Supergirl (2026)

Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl (Milly Alcock) joines forces with a recent orphan Ruthye (Eve Ridley) who is out to avenge the murder of their parents.  Together they embark on an interstellar journey of vengeance and justice, alongside a mercenary named Lobo (Jason Mamoa) who is looking to take out the same villains.  Directed by Craig Gillespie (I Tonya, Cruella, Lars and the Real Girl, Dumb Money), this is the latest entry in the recently rebooted DCU (Detective Comics Universe).  It has earned mixed reviews from critics, garnered weak box office, and has attracted intense online vitriol (mostly directed at its star) from several online right-wing influencers....but does it DESERVE this kind of response?    

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon 

Transcript

SUPERGIRL - 2026

Directed by Craig Gillespie

Starring Milly Alcock, Eve Ridley, Matthias Schoenaerts, Jason Mamoa, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, Ferdinand Kingsley, Emily Piggford, Thalissa Teixeira, Kadiff Kirwan, Diarmaid Murtagh, and David Corenswet

Genre: Superhero Adventure

In response to all of the toxic discourse related to the release of this superhero film, I'll dispense with a few strong opinions off the bat:

- Milly Alcock is a talented and beautiful young actress who does NOT deserve all of the vitriol directed at her online, like Brie Larson and Rachel Zegler before her.😠 She is also well-cast as Kara Zor-El and delivers a strong performance portraying an admittedly "tricky" character. Well to be fair, this character as written is only "tricky" in the sense that going back several decades, it is widely accepted that male superhero protagonists such as Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne or Peter Quill are allowed to be portrayed as troubled, damaged, and even....dare-I-say-it.....at times ARROGANT about their current situation. 🙄 But apparently for a lot of online fanboys (empathis on BOY no matter how old they are), to have a female protagonist act like that is just a bridge too far. Kara/Supergirl's troubled nature in this story is both well-established and believably played. 

- Zack Snyder is a talented director who after the surprise breakout success of 300 almost twenty years ago was eventually given carte blanche to oversee his own version of a DC "universe." Unfortunately, pretty much EVERY film DIRECTED by him with regards to those DC characters (Watchmen, Man of Steel, Batman Vs Superman, Justice League....sort of 🤔) has been met with mixed reactions, resulting in each film either underperforming (relative to expectations) or losing money. It wasn't a "woke" conspiracy nor an attempt by a single studio (the SAME studio which was giving him hundreds of millions of dollars to make passion projects like Sucker Punch mind you! 😆) to sabotage his vision. He had multiple chances and it just didn't work out, it happens! That ship has sailed and it certainly shouldn't be held against the folks currently making DC films.

- Not EVERY film from a burgeoning new franchise needs to be an instant success and beloved by everyone off the bat. This isn't a new concept either: the very first Star Trek film was widely disliked, there have been James Bond movies which let down the fans, we have seen Star Wars movies lose money, and yeah....EVEN Marvel films have failed. 🙄 (The second MCU film was The Incredible Hulk.) Enduring franchise like these are allowed to take risks, they're allowed to stumble, and they're never going away. 

That said, I enjoyed this movie overall for what it was: a relatively dark but still light on its feet cosmic adventure which also serves as a sorta coming-of-age story for its main protagonist. The action sequences are fun, the performances (also Eve Ridley as Ruthye, the sidekick who's actually not a sidekick) are mostly good, and the needle-drops are a bit much. (The latter of which is the only real aspect which I agree feels too GOTG) The visual effects, creature design, and production design are actually better than I expected (Star Wars-level), though the lighting feels a bit off at points. Just a couple too many dark settings which obscure the action on screen. 😒

The extended cameo by David Corenswet is genuinely fun and adds something to the story...whereas the aforementioned appearance of Lobo just does not. Pretty much all of the emotional stuff works (including a genuinely touching flashback sequence featuring the always reliable David Krumholtz as Zor-El, Kara's father) while not all of the comedy lands. The pacing is mostly brisk with a runtime of around 105 minutes and a good tight ending, though it sags JUST a bit in the middle. And I left the theater waiting to see more from this character. Director Craig Gillespie (I Tonya, Cruella, the underrated Fright Night remake starring Colin Farrell) does a solid enough job holding it all together, he just wouldn't have been my first choice to direct this. 

