Supergirl review: Girl power isn’t enough to save DC comic adaptation

For the first time since 1984, DC comic fans have been treated to a movie revolving around Supergirl, rather than her more famous cousin Clark Kent. Kara Zor-El got her first mega movie back in the eighties, with Helen Slater in the lead role, but since then she’s been relegated to a sidekick role in The Flash and Superman.

Milly Alcock debuted as Supergirl in 2025’s Superman alongside David Corenswet, but now she’s back in full force with a film of her own under her utility belt. Sadly, it fell short of what the character perhaps deserves after all this time, and the message of “girl power” isn’t enough to save the film from itself.

Supergirl begins with Kara on a drunken bender. She soon crosses paths with the recently orphaned Ruthye (Eve Ridley), and after a series of unfortunate events, the pair team up to take down the villain Krem and his band of brigands.

I won’t say much more about the plot here, but for me it fell flat. There are endless strings of coincidences, crammed in alongside the standard superhero fare – more deus ex machinas than you can shake a stick at, characters surviving the unsurvivable, the dismissal of any and all logic.

Ruthye was a particular sore spot. Despite hailing from the UK, actress Ridley seems unable to hold on to her English accent the whole way through, slipping from a Game of Thrones-inspired northern burr to a more traditional RP between scenes.

Her character, too, is more a millstone around Kara’s neck – she’s constantly forced to swoop in and save her, even at the climax, while Ruthye herself is afforded zero development. She’s shoehorned into the film mainly to give Supergirl a bit of humanity.

Speaking of the climax – and trying to remain as spoiler-free as possible – it’s another case of something that could have been solved several scenes ago if only the characters had made smarter decisions. There’s also a bizarre moral quandary that runs through the entire film, avoiding the death of arguably the biggest villain despite mowing through his henchmen like blades of grass.

There are some redeeming features. Jason Momoa shines as the shady immortal Lobo after ditching his Aquaman role. There are enough witty one-liners to keep casual fans chuckling, and though the action scenes become grating after a while, the blockbuster appeal is enough to munch through a large popcorn.

Ultimately, though, Supergirl falls flat. We were promised girl power, but despite a few glimmers of hope from Alcock, the film instead seemed to reinforce the idea that girls need saving – often from themselves.

Supergirl is out in UK cinemas from Thursday.