“Supergirl”, another product from the DC Universe (DCU) after “Superman” (2025), has a number of right elements, but it somehow left me rather unimpressed on the whole. Probably because, like many of you, I have seen too many superhero flicks during last two decades, I simply followed the story and characters without much enthusiasm, even when I enjoyed several good things including its lead actress’s considerable presence and talent.

Yes, as shown from that brief moment shown at the end of “Superman”, Milly Alcock is well-cast as Kara Zor-El / Supergirl, who is a cousin of Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman (David Corenswet, who briefly appears from time to time here in the film as expected) and, yes, another survivor from their destroyed alien planet. You may be a bit disappointed to see that she does not wear her recognizable attire that often here in the film, but Alcock has enough spirit and charisma for the role, and her diligent efforts duly support the film to the end.

Anyway, the early part of the film quickly establishes how messy Supergirl’s daily life in the universe has been. Unlike her cousin, she does not adjust herself well to the Earth as coping with her survivor’s guilt, so she has usually spent her time on an alien planet where she can be drunk and hurt without any superpower because of its red sun different from our yellow one.

On one day when she is going through another drinking day as usual, Supergirl encounters a young plucky girl named Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley, who is incidentally not related to Daisy Ridley). Ruthye recently lost her whole family due to a bunch of barbarous pirates and human traffickers led by a dude named Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts), and she needs someone to track down these rather elusive bad guys for having her revenge on Krem. Although she is not particularly interested in getting associated with this little girl, Supergirl soon comes to accompany Ruthye because, besides a sudden desperate personal reason for her, she knows too well how painful it is to lose family, as reflected by the flashback sequence shown later in the film,

Thanks to a little piece of information, Supergirl and Ruthye go to a seedy and barren planet where many people are frequently terrorized by Krem’s clan but also many different dangerous figures. One of such figures is an alien mercenary and bounty hunter named Lobo (Jason Momoa), and he has also searched for Krem’s clan for getting the bounty on one of its main members. His first encounter with Supergirl and Ruthye is not exactly pleasant, but he eventually becomes a sort of ally for them even though he does not seem to give a damn about their goal.

So, what we get here is a very typical mix of SF, western, and a bit of comedy, and that is not so far from co-producer James Gunn’s Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) flick “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014) and two following sequels. As the story and characters hop from one stark alien background from another, we are served with a heap of various alien figures, and the movie occasionally shows some wry sense of humor as utilizing several recognizable pop songs throughout the story.

While this is entertaining to watch for a while, I must say that this is not particularly new or refreshing compared to what we already saw many times before. After all, we had not only “Guardians of the Galaxy” and its two sequels but also recent Star Wars movies (and several TV drama series associated with them), and the film often looks like a mere imitator in terms of background and detail. In addition, it even tries a bit of George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) during its last act, but, again, it ends up just playing notes instead of music. Director Craig Gillespie does a competent job of handling a number of big action scenes in the film, but these action scenes do not have enough sense of fun or excitement, and I became more aware of all those CGIs put upon the screen in the end.

At least, I cared more about the inner struggle of Supergirl as getting to know a bit more about her, and Alcock ably balances her role between humor and gravitas. She and Eve Ridley are believable in the rocky relationship development between their characters along the story, and this may take you back to Henry Hathaway’s “True Grit” (1969) and its 2010 remake version from the Coen Brothers. Although this is actually her first feature film, Ridley holds her own place well around Alcock, and she may soon advance further after this solid debut of hers.

As another crucial part of the story, Jason Momoa, who incidentally played Arthur Curry / Aquaman in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), gleefully chews the scene as required, but it is a bit dissatisfying that his character remains to be more or less than a plot element to come and then go. As the main villain of the story, Matthias Schoenaerts is as vile and nasty as required, but his villain character is not particularly memorable, and that is another disappointing aspect of the film.

In conclusion, “Supergirl” is not good enough for recommendation for me, but like “Superman”, it shows some potential for better things to come besides being much better than the 1984 film of the same name, which may be a bit entertaining for you if you are looking for something embarrassingly campy. It is not bad at all, but, considering how much our time has been saturated with countless superhero flicks during last 20 years, it should have tried more for distinguishing itself in my humble opinion.