Supergirl (12A)

Clark Kent's cousin Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl has a carefree life compared to the Man of Steel and she decides to go on an intergalactic odyssey to mark her 23rd birthday in the company of trusty dog Krypto. A ruthless adversary, Krem, strikes uncomfortably close to home and the fun-loving heroine joins forces vengeful with orphan Ruthye Knoll to dole out justice.

LondonNet Film Review

Supergirl (12A) Film Review from LondonNet

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a party-loving, hungover visiting superhero from the extinct planet Krypton in search of some meaning to her life. Expanding the glossy DC Comics universe established by James Gunn’s 2025 version of Superman, director Craig Gillespie’s freewheeling origin story is a very different beast to David Corenswet’s introduction as the Man of Steel. “He sees the good in everyone, I see the truth,” explains cousin Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) aka Supergirl, providing clear warning of a cynical tang to Ana Nogueira’s script…

Kara (Alcock) is spared a protracted death by Kryptonite poisoning on the remains of her home planet like her parents (David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham) by travelling to Earth to seek refuge with her cousin, Clark (Corenswet) aka Superman. Haunted by her loss, Kara grows distant from Clark and celebrates her 23rd birthday on a distant planet with only her trusty dog Krypto for company. The vomit-spattered celebrations are interrupted by vengeance-seeking orphan Ruthye Knoll (Eve Ridley), whose parents Elias (Ferdinand Kingsley) and Delilah (Emily Piggford) and older brother Emond (Bruce Lennox) were slain by sadistic space pirate Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts).

Ruthye seeks a brave warrior to kill Krem in exchange for her father’s sword. Kara initially rejects Ruthye’s advances but when Krem poisons Krypto and the pooch is given just three moonrises to live, the Kryptonian refugee vows to procure the antidote from Krem and pulverise a few gnarly space pirates. Cigar-puffing bounty hunter Lobo (Jason Momoa) gatecrashes the trip.

By turns irreverent, sombre and intentionally overblown, Supergirl pinballs between slickly executed set pieces, using Kara’s journey of self-discovery as a loose framework to explore righteous anger, redemption, female empowerment and child trafficking (Krem and his fellow Brigands kidnap young girls into a harem that propagates their all-male species). Alcock is compelling throughout and she traverses a complex emotional arc as a reluctant saviour, arguing at one point with teary eyes that her existence is insignificant and she would rather die alongside her parents than be spared for an exiled life of solitude.

As Kara, she trades freely in snarky humour and the bond with Krypto has strong echoes of John Wick. Digital effects to realise the otherworldly canine occasionally let the film down – more than once, there is a visible disconnect between flesh and blood protagonists and the airborne pooch. Ridley’s avenging angel is underwritten by comparison and Schoenaerts’ chief antagonist appears sporadically to kill supporting characters as shorthand for his evil.

In an early exchange between Kara and Ruthye, the orphan asks why Kara is Supergirl rather than Superwoman if she is a mere 10 years younger than her cousin, who warrants the title of Superman. Screenwriter Nogueira doesn’t have a clear answer. Perhaps superintelligent android Brainiac, who will challenge Superman in Man Of Tomorrow next summer, can compute a pithy response.

– Kim Hu