written by: Ana Nogueira
produced by: James Gunn and Peter Safran
directed by: Craig Gillespie
rated: PG-13 (for sequences of strong violence, action, language, and smoking)
runtime: 108 min.
U.S. release date: June 26, 2026

Remember last summer, when Superman’s cousin, Kara-Zor-El, showed up drunk in the movie’s last few minutes of James Gunn’s “Superman”? If you got a kick out of that, “Supergirl” offers more of that and then some. That may not be good news for those who eye-rolled at the depiction of Superman’s younger cousin or for folks hoping for a superhero flick to take the whole family to. Kara may be related to Kal-El, but they’re polar opposites, despite both hailing from planet Krypton, and that’s one of the aspects that “Cruella” and “I, Tonya” director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Ana Nogueira touch upon in this continuation of Gunn’s DCU vision and the first Supergirl movie in 42 years.

Loosely based on the 2021-2022 limited series comic book, “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow” by Tom King and Bilquis Evely, the story begins with the titular character spending much of the first act in the same state she was last seen in: inebriated and reckless. Kara, known on Earth as Supergirl (Milly Alcock), is celebrating her 23rd birthday by embarking on a week-long solo pub crawl in space, maintaining a steady bender thanks to her proximity to a red sun, which renders her powerless and allows her to feel the effects of alcohol. She and her Kryptonian canine pal, Krypto, fly around aimlessly in the spacecraft they live out of, with no real purpose except to live a vagabond life.

That doesn’t sound very heroic or noble, but again, she’s not like her Boy Scout cousin. Kal-El grew up as Clark Kent (David Corenswet) in Smallville, Kansas, arriving on Earth as a baby boy, while Kara’s parents, scientist Zor-El (David Krumholtz) and Alura In-Ze (Emily Beecham), raised her on a floating city-state called Argo City, after Krypton was destroyed. That is, until she was a preteen and was sent off to Earth to follow her cousin, due to a Kryptonite outbreak that was gradually poisoning everyone. Kara’s tragic backstory is woven throughout the movie, offering more context for who she is each time. She either hasn’t given Earth a fair chance or just feels too much like a stranger there, despite her cousin’s encouragement to keep trying.

While visiting a planet under a red sun during her birthday week, Kara’s debauchery is interrupted by Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley), a young girl seeking someone to help with her plans for revenge. She recently witnessed both her parents and her brother being slaughtered by Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts), leader of the Brigands, a band of nefarious space pirates and human traffickers. Armed with a powerful sword that her father crafted, Ruthye is hoping someone will help her track down and kill Krem. At first, Kara shows no interest in helping the girl, but when Krem hijacks her ship and poisons Krypto, she has no choice but to go after him. With three days to get the antidote from Krem for Krypto, Kara sets out on a wild adventure throughout the galaxy, with a stubborn Ruthye in tow. The two young women will encounter a plethora of alien species, including a gruff, cigar-chomping bounty hunter named Lobo (former Aquaman Jason Momoa, hamming it up), who is after Krem’s right-hand, Lieutenant Drom Baxton (Diarmaid Murtagh).

“Supergirl” opens by introducing us to Ruthye and her home environment, which is soon interrupted by the murder of her family. Gillespie isn’t holding back the sudden violence and brutality, establishing that this definitely won’t be an “all ages” viewing experience. This is confirmed once we meet our titular character, who is in a prolonged drunken stupor, muttering profanity, or sitting on the toilet. It may not be how most moviegoers envision a super-heroine, but at no point does Alcock’s Kara claim to be one. She masks her grief and loss with sarcasm, cynicism, and humor, choosing to have a good time over confronting her personal problems head-on.

Alcock is terrific as Kara and is definitely the highlight here, portraying her as a self-reliant, carefree soul. She manages to find the very human dimension and the out-of-this-world charisma necessary to make Kara worth rooting for. She may be a character who physically plows through her problems rather than thoughtfully considering other options or a course of action that would minimize casualties and collateral damage, but it’s hard not to enjoy watching her. That’s yet another way she is different from her cousin. Corenswet’s extended cameo is sparsely sprinkled throughout the feature, and he and Alcock have great “cousin chemistry”, but his appearances never take away from who this movie is about.

What’s clear from start to finish is how much “Supergirl” feels aligned with Gunn’s overall vision for the DCU, for better or worse. While needle-drops are present, they never halt the flow of the feature, although one specific slow-mo action sequence that occurs towards the end of the third act includes an eye-roll of a needle drop that screams Gunn. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that he directed this, which doesn’t bode well for any individual style that Gillespie is supposedly bringing. The look and design of the aliens Kara and Ruthye run into read like extras or concepts from any of Gunn’s work on the “Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy, and the soundtrack cuts often aim to comedically underscore the on-screen action.

The end result is reminiscent of Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man movies for Marvel or Ron Howard’s “Solo” movie for Star Wars, in that it feels like a “director-for-hire” came on board and agreed to a “house-style” approach. Granted, those movies are better than this. That’s not to say the movie doesn’t offer the requisite superhero feats of strength and exciting action; it just doesn’t stand out as anything all that different, which is a bummer.

Considering the vibrant colors and unique, artful style of the source material, the visual pastiche of “Supergirl” is kind of a letdown. It’s understandable to make choices that deviate from the book, but for some reason, cinematographer Rob Hardy (who’s lensed a handful of Alex Garland’s films) has chosen a somewhat dour palette for these characters to inhabit. That said, Krypton looks great, and I was glad to hear Nogueira and Gillespie lean into the Kryptonians speaking Kryptonese, which lends the movie a convincing alien authenticity.

“Supergirl” takes too long for Kara to don her iconic super suit, which could’ve been solved early on. There’s probably a reason for that, considering it takes the movie’s third act for Kara to embrace who she is. She also wants to save Ruthye from going down the wrong road in her quest for vengeance. Is it because she wants to prevent her from becoming like her? Possibly. Maybe she wants Ruthye to be better than her. These are interesting ideas that the movie doesn’t explore in depth or with any satisfaction. “Supergirl” is basically what would happen if “True Grit” were set in outer space, in a “Mad Max” landscape with “Guardians of the Galaxy” extras.

RATING: **1/2