Clearly the film has several flaws and likely every 3rd or 4th choice made to tell this particular story doesn't click into place. It mostly works....it's not an embarrassment for the superhero sub-genre and it's not a near-masterpiece on the level of Wonder Woman. (The movie many will compare this to, fair or not) 

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film):

As I already mentioned, there’s probably an excess of needle-drops sprinkled out throughout this film to the point of distraction – it honestly feels as if the film just doesn’t quiet down enough.  That said though, there IS some good music including a pretty solid synth-orchestral score for British composer Claudia Sarne – she hasn’t done a ton of music for films but one notable one might be previous episode The Book of Eli.  Not sure if I detected a distinct theme here and it’s probably underused but still nice music which helps maintain an otherworldly tone. (Audio clip) 

The collection of needle=drops is quite the eclectic mix ranging from old school Ella Fitzgerald to modern pop like Halsey but I have to be honest that much of it came from more recent female-lead indie rock bands, some of that DID work.  One standout occurs early in the film as Kara is celebrating her 23rd birthday at a cosmic BAR…I would guess…and with a jukebox no less.  She loads up this song and even out comes a mirrorball from the ceiling….it’s a fun tone-setter for the character and the song is quite catchy, it comes from the British band from Isle of Wight, the recently founded Wet Leg.  This song is just good old-fashioned power-pop playing overhead while Kara grooves in her beige overcoat, it’s called, “Catch These Fists.” (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

Going along with one of my initial comments here, I am also just personally tired of "shared universes." 🫣 If anything else, this film mostly falters when its attempting to build connective tissue to the DC Universe. I really like Jason Mamoa, I liked him as Aquaman, the dude's generally a charisma machine on-screen (even in crap like Minecraft). But I don't care about the character of Lobo, this movie couldn't get me to care about him, and I would have been fine without him in it. This is not a new trend and it’s likely not going away any time soon.  

And yeah….unfortunately, this film’s BIGGEST issue might be its screenplay which is just kind of messily structured and filled with probably a few too many punchy quips that just don’t land.  It’s actually not a dissimilar problem to recent episode Masters of the Universe though I DID enjoy that film significantly more.  Sorry to focus on her too but this also did come almost entirely from first-time screenwriter (at least for a feature film) Ana Nogueira….she has mostly worked on network TV such as The Vampire Diaries and Blacklist.  This script definitely needed some polish and here’s hoping that for the next DC venture, they hire a writer with more experience. 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

For much of the audience, this PARTICULAR moment occurs probably way too late in the film and I get why but still it just landed perfectly for me.  This probably occurs about 80 or so minutes into the film with the final climax JUST kicking in – it’s the HERO shot, it’s a gorgeous one too.  When we finally see Kara FIRST appear in her red, blue, and yellow super-suit….up in the sky, just above the clouds!  Every new superhero franchise simply NEEDS a moment like this one seeing our hero appear in his or her costume triumphantly for the first time.  This one simply does not disappoint. (Audio clip) 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

Bottom line, Ms. Alcock pulls this one off…..she is GENUINELY good here, delivering a full-throated performance which includes the necessary blend of lightness and gravitas, while also pulling off the action stuff well.  When her eyes GO RED out of anger or determination, she just sells the hell out of it even when clearly helped by visual effects.  As of the time of me writing this, it unfortunately look as if this film will significantly underperform at the box office…..probably even losing money.  Sadly THAT been the trend too with pretty much every female-driven superhero film SINCE the first Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel films…..including the sequels to both of those films, that’s simply a discussion for another time and I have ranted ENOUGH here.  She will at the very least return in other films collaborating with Superman and for that I’m grateful because Milly Alcock is the MVP. (Audio clip) 

Final Rating: 3 stars out of 5

In case I didn’t already make it clear, I LIKED this movie and that's ok - it's ok to like and not love something. ;) It doesn't have to be an indictment on a particular studio nor a referendum on female-lead genre movies nor the nasty means to get clicks from incels online. It's just silly popcorn entertainment, it won't change your life, and every one involved will continue to get work.

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And that ends another KRYPTONIAN review!