Are we having fun yet?
James Gunn, the filmmaker who made the Marvel Cinematic Universe hilarious with his take on GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, was given the keys to the kingdom to reboot the flailing DC Comics Universe on the big screen, and yet the very fun that made those Guardians films such a hoot is in rare supply in the two movies he’s spearheaded in his short time in charge. 2025’s SUPERMAN was both overly earnest, with David Corenswet playing Supes as a little too much of a Boy Scout, and far too nasty, with both his character and dog Krypto spending a lot of time being tortured in cages by the minions of master criminal Lex Luthor. Superman was continually being pummeled by Luthor’s henchman when he was freed as well, and it was unsavory to say the least. And now, in SUPERGIRL, we have the title character acting like a surly teen without sufficient justification, in another dark chapter of Krypton lore. It feels like a negative place to launch a new franchise with an antihero who comes off as too much of an entitled brat.
Excellent production values, vivid special effects, and some good performances are not enough, even though they’re prevalent in both films Gunn has handed audiences thus far. With SUPERGIRL, written by Ana Noguera and directed by Craig Gillespie, it’s not only a down-in-the-mouth slog, but it’s so derivative of STAR WARS, MAD MAX, and yes, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, it makes me wonder if Gunn genuinely has the vision the WB executives thought he had. Copying other successes so blatantly is not a good look for a CCO.
The character of Kara/Supergirl, played decently but not exceptionally by Milly Alcock, is introduced as a bored and cynical teen. She rejects the do-good nature of her cousin Clark (AKA Superman) as she doesn’t see the good in humankind on Earth worth saving. Instead, she boasts that she sees people for what they really are. Yet, we don’t get any real instances of that in either her present narrative on screen or in her backstory to warrant such cynicism. But no sooner does she exclaim that she’s not a people person than she starts trying to rescue the teen Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley), who witnessed the intergalactic villain Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts) kill her entire family.
Additionally, the villain has shot Kara’s dog, Krypto, in the neck with a poisoned arrow, and she has just 72 hours to retrieve the antidote from Krem to save her pooch’s life. Thus, she and Ruthye embark on an intergalactic journey across various planes and planets to find Krem’s hideout. Along the way, they run into all kinds of alien adversaries, some silly, some savage, and that part of the story feels almost like fan service to both the aforementioned schtick so prevalent in both STAR WARS and GUARDIANS. Yes, the makeup and CGI creations are well-executed, if not utterly gratuitous. If only the script and the main character were given such details.
Most of this film’s plotting plays out as an opportunity to torture Kara, just like what happened to Superman in his Gunn debut. She gets thoroughly tossed about and beaten down here by all kinds of vicious types, and she can’t fight back because she’s less than 100% due to Kryptonite poisoning. Watching alien thugs, let alone Krem’s leather-clad hooligans, continually pummel Kara is not my idea of a good time, and I can’t imagine how such viciousness will play with the kiddie crowd this film is desperately targeting with its PG-13 rating.
Kara and Ruthye grow somewhat closer as they get closer to finding Krem, even though he never feels like a worthy adversary. Schoenaerts is a good actor, usually cast in subtly dramatic roles, but he never makes his adversarial character all that menacing or clever here. His performance isn’t nearly as interesting as the decision to dot his bald pate with numerous metal studs. He looks like a villain from THE ROAD WARRIOR, Australian filmmaker George Miller’s second MAD MAX film, and the grit and grime layered over almost all of the intergalactic production design here blatantly echoes that franchise as well. The inclusion of numerous child brides being trafficked feels even worse, like it was directly lifted from MAD MAX: FURY ROAD. Perhaps it was intended as homage, but it plays as wildly derivative.
Flashbacks to Kara’s backstory are interwoven but feel like momentum killers. And the few scenes with her cousin Clark don’t exactly build momentum either. He may be in his Superman suit, but he doesn’t get in on any of the action here. Alcock doesn’t have much chemistry with Corenswet either. Missed opportunities like that mar the potential for fun, too. Some welcome amusement is supplied when Jason Momoa shows up as Lobo, the alien mercenary/bounty hunter from the comics, but it’s a shame Gunn et al. didn’t make more of a study of how much fun the CW had with their DC superhero adaptations. Melissa Benoist made for a wonderfully earnest, yet complex SUPERGIRL for six seasons. She was a lot like Christopher Reeve’s Superman – smart, caring, self-aware, and yes, attractive in an all-American way. A little of that might have helped this Kara feel more like a character rather than a conceit.
Did SUPERGIRL need to be such a contrarian in 2026? I don’t believe so. Reinventing the wheel wasn’t necessary; presenting a worthy cinematic adaptation was the task at hand. Taking over the DC Universe clearly is a Herculean task, and with such power comes great responsibility. But for my money, Gunn is whiffing his responsibility by trying so hard to aim his output in a darker direction.
