Supergirl (2026) Review
Milly Alcock is found not guilty for the crimes committed by this film
Overview
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.
PG-13 | 1h 48 m | Action, Adventure, Superhero
Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 2/5
I used to deny that superhero films are the new westerns but Supergirl has just cemented that idea even more. I’m not the first one to come up with this and it’s not a complete 1-for-1 comparison but it’s certainly worth unpacking. Superhero films continue to follow the same archetypes and story beats: the reluctant hero haunted by their past meets the vulnerable outsider seeking justice. They must journey across dangerous territory that forces both characters to confront who they really are. This isn’t inherently a western issue but audiences slowly became tired of it and I feel the same way here.
Supergirl continues this infamous legacy that uses capes and a cosmic setting to resemble the Wild Wild West. Kara is a reluctant wanderer drowning in guilt and self-destruction until she crosses paths with someone searching for revenge. Against her better judgment, she agrees to help. As they travel together, both characters slowly reveal the trauma that defines them and they start to rediscover a sense of purpose. By the end our hero has quite literally regained the strength she had lost. You could swap the spaceships for horses and the planets for frontier towns. The emotional arcs would remain the same
That's one of my biggest frustrations with the superhero genre. Rather than reinventing itself, it keeps recycling familiar narrative structures while dressing them in different costumes. Characters are introduced through the same emotional shorthand and conflicts resolve in predictable ways. Do I have to rant again about how many of the dramatic moments are interrupted by another action sequence or joke before it has the chance to fully resonate. Even the action feels weightless. So much of it is edited into quick flashes that it rarely allow you to appreciate the scale or choreography.
I think the film's strongest material is buried in this film. The flashbacks exploring Kara's final days on Krypton are easily the most emotionally affecting moments. They finally give us a tangible understanding of her grief and what she's actually carrying into this story. We get an honest character study and step away from the generic superhero storyline. I really wished it trusted that version of itself. If it had leaned further into Kara's origin and the psychological scars of outliving her entire world, I would have had a better time.
Milly Alcock is a solid Supergirl, but I don't think the screenplay gives her enough opportunities to showcase everything she can bring to the role. The flashes are there, particularly in the quieter, more emotionally vulnerable moments and when she fully embraces Kara's pain and anger. I just found that it was often buried beneath a formulaic script that never allows her performance to develop beyond the familiar beats of a superhero origin. I actually left excited by her casting, even if I wasn't convinced by the material surrounding her.
Eve Ridley faced a similar challenge as Ruthye. The premise of a young girl consumed by revenge is there but the character rarely evolves beyond that singular motivation. I wish there was a richer emotional interior than the script is interested in exploring or even if they had committed to the action.
I think the film's most realized performance comes from Matthias Schoenaerts as Krem. I do think the character isn't particularly groundbreaking and follows many of the familiar conventions of modern comic book villains but Schoenaerts injects him with enough menace and ruthlessness to make him feel like a genuine threat whenever he's on screen. His presence carries some weight that much of the film otherwise lacks.
Jason Momoa, on the other hand, is a more mixed bag as Lobo. Physically and aesthetically, he's almost exactly how I imagined the character would look, but the performance leans so heavily into exaggerated humor and swagger that it never worked. He certainly has screen presence, but I found myself wanting a version of Lobo that felt a little less cartoonish and a little more dangerous.
Supergirl is a movie that settles for a familiar hero's journey when it had the opportunity to tell a far more personal one. Last year's Superman understood that spectacle only works when it's grounded in sincere emotional investment. I unfortunately never felt the heart from beyond the screen.
