Stubs - Supergirl

Supergirl (2026) starring Milly Alcock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, David Corenswet, Jason Momoa. Directed by Craig Gillespie. Screenplay by Ana Nogueira, Based on Characters from DC. Produced by Peter Safran, James Gunn. Run time: 108 minutes. Color. USA. Superhero

Supergirl aka Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) with her best friend, Krypto.

 

Something that Supergirl has in common with John Wick is that nobody hurts her dog. Just like Wick slayed a whole hell of a lot of people because someone killed his dog, Supergirl aka Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) goes on a revenge tour when her dog Krypto is left incapacitated by Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaert), the leader of the Brigands, a rowdy group of space pirates. Along the way, she picks up Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridle), a youing woman who has witnessed Krem kill her father, mother and brother, and is out for her own revenge. Add to that Kara has just three days to find Krem, who has stolen her spaceship, and return with the antidote to save Krypto, a daunting task.

Supergirl is based on DC comics and utilizes characters that would be well-known to longtime readers. How accurate it is to the comics themselves is not something I'm equipped to answer.

The film has not opened as well as had previously expected, but some of the blame on that can be the rather lackluster intro Superman (2025), which is supposed to have kicked off a revival of the DC Universe under the leadership of James Gunn. But some of it has to do with the film itself.

Eve Ridle as Ruthye.

Before we get into that, I'd like to say that the acting is good pretty much all the way around. Milly Alcock does a good job playing a conflicted character, looking for some place to fit in. She isn't afraid to let loose when called for, either. Matthias Schoenaerts is good as the main villain, Krem, and Eve Ridley makes Ruthie into an interesting character who can't stop talking and doesn't take Supergirl's directions very well. Sometimes, the film almost seems as much Ruthie's story as Supergirl's. Jason Momoa almost disappears into the role of Lobo, an immortal bounty hunter who seems out for himself, but takes time to help.

Also, the fighting scenes are well-choreographed and easy to follow, something I can't say about all films with epic battlefields.

Supergirl itself is a gritty take on the superhero genre, and by that I mean there's a lot more pissing, man, woman and dog, than I've seen in any other superhero film; I don't really need to watch my heroes or their dogs urinate, or barf for that matter, which we're treated to here as well. The language is a little loose, but not profane, though I did take offense at Supergirl being called "tits" by Lobo. But worse that than, the pace is rather slow, and the 108 minutes runtime doesn't really fly by.

As with last summer's Superman, our main hero needs help in order to prevail. In this case, we don't get a Justice League prequel, but Supergirl needs almost as much saving as Ruthie does and sometimes it is Ruthie saving her. And I'm not sure she would have won the last boss fight without Lobo.

We do get Supergirl's backstory, something Superman failed to do. And unlike its predecessor, it doesn't feel like you're coming in on the middle of a larger story. Also better than Superman, the stakes aren't as high; the Earth this time isn't being split in half.

Besides a slow pace, the film also seems to lack the fun factor, which is in part why summer blockbusters are blockbusters. There really isn't any humor in the film. The idea of cutting the tension must have been left on the cutting room floor.

If you're really into the DC franchise, you might be disappointed and if you're not,  you are probably better off skipping this one altogether. Not sure if we'll see a third film with either David Corenswet as Superman or Milly Alcock as Supergirl, but I would hope we do and that the third time's the charm.

While I went in wanting to like Supergirl, I can't say I would really recommend it as a standalone film. It's not bad, but it's not as great as it could have potentially been. Also, don't make the same mistake I did and see it in 3-D, as I'm hard-pressed to remember anything memorable as a result.