Supergirl: Film Review

"Supergirl"Directed by Craig GillespieWritten by Ana NoguieraStarring Milly Alcock, Eve Ridley, Matthias Schoenaerts, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, David Corenswet, Jason MomoaRated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, action, language, and smokingRuntime: 108 minutesRelease Date: June 26, 2026

Final Thought

Supergirl inspires almost nothing as Craig Gillespie attempts his best James Gunn impression.

Rating

★★.5 / 5

Logline

From DC Studios:

When an unexpected and ruthless adversary strikes too close to home, Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, reluctantly joins forces with an unlikely companion on an epic, interstellar journey of vengeance and justice.

Review: The Art of the Needle Drop

The right piece of music can make or break a film. In non-musical films, a well-placed song can create a moment, and even more so, a strong soundtrack. With the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, James Gunn proved himself as a master in the art of the needle drop, only further proven by his DC ventures, particularly last year’s Superman. I was a big fan of James Gunn’s Superman last year, even going as far as ranking it at #14 on my year-end list podcast (here) and describing it - in five words - as the "best DC movie ever, methinks."

Superman worked for a litany of reasons - strong performances, a funny, early-MCU-style script, astute political commentary - but the Iggy Pop needle drop ending had every one of its $600 million worth of audience members wanting to be a punk rocker. Craig Gillespie’s follow-up Supergirl unfortunately falls short of Gunn’s film on almost every level, including, but not limited to, the lack of a strong and effective needle drop.

DC Studios’ Supergirl meets its titular character (Milly Alcock), whose given name is Kara Zor-el, as she endures a seemingly never-ending crawl of bars on planets with red suns. On a drunken night, she meets and reluctantly saves Ruthye (Eve Ridley), a young girl searching for the evil Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts). After her dog Krypto is incapacitated by Krem, Kara must join Ruthye on her mission so they can save her dog, but more secrets get revealed along the way, forcing Kara to decide what kind of hero she wants to be.

Supergirl represents the conclusion of what I refer to as Craig Gillespie’s Trilogy of Misunderstood Women: the first being 2017’s I, Tonya and 2021’s Disney Plus day-and-date release Cruella. I'd liken it to Pablo Larraín's 20th Century Women trilogy of Jackie (2016), Spencer (2021), and Maria (2024). Both Gillespie films are incredibly strong, Academy-Award-winning films (read my review of Cruella, a film I give more credit to than most, here) aimed at illuminating humanity within these previously villainized and perpetually unforgiven figures. Supergirl's Kara is NOT a villain, clearly, but in her world, she is misunderstood, which places her character in apt company.

Supergirl, also, is the first film of Gillespie’s unofficial trilogy to bear sole credit from a first-time female screenwriter, Ana Nogueira (I, Tonya has a sole male screenwriter, Steven Rogers, and Cruella has all-gender story and screenwriting teams). It’s disappointing, then, that it carries the weakest script of all three, the main culprit for the film's misgivings, and like Larraín's third entry, is the weakest of them all.

The densely plotted script doesn’t seem all that concerned with Kara’s interiority, which hurts the film especially considering her character isn’t as established as Clark Kent. The only aspect of her character that is abundantly clear from the jump is that she loves her CGI dog. Her motivations never feel like her own, and while it’s clear she’s on a journey to find motivation, her character can’t help but feel passive. There are welcome flashbacks that key the audience into her “Kryptonian” origins, as well, but in a film that is not an origin story, they drag and feel a bit lengthy. I almost wish the film would spend more time on her upbringing in space and on Earth because then, it would feel more focused.

Milly Alcock mostly holds her own in the lead role, but I must admit, she wouldn’t have been my first choice to lead a film of this size. Jason Momoa, who was clearly cast to simultaneously buttress the star power of the film and confuse anyone who remembers that Aquaman is a DC property, stands out more than Alcock in his limited screen time, but he’s never an actor that I’m excited to see. Eve Ridley, whose character’s relationship with Supergirl can only be described as “grand-queer/baby-queer,” makes an impact as Ruthye in her debut film role, while the rest of the supporting cast are also… there.

Supergirl somewhat stands out because of enticing practical creature design, but the visual effects work outside of that is largely poor. The action scenes were strong, especially those edited to look like one-shot, but they felt scarce. The score and music miss the mark, too, as Supergirl’s character motif doesn’t carry the same gravitas as Superman’s and every needle drop in this film feels… anti-climactic. It’s unfortunate that this follow-up doesn’t reach the heights of its predecessor.

A particular strength of Gunn’s Superman was its political commentary, whether intended or not, condemning the expansion of the state of Israel and the mass displacement and genocide of Palestinian people through a conflict between the fictional nations Boravia and Jarhanpur. Never once before then did I expect a film from Warner Bros. to be any kind of anti-zionist (giving Gunn a shit ton of credit here, I'm aware), but after last year’s surprise, I assumed its follow-up to fall in line.

Jason Momoa in "Supergirl"

For the duration of the runtime, I waited for a similar edge in Supergirl, whether political or otherwise, and while flashes of a ripe commentary on the over-presence of child sex trafficking appear, not much else does. Worse, the trafficking victims in the story feel completely ornamental as there is not one that has an established character, or maybe even a line. Without this, the only (baby) teeth this film has are its thin “girl power” vibes, and, unfortunately for Gillespie and co., the tooth fairy is on the way.

The gravest offense of this film might have nothing to do with the film itself, but with what it made me feel: nothing. Nothing past what I had to remember to write this review stayed with me after leaving my press screening. In fact, I almost chose to not write this review and take a break until next week because I had trouble thinking of something to write about.

As I view it, when it comes to receiving art, apathy is a worse response than hatred, because even if I hated it, at least I felt something. I did not hate Supergirl, but I did not love Supergirl. I felt nothing about Supergirl, and that is a fate I fear not even a good needle drop can fix.

Viewed on 6/22/26 at press screening

Published on 6/24/26

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