Supergirl movie review (2026)

Supergirl is in a similar situation from the comic books — following in the cinematic footsteps of her famous cousin. While James Gunn’s Superman revival was a gleeful embrace of all the inherent fun of comic books, Supergirl’s film is a bleaker, more grounded and almost more (gasp) Snyder-like take of the iconic character.

There is still some fun to be had, but the filmmakers’ quest to make Supergirl a different experience than Superman results in a film that constantly feels like it’s deliberately holding back the wonder and excitement that could have made this a special movie.

Kara (Milly Alcock) is spending her 23rd birthday off of Earth in a solar system with a red sun, which dampens her powers. That allows Kara to get ripped and blackout drunk. Kara doesn’t have a lot of time for the messages from Superman (David Corensweat), who suggests if she spent more time on Earth she’d come to view it as her home. All she really needs is her rambunctiously hyper dog, Krypto.

Promotion of the film was extensive, and the trailers end up telling far too much of the various moments of the film. Lines that would have had more impact watching during the movie lose something as audiences are already familiar with the setup and the payoff.

Supergirl largely adapts the critically acclaimed 2021-2022 mini-series Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (check it out on trade paperback at Amazon) from writer Tom King, artist Bilquis Evely, colorist Matheus Lopes and letterer Clayton Cowles.

In terms of Supergirl stories, the DC Studios team could not have picked a better fit to line up with its take on the Girl of Steel. The comic story was a unique take on the character and removed her from the large shadow of her more famous cousin.

On one of her galactic pub crawls, Kara encounters Ruthye (Eve Ridley), a young girl seeking revenge after her family was ruthlessly killed by Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts, The Old Guard 2), a member of the Brigands space pirate gang. The comic is written from Ruthye’s perspective, which makes Supergirl almost come off more like a mythical figure. That take is missing with the film as its story is more on Kara’s standard hero’s journey to overcome heartbreak and find a path to make a positive impact on the world.

Kara does gain her own personal stake against Krem after he poisons Krypto. If she can’t get the antidote, which he wears around his neck, in three days, Kara will lose her pet and best friend.

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Gunn, the DC Studios co-chair/CEO, didn’t direct Supergirl, but director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Ana Nogueira certainly made the film in his image with irreverent humor, using a wacky soundtrack as a crutch to soften the impact of the action sequences and a litany of quirky characters.

The film is PG-13, but much like Superman it’s not the violence that might make it a tough watch for the entire family, but the needless four-letter expletives. It’s certainly not like peppering the script with copious amounts of curse words enhances the dialogue.

There are some script deficiencies — the result of dramatically shifting to a zany adventure to the darker themes of revenge from Woman of Tomorrow — but Alcock is fantastic. She gives Kara a full emotional range as she tries to overcome her personal trauma. This is told in one of the film’s strongest segments in a flashback where Kara loses her family and is sent to Earth by her father, Zor-El (David Krumholtz).

Supergirl might not be the best showcase for Alcock’s Supergirl, but she’s got full command the character and it feels like her next turn in Superman: Man of Tomorrow will offer a better spotlight. Ridley makes for a solid companion on this journey as a faithful sidekick and provider of the kick in the pants when it’s needed.

Corensweat’s earnest take on Superman is so likable that he doesn’t need a ton of screen time to provide some of the film’s best moments. Jason Momoa has a supporting role as the feared bounty hunter Lobo, who steals several scenes. Supergirl’s Superman and Lobo scenes prove that perhaps the best path for DC Studios is to show characters happily embracing their roles instead of being reluctantly forced into them.

While there are several bright spots in the film, Krem is not. He’s easily in the conversation for Top 5 worst comic book movie villain and makes a strong case for the all-time worst.

There’s absolutely nothing special with Krem. He’s such a goofy, generic bad guy that he hardly qualifies as a big bad. He’s more like the second-best henchman to the main boss. Nogueira takes a nuanced loathsome bastard of a villain and made him an oaf who communicates in grunts as often as full sentences. Superman has to deal with the cunning malevolence of the genius Lex Luthor. Supergirl is chasing around after a guy it feels like Jimmy Olsen could easily outwit.

Gillespie provides some decent action sequences even if some of the movements look somewhat stilted with a drab, desert and dust cloud backdrop. Too much of Supergirl’s color palette is washed out fully failing to match Evely and Lopes’s visuals in the comic.

Like superhero films of the early 2000s, when Kara dons her Supergirl costume just in time for the big final fight, the film feels like it’s finally reached the level it probably should have reached far earlier.

Ultimately, Supergirl plays out like a side quest for a key character in next year’s Superman film instead of a stellar spotlight worthy of Alcock’s tremendous performance.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Photo Credit: Warner Bros.

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