SUPERGIRL is the kind of summer superhero movie that makes me wonder if some people even like movies anymore.
I have no earthly idea why folks are hating this unless they’re either wounded Snyderbros, allergic to joy, or part of the male loneliness epidemic with a Wi-Fi password. Is it perfect? No. If Craig Gillespie has a distinct voice here, it does feel like that voice was asked to match James Gunn’s house style from A to Z. But honestly? That is not a dealbreaker for me. This thing moves. It’s funny. It’s colorful. It has heart. It has weird space stuff. It has grief. It has a strong lead trying to figure out who she is and what she’s supposed to do.
That’s a movie.
The story follows Kara Zor-El, Superman’s cousin, who has lived a very different life from Clark Kent. He was raised on Earth by loving parents. Kara grew up carrying the trauma of Krypton’s destruction in a much more direct and painful way. When she crosses paths with Ruthye Marye Knoll and gets pulled into a violent quest across the galaxy, the movie becomes part revenge tale, part cosmic road movie, and part identity crisis with a cape.
Milly Alcock is the reason this works. I loved her in season one of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, and SUPERGIRL only makes me more excited to see what she does next. She has that mix of edge, vulnerability, anger, sadness, and stubbornness that makes Kara feel like more than “Superman, but younger and blonde.” She feels bruised. She feels restless. She feels like someone who has been through a lot and is still trying to decide what kind of person she wants to be.
The main cast includes Eve Ridley as Ruthye Marye Knoll, Matthias Schoenaerts as Krem of the Yellow Hills, David Krumholtz and Emily Beecham as Kara’s parents, Zor-El and Alura In-Ze, David Corenswet returning as Superman, and Jason Momoa as Lobo. That’s a pretty wild bench, and the movie uses its cosmic sandbox well.
By the end, the best way I can describe SUPERGIRL is this: imagine GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY had a baby with SUPERMAN, and out popped SUPERGIRL. I mean that in the best way possible. It has Gunn’s scrappy found-family weirdness, the emotional sincerity of classic DC mythology, and enough off-kilter space adventure to keep it from feeling like just another capes-and-lasers sequel.
What I don’t understand – and never will, in a million years – is hating everything that hits theaters. At some point, those critics and online grumps need to look in the mirror and ask, “Is it me?” My answer would be: yes. You’re the problem.
And honestly, no wonder regional critics – including groups like ours at the Utah Film Critics Association – keep getting pushed out of advanced screenings. If I were a studio, I’d probably ask the same question: why invest time and resources into smaller groups if a big chunk of the room is just going to drop a steaming pile of kryptonite on the movie before it even has a chance to fly?
Criticism matters. Taste matters. Calling out bad movies matters. But so does walking into a theater with some openness instead of acting like joy is a personal attack.
And that’s what I liked most about SUPERGIRL. It gives little girls – and honestly, all of us – a hero who is strong but not invulnerable. Kara is dealing with loss, grief, anger, confusion, loneliness, and the pressure of figuring out exactly who she is and what she’s supposed to do with all that pain.
Isn’t that all of us?
Go see SUPERGIRL. It’s not flawless, but it’s fun, heartfelt, and a reminder that superhero movies can still soar when they stop apologizing for being superhero movies.
We’re talking about this today on the KVNU For The People Movie Show. You can listen live or you can check out the podcast tomorrow.
The full trailer for SUPERGIRL is below.
