To paraphrase the film: “You aren’t perfect, but you’re [quite] good.”

A young girl’s family is killed before her own eyes by bandits, the same bandits who poison Kara Zor-El’s friendly pup. Can this unlikely duo track down the pirates and settle the score?

2026’s Supergirl continues the fledgling new “cinematic universe” for DC Comics superheroes. Started, technically, with Blue Beetle in 2023 (lest we forget) if creative lead James Gunn is to be believed. This movie is directed by Craig Gillespie (Cruella, I, Tonya) and stars Milly Alcock, Eve Ridley, Matthias Schoenarts, and Jason Momoa.

Following the brief cameo by Supergirl / Kara Zor-El in Superman in 2025, this film shows a scrappier, irreverent superhero in a lawless sector of the galaxy. So far, so James Gunn. Does it soar to the heights of Guardians of the Galaxy? Or does it suffer from Kryptonite poisoning like so many Supermen?

We see Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock), taking an extended leave from Earth with her loyal dog Krypto (that’s an unfortunate name in today’s world. Although fun fact, both come from the root word for “secret” or “hidden”). By leave, she means getting blind drunk on a world with a red sun. Unfortunately, her reverie is ended when a young girl named Ruthye announces she seeks revenge on a group of bands called The Brigands. After aiding her in passing, she becomes involved when Krypto is poisoned, and the Brigands have the antidote.

Can she rescue Krypto in time? Will Ruthye find the revenge she seeks?

The irreverent tone that the movie exudes for most of its runtime will probably rub audiences the wrong way. Although credit where credit is due; the film goes a fair way to explain Kara’s dour and foul mood. It certainly provides a neat juxtaposition with the shiny and perfect Clark Kent (David Corenswet returning briefly to the role) which is welcome. The story is a scrappy side-adventure; the movie only runs for an hour and forty-seven minutes. Which is practically a short when it comes to superhero movies in the year 2026! For context, the newest Spider-Man movie is two hours and thirty minutes.

So while the tone fits with James Gunn’s grungy, backwater world-building, the movie isn’t a ballooning mess of side quests. We don’t get diversions to entire planets for one action sequence. Which is a blessing. This is a chase movie; with our heroes on the trail of the antagonists.

We even get a tiny bit of emotional weight, and it isn’t from the dog. The film’s elaboration on Kara’s history delves into the fate of Krypton. Probably the most interesting and effecting piece of storytelling this new DC universe has spun.
But perhaps the film’s most joyful element is Jason Momoa, here not playing Aquaman, but Lobo. A space bounty hunter, and perhaps the best piece of fan-casting so far. Indeed, before he became Aquaman in 2018, comic book fans were champing at the bit to see him play Lobo. They shouldn’t be disappointed; he plays a decent comic foil for Kara and Ruthye’s severities.

But isn’t all perfect. The old “how do we deal with powerful Kryptonians” difficulty is addressed somewhat uniquely. But whenever it occurs it feels more like a speed bump than an actual threat. I feel like the movie will create new fans of the Supergirl character, no doubt, but danger never felt like it was present. Perhaps it was an early scene of Kara getting shot by spaceship laser cannons and surviving tipped the scales early?

And, perhaps unfairly to some readers, Krypto is a fully CGI dog. I don’t care about him. The entire film’s premise is about saving the dog’s life, and how important he is to Kara… But he’s just a bunch of polygons that aren’t really interacting with anyone.

The villains are, as some have already noticed, Mad Max villains. This brings to mind the fact that a lot of sci-fi action cinema has been seen before. We’ve seen these sorts of villains; they literally kidnap young women as breeding stock and call them “brides”. The final action sequence looks a lot like the finale of Black Widow. It is hard to see originality in the genre now.

Finally, the action is a bit lame. Which is a bit of a killer statement for a comic book movie. The main solution they have for Milly Alcock throwing bigger actors around is to blur everything in frame to obscurity. Thug is here. Blur. Thug is now over there.

It is ultimately a fine superhero movie. It doesn’t outstay its welcome (which even Superman did) which is a big plus. The performances are good enough, though jury is still out on Eve Ridley as Ruthye. The titular character gets some decent development, and it’s a relatively harmless space romp.

Additional Marshmallows: This does mean, however, going forward we have two Kryptonians to “de-power” constantly.