Regardless, Superman goes along with it as we cut to Kara training with the amazons on their magic island, Themyscira. Hmm, an island of nothing but beautiful, goddess-esque women...would that be heaven or hell?
No sooner has Kara grown accustomed to this life, they are attacked by Doomsday clones; this decision felt odd to me. We have to assume the clones are super weak versions or else, not only would they obliterate the amazons with ease, but, hell, they would have destroyed Darkseid and his whole planet. But if they're weak, why bother? Eh, I'm not going to pretend to understand the finer points of the DC universe. During the fray, Kara is captured and taken to Darkseid's world, Apokolips. For some reason, none of the heroes can get to Apokolips so they seek the help of Big Barda who used to lead the furies. Ready to roll, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Big Barda embark to Apokolips and immediately start to kick the ass of flunkies that try to stop them. The highlight is definitely when Wonder Woman and Big Barda take on the furies themselves. Superman heads for Darkseid personally, but he must contend with a brainwashed Kara looking pretty damn sexy. Kara's brainwashing was brushed over, but considering this film is kind of short we could have had more emphasis on how this process worked rather than making it sound easy. But because they had to make Batman feel relevant, he rigs Darkseid's planet to be destroyed if he doesn't let everyone go which Darkseid obliges; still not even sure how Batman survived this encounter--but then again he's Batman! With Kara back to normal, Superman decides to take her to Smallville where she can live a normal life. Well, you knew this movie wouldn't end without a real battle with Darkseid, and he is of course waiting for them at the Kent farm. I wonder how long Darkseid was just hanging out waiting? How did he even know they were coming? This is a pretty good fight, but Darkseid would get his ass handed to him by a Superman/Supergirl combo. It's actually Darkseid that appears to have the upper hand until they send him back to Apokolips before anyone can die. The film ends with Kara finally in the Supergirl outfit and being referred to as that name.
The thing I really liked about this film was that it felt like it could almost connect to the Superman animated series or "Justice League" even though those shows did have their own Supergirl. The animation looks good, the heroes have individual time to shine, there's a decent amount of DC characters presented, the action is entertaining and the fights are epic, and the voice acting was done well using the voice actors many prefer. On the other hand, I felt like there were moments wasted to expand the story given the short running time. The story is also jumpy as we go from one location to the next as if we're rushing to get to the next fight without enough setup. Nonetheless, this is one of the better DC films for me, but you need a certain working knowledge of the DC universe or you may be wondering what the hell is going on and who are certain people.
The story begins with Supergirl, referred to as Kara until the movie's end, landing on Earth in Gotham City where she wreaks all manner of havoc as her powers inexplicably manifest out of her control. Don't worry about the voices, it's still Tim Daly as Superman, Kevin Conroy as Batman, and Susan Eisenberg as Wonder Woman; the beautiful Summer Glau serves as the voice for Supergirl. Eventually Batman and Superman get Kara under control and help her learn the basics of living on Earth. Kara may come off a bit annoying since she is supposed to be a teenager, but she grows on you as she focuses and gets stronger. Since, apparently, Darkseid monitors Earth for whatever reason, he wants a new leader for his honor guard, dubbed "the furies," and sees potential in Kara. Annoyingly Darkseid is not voiced by Michael Ironside, but it's not a deal-breaker for me at least. When taking a stroll around Metropolis, in an attempt to show Kara the better aspects of living on Earth, they get into a fight with Wonder Woman and the amazons who, with Batman's approval, believe Kara needs better training and isolation until she's older and with a better understanding of her powers. Uhh, not sure how attacking Kara proves this since she reacted how most would. And are you trying to tell me collateral destruction would not be guaranteed if two people with godlike powers clashed? Regardless, Superman goes along with it as we cut to Kara training with the amazons on their magic island, Themyscira. Hmm, an island of nothing but beautiful, goddess-esque women...would that be heaven or hell?
No sooner has Kara grown accustomed to this life, they are attacked by Doomsday clones; this decision felt odd to me. We have to assume the clones are super weak versions or else, not only would they obliterate the amazons with ease, but, hell, they would have destroyed Darkseid and his whole planet. But if they're weak, why bother? Eh, I'm not going to pretend to understand the finer points of the DC universe. During the fray, Kara is captured and taken to Darkseid's world, Apokolips. For some reason, none of the heroes can get to Apokolips so they seek the help of Big Barda who used to lead the furies. Ready to roll, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Big Barda embark to Apokolips and immediately start to kick the ass of flunkies that try to stop them. The highlight is definitely when Wonder Woman and Big Barda take on the furies themselves. Superman heads for Darkseid personally, but he must contend with a brainwashed Kara looking pretty damn sexy. Kara's brainwashing was brushed over, but considering this film is kind of short we could have had more emphasis on how this process worked rather than making it sound easy. But because they had to make Batman feel relevant, he rigs Darkseid's planet to be destroyed if he doesn't let everyone go which Darkseid obliges; still not even sure how Batman survived this encounter--but then again he's Batman! With Kara back to normal, Superman decides to take her to Smallville where she can live a normal life. Well, you knew this movie wouldn't end without a real battle with Darkseid, and he is of course waiting for them at the Kent farm. I wonder how long Darkseid was just hanging out waiting? How did he even know they were coming? This is a pretty good fight, but Darkseid would get his ass handed to him by a Superman/Supergirl combo. It's actually Darkseid that appears to have the upper hand until they send him back to Apokolips before anyone can die. The film ends with Kara finally in the Supergirl outfit and being referred to as that name.
The thing I really liked about this film was that it felt like it could almost connect to the Superman animated series or "Justice League" even though those shows did have their own Supergirl. The animation looks good, the heroes have individual time to shine, there's a decent amount of DC characters presented, the action is entertaining and the fights are epic, and the voice acting was done well using the voice actors many prefer. On the other hand, I felt like there were moments wasted to expand the story given the short running time. The story is also jumpy as we go from one location to the next as if we're rushing to get to the next fight without enough setup. Nonetheless, this is one of the better DC films for me, but you need a certain working knowledge of the DC universe or you may be wondering what the hell is going on and who are certain people.
Notable Moment: When Wonder Woman and Big Barda fight Darkseid's "furies." An all female brawl? Sounds good to me and damn Wonder Woman is a badass.
Final Rating: 6.5/10
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