(**)
Supergirl’s life is a super mess, and her film is close to being a super miss.
Milly Alcock’s interpretation of her, aka Kara Zor-El, provided brief, rebellious comic relief in the 2025 Superman reboot. She was a nice counterbalance to David Corenswet’s calming, nerdy interpretation of the man of steel, aka Kal-El. Her cynicism was fine for a cameo but 107 minutes of that negativity and her incessantly sour dialogue are a challenge the talky screenplay should have foreseen.
This superhero is not the milquetoast variety. She has mental and emotional issues that have led to a bleak outlook on life. She admits she’s prone to pub crawls where she tries to wash away her sorrow. For longtime fans, she’s nothing like the young woman portrayed in classic DC comics or the 1984 film starring Helen Slater. This incarnation traces her roots back to a 2021–2022 DC Comics miniseries dubbed Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow written by Tom King. It was centered around an alien tween’s intergalactic quest to hunt down a ruthless killer aided by the strongest girl she could find. It has a Guardians of the Galaxy sense of dark humor.
For those familiar with that production, what unfolds onscreen won’t be a surprise. For those who aren’t and are looking for Taylor Swift wholesomeness in a superhero for their little girls on a Saturday night excursion to the cineplex, uh oh. Surprise! During some scenes you may have to cover little Tiffany’s eyes because she can’t unsee what she sees. This superhero is for older teens, twentysomethings and above.
This more sci-fi, young adult approach to storytelling features Kara/Supergirl (Alcock) living in a trailer on a who-knows-what planet. Her wonderfully mischievous and reckless dog Krypto, who stole the Supermanmovie away from all, keeps her company. She’s approached by Ruthye (Eve Ridley), an alien who’s on a revenge mission that would shame Charles Bronson. She wants the superhero to capture/kill Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts, The Mustang), the sociopath who murdered her parents. Ruthye whines incessantly, “He murdered my innocent family.” Kara is reluctant to sign on: “Your revenge won’t take your pain away.” But if she doesn’t, there wouldn’t be a movie. So as per Ana Nogueira’s equally annoying and misguided script, she gets caught up in the mission.
Mind you there’s something odd and ill-conceived about a 14-year-old girl from a farming community being this bitter. It’s unappealing. Also, difficult as she is, audiences may like parts of Kara’s attitude, which is about as unapologetic as pop/rocker Alanis Morissette and as moody and unpolished as Billie Eilish. Though, others might be perplexed. Some will debate whether parts of this film are appropriate for little girls to watch. Probably not, hence, the PG-13 rating. But try telling your 10-year-old that she can’t see the movie. And any splitting away of potential demographics is not helpful at the big box office.
Another bone of contention is the crimes Krem is committing. He’s trafficking young girls, who he corrals, to sell off or give to others as young brides. Say what!!! It’s shocking that no one at the studio thought this theme might be too dark and scary for girls to see. Yes, human trafficking is an issue. No, a fantasy, superhero film is likely not the right venue to explain it, not that this film ever does. So, the screenplay exhibits questionable judgment again. But this unsettling lapse is not the biggest sin.
If the audience has to be stuck with a bad-attitude twentysomething for nearly two hours, the only antidote could be her fluffy white, irreverent dog who could put a smile on a witch’s face. And in the dumbest decision since not taking the last lifeboat off the Titanic, the writer, director and producers OK’d an unwise storyline that minimizes the canine’s screen time. Hey. Give the dog a bone. Krypto could have saved this movie, but he was chained to a stupid plot device.
Yet, if those errors in the misguided script weren’t fixed, so be it. Australian filmmaker Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya and Pam & Tommy) directs from that blueprint and he isn’t an obvious choice for this superhero/action/adventure/drama/sci-fi/fantasy hybrid. His lack of a background in the mixed genre is most telltale in his action scenes. Some are fun and get the blood rushing, but too many look generic and never spectacular. However, he does manage to sustain the sardonic tone throughout.
Some viewers will appreciate the range of settings, from Kara’s cluttered trailer to the regal sequences depicting her departure from her doomed planet Krypton. The latter sequences are the film’s most fanciful and evocative. That’s when production designer Neil Lamont’s taste and Rob Hardy’s cinematography mesh well. The work of Visual Effects Supervisor Geoffrey Baumann peaks in some fight scenes where the young girl of steel battles Krem and his army of weird-looking bros.
All the while, music supervisor Susan Jacobs and composer Claudia Sarne crank up classic, infectious soul tunes (“What Becomes of the Broken Hearted”) and a score that underlines the peril. Editors Tatiana S. Riegel and Fred Raskin tie all the sequences together into a package that has an inner rhythm to it. And praise the makeup artist or special effects person who put all those little, silver studs on Krem’s face. It’s a very inventive makeup effect.
Fortunately, Supergirl has a satisfying character arc that puts her super angst into perspective. As that evolution happens, Alcock delivers the goods the best she can with what she’s got. Ridley’s performance does little to make her character less than an irritant. Jason Momoa, as Lobo the interloper on a motorcycle, wastes his bad-boy aura. Schoenaerts’s version of the sulky, understated villain with a metal stud face rash that requires a dermatologist with a factory-grade sander, is suitably detestable. He gets plenty of screen time as he roams around galaxies terrorizing everyone. Meanwhile, Krypto rides the bench.
Fans of the miniseries may get what they want and expect with this irreverent Supergirl approach. Parents looking for entertainment for their young children may think this film doesn’t fly, much like the heroine when kryptonite has drained her powers.
The world doesn’t need another mediocre superhero movie. It does need more strong films in that genre led by compelling female characters. Supergirl never rises to that challenge. Nor does it represent the next generation of bold, innovative superhero storytelling. It’s almost a super miss.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1-pfiVMKAs
Visit Film Critic Dwight Brown at DwightBrownInk.com.