Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, joins forces with an unlikely companion on an interstellar journey of vengeance and justice when an unexpected adversary strikes too close to home.
I’ll admit it: the moment I saw the “Supergirl” trailer, I braced myself for disappointment. Maybe it’s because James Gunn’s “Superman” reboot in 2025 left me feeling pretty underwhelmed, or maybe I just don’t think he’s the guy to fix DC’s mess. His GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY films? Loved them. But lately, his DC projects have fallen flat for me. I was familiar with Superman’s origin at this point, but Kara Zor-El? She was new territory, and honestly, that was the only thing that got me through the door.
On a technical level, “Supergirl” is flashy—sometimes to a fault. The movie relies so heavily on CGI that you’d swear they forgot what a real set looks like. For nearly the entire runtime, it’s just one visual spectacle stacked on top of another. The action scenes drag on, and the constant barrage of effects quickly turns from impressive to overwhelming. Sure, given all the alien planets and outer space scenes, you expect a lot of computer magic, but there’s such a thing as too much. I kept wishing the film would just take a breath and let us actually get to know the characters. I mean, I’m all for a thrill ride, but “Supergirl” is like going on a roller coaster that never ends—you just want to get off for a second to catch your breath. Action for action’s sake just turns into white noise if you’re not careful.
The story itself follows Kara (Milly Alcock), who’s basically wandering through the cosmos with her dog, Krypto, on her twenty-third birthday. Most days, she’s drinking away her troubles and nursing hangovers. Then she meets Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley), a young woman desperate for help avenging her family by hunting down Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts), the pirate who ruined her life. Kara tries to avoid getting tangled up in all of it, but once Krem poisons Krypto and holds the antidote over her head, she’s got no choice but to chase him down—and, in the process, ends up fighting Ruthye’s battle, too.
After watching the press screening, I found myself struggling to name anything the movie truly nailed. In hindsight, the only real spark came from Jason Momoa. He ditches his Aquaman image to play Lobo, a wild-card mercenary with a wicked sense of humor, and he’s easily the most entertaining thing on screen. He’s got that unpredictable, anti-hero thing down and ends up stealing the show.
On the flip side, Milly Alcock as Supergirl just doesn’t work for me. She was outstanding in “House of the Dragon,” so I was rooting for her, but here, she never really gets you on her side. Even though the script tries to dig into Kara’s pain and her fight to be more than just a tragic figure, I never found myself caring about her journey. The movie tries for an emotional payoff, but it just fizzles.
David Corenswet turns up as Superman for a hot minute, but this is all about Kara. Oddly enough, the side characters are more compelling than she is. The film plays it safe, sticking to a superhero formula we’ve all seen too many times. That’s disappointing, because there was definitely a story here worth telling. I still remember Helen Slater’s Supergirl from the 1984 film—she was instantly endearing, tough, and could hold her own alongside legends like Faye Dunaway and Peter O’Toole. That movie didn’t break box office records (probably because audiences were still recovering from “Superman III”), but Slater made the character stick. I wish I could say the same for Alcock, but her version never quite lands, and I keep wondering why she was chosen for the role.
I doubt “Supergirl” is going to draw crowds, and that doesn’t exactly make me confident in James Gunn’s vision for DC Studios. His “Superman” felt like a small step up, but I found myself longing for the moody tone Zack Snyder brought or the weight Henry Cavill gave the character. Maybe things would’ve played out differently if Cavill had stayed, but honestly, the real problem was the script—it just didn’t grab you, and it dragged Superman down with it. Gunn’s already gearing up for the next chapter, “Man of Tomorrow,” pitting Superman and Lex Luthor against Brainiac. Given how things have gone recently, your guess is as good as mine about what comes next, but I’m hoping he can finally get it right.
In Theaters Friday, June 26th
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