I admit that my knowledge of the character of Supergirl is limited, but I always thought that Kara had a similar cheery disposition much like her more famous cousin, but the 2026 Warner Bros. movie doesn’t portray her that way. At all. She’s the polar opposite in fact and I kinda like that. And it makes sense. Unlike Superman who was sent to Earth when he was just an infant, Kara was sent here when she was much older and had a real sense of what she lost. In this version anyway, this trauma really messes with her. She’s jaded. In the new film, she says that her cousin Clark sees the good in people, but she sees them as they really are.
I like the contrast between Clark (David Corenswet) and Kara (Milly Alcock) and I think director Craig Gillespie missed an opportunity to play these differences out much like the odd couple. He’s neat as a pin. She’s a mess. He’s kind. She could care less. He almost blushes when he swears. She lets it all hang out. But Supergirl isn’t this kind of movie. Unlike last summer’s Superman, which was beautiful to look at and didn’t take itself too seriously, Supergirl is dark and dingy.
Although our heroine was sent to Earth, almost all of Supergirl takes place in outer space with more species of aliens than Star Wars. It is Kara’s 23rd birthday and to celebrate, she and her dog Krypto visit different planets looking for their next home and her next drink.
Meanwhile, all but the youngest family member, Ruthye (Eve Ridley), is slaughtered by Krem “of the Yellow Hills”. Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts) is the leader of the Brigands, a group of human traffickers. Young Ruthye is understandably traumatized, yet she goes on a personal crusade to avenge her family’s deaths. And of course, she crosses paths with Kara asking for her help. Kara wants nothing to do with this drama, but when Krypto gets poisoned, Kara goes on a quest to retrieve the antidote and reluctantly takes Ruthye with her.
Ruthye isn’t the only one after Krem. So is Lobo, a bounty hunter played by former Aquaman Jason Momoa, who looks like the missing 5th member of the rock group KISS.
I didn’t hate Supergirl, but I wanted to have liked it a lot more. Perhaps Alcock played her part too well, because she isn’t likeable at all. She’s a badass to be sure, but she’s also negative, she’s always drunk and she only dons her Super costume for a few minutes in the film. She just doesn’t command sympathy like she should.
Overall, Supergirl isn’t much fun. Its runtime is one hour and 74 minutes, but it feels like two and half. Most of the movie Kara and Ruthye both running toward and away from bad guys and getting nowhere. It’s feels reminiscent of Man of Steel where there is a lot of action but little plot or character development. And Krypto (who I think is the real star of the show) has limited screen time. The movie is at is most enjoyable when Superman makes a couple of cameo appearances.
And then there is the question of who is this film for? Even at 23 years of age, Kara looks much younger and I think Alcock was miscast. Parents wanting to take their little girls to see Supergirl to enjoy some “girl power” should think again. Maybe the next one, but in this PG-13 film, Kara is hardly a role model. Not only that, but Supergirl is quite violent and intense. Two girls watch their families get murdered.
In addition, there is some “mild” profanity too that is unnecessary and in one case, (excuse my French), one villain says to Supergirl, “See ya later, T*ts!” There is no reason why this couldn’t have been a family-friendly adventure.
In a nutshell, DC has taken two steps forward (Superman) and three steps back (Supergirl).
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