SUPERGIRL Review: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly…Or Is It?

Introduction

When DC Comics introduced Supergirl in 1959, she wasn’t simply conceived as a female version of Superman. She was created during a period when ownership questions surrounding Superboy made it important for DC to expand the Superman family with characters the company fully controlled. More importantly, Kara Zor-El quickly became her own character.

Unlike Superman, she remembered Krypton. She remembered her parents. She experienced loss in a way Clark Kent never could. That distinction lies at the heart of Supergirl, James Gunn’s latest chapter in the new DC Universe. The film draws heavily from Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s acclaimed graphic novel Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and for the most part, it remains remarkably faithful to its source material.

Synopsis

The story follows Ruthye (Eve Ridley), a young girl whose family has been brutally murdered by the pirate Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts) and his Brigands. Determined to avenge them, Ruthye crosses paths with Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl (Milly Alcock), who happens to be celebrating her birthday on a planet orbiting a red sun. With her powers suppressed beneath the red sun’s rays, Kara can finally experience something she rarely can elsewhere, getting gloriously drunk.

Their meeting is hardly ideal. During the encounter, Kara’s beloved dog Krypto is poisoned by Krem, who possesses the only antidote. Suddenly Ruthye’s quest for revenge and Kara’s desperate attempt to save the only family she has left become one and the same.

Discussion

One of the film’s greatest strengths is its portrayal of Kara. This isn’t the cheerful, optimistic cousin audiences may expect after Superman. Kara has survived the destruction of Krypton, witnessed the slow death of Argo City from Kryptonite contamination, and carries emotional scars that Clark Kent never experienced. She isn’t bubbly. She’s angry, damaged, lonely, and often self-destructive. The film understands that, even if it occasionally struggles to balance that darkness with moments of hope.

Ana Nogueira’s screenplay captures much of what made Woman of Tomorrow successful. Although she lacks James Gunn’s trademark humor, she embraces the darker themes of the source material instead of softening them. Director Craig Gillespie follows suit. Visually, Supergirl couldn’t be more different from Superman. The bright primary colors are replaced by muted landscapes, dirty frontier worlds, and an overall gloomier palette.

At times I questioned whether this tonal shift is exactly where Gunn intends to take the DC Universe after distancing himself from Zack Snyder’s darker approach. While the atmosphere certainly serves Kara’s story, it also makes Supergirl feel considerably heavier than its predecessor. Fortunately, the cast carries the material exceptionally well.

Milly Alcock delivers an outstanding performance as Kara. She perfectly conveys a woman burdened by grief while still allowing flashes of compassion and vulnerability to emerge beneath the hardened exterior. Her relationship with Krypto becomes the emotional center of the film, and Alcock sells every moment. Eve Ridley is equally solid as Ruthye. She convincingly portrays the character’s anger and determination, although I occasionally wished the performance showed a little more vulnerability to match the tragedy that fuels her journey.

Further Analysis

Matthias Schoenaerts makes Krem a wonderfully despicable villain. Physically, he should never pose much of a threat to Supergirl, so the screenplay wisely makes him dangerous through manipulation, cruelty, and sheer ruthlessness. His disturbing practice of kidnapping young girls to build future generations of his pirate crew pushes the character into unexpectedly sinister territory. I applaud Nogueira, Gillespie, and Gunn for refusing to sanitize the material simply because it’s based on a comic book.

That choice also raises an interesting question: who exactly is Supergirl made for? Despite starring one of DC’s most recognizable heroines, this isn’t a lighthearted adventure in the mold of Barbie or even Wonder Woman. Its themes of grief, revenge, trauma, and abuse make it a decidedly mature PG-13 film aimed at older audiences.

Conclusion

Supergirl is a good movie, even if it never quite becomes a great one. Interestingly, I appreciated it far more after a second viewing. My first reaction was considerably more negative because I expected another Superman. Watching it again, I realized that wasn’t the filmmakers’ goal at all. Instead, they wanted to establish Kara Zor-El as someone fundamentally different from her famous cousin. By the film’s end, they’ve largely succeeded. Supergirl emerges as her own hero, carrying wounds Superman never had to endure and bringing a unique perspective to the growing DC Universe.

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