Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

Supergirl embodied some super powerful themes. As a disclaimer to start, I have to rewatch it again later when it comes out on streaming, so I can watch it more thoroughly with subtitles due to bad hearing. However, I wanted to get this out there as a start in order to validate the movie, since I already love it. I want to do my part in countering the bad reviews online.

Kara (Milly Alcock) is both the cool girl as well as the more complex and compelling dark feminine character. As the cool girl, she’s a cross between Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) in Thor: Ragnarok and Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) in Guardians of the Galaxy. Drunken, independent, and nonchalant. Yet, when it comes down to defending the innocent from danger, she steps up immediately. She saw little Ruthye as a nuisance at first glance, but then felt intrinsically called to protect her.

Supergirl is also somewhat reminiscent of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in terms of having some of the darker qualities. She was traumatized by having her whole species decimated, including her parents and her planet. She was sent off to safety in a space shuttle by her father, alone with only her cute little puppy. The only kin in the universe remaining was her cousin —Superman, whom she met for the first time upon arrival on Earth.

Unlike other “good” superheroes, she’s not afraid to kill the villain in the end. She spares Ruthye the moral burden – insisting that she walk away from the bloody deed. After Ruthye (Eve Ridley) reluctantly complies and tearfully hugs her, departing the scene, Kara stabs the villain twice, in the chest. It’s pretty gruesome. This is pretty much the personification of dark feminine energy. Destroying evil in order to protect the good and the innocent. Kara possesses Kali energy, the dark feminine goddess in Hindu mythology. Only a baby fan of the DC comics if that, I hadn’t known the storyline ahead of time. I was a bit surprised by the direct demise of the villain, to be honest.

If I had truly wished to witness "Guardians of the Galaxy", I would have stayed home to do so. Instead, I went to the IMAX and took in this newest incarnation of one of the most recognized and adapted superheroes in the DC Universe. **Sigh** Let me be clear here. I am NOT saying this is an AWFUL film. But, I think the degree of overall disappointment I felt after it was over still lingers, and it is giving me serious hesitations about the future of the James Gunn-led DC films.

There are so many interwoven stories, themes, character arcs, timelines, and dimensions! In order to keep track of the MCU films and figure out what to watch when, here’s a list of those that have come out – 29 as of now — as well as what's coming up in the next few years. Included are related articles and Incluvie score (and a fun 1.5 minute TikTok).