Should You See Supergirl? A Spoiler-Free Review

Supergirl recently hit theaters, and one of the characters presented an interesting question: Why is Clark Kent Superman while Kara Zor-El is still called Supergirl? Technically, they are both adults — Kara had her 23rd birthday in the film, and Superman was roughly ten years older. So why was she deemed a girl rather than a woman?

You might assume it has something to do with maturity, except that Kara was forced into adulthood much sooner than Clark — she watched the downfall of Krypton, while Clark grew up on Earth with loving parents.

After watching the movie, I have my own theory on her name and why it’s more fitting than one might think. I believe this wasn’t meant to be a superhero movie at all — it was meant to be the story of a girl who has to decide whether unimaginable loss will make her better or make her bitter.

Box Office & Reception

Supergirl hit theaters on June 26, and unfortunately, the opening weekend numbers were not very good. With it being a film with a $170 million budget, it was hoped to at least reach $50 million domestically on opening weekend. Instead, it was around $38 million domestically and about $68 million worldwide. To put that into perspective, Superman (2025) made $125 million opening weekend, and Wonder Woman (2017) came in at $103 million.

When it comes to how it faired with fans and critics, Rotten Tomatoes (Critics) was 57%, Rotten Tomatoes (Audience) was 76%, and CinemaScore gave it a B-. None of those scores are outrageously bad or anything, but I still think they are pretty low for a superhero film, especially one that was meant to be competing for top summer blockbuster.

Cast and Production

Whoever in the behind-the-scenes bunch was responsible for casting — they should get a gold star because they did a great job. Milly Alcock honestly killed it as Supergirl — she made the character relatable and lovable at the same time. Her relationship with Ruthye, played by Eve Ridley, helped ground the film emotionally, with Ridley balancing Alcock’s blunt personality with warmth and innocence.

Honestly, my only real casting complaint was Jason Momoa as Lobo (cue the booing). Before this film, many fans believed that Momoa was the one and only person who could play this unique anti-hero, and Momoa certainly looks the part. The problem is that in the film, Lobo felt less like an antihero and more like comic relief. Rather than complementing Kara’s journey in any way at all, he occasionally showed up just to overshadow it. That being said, I don’t think that it was actually Momoa’s fault — it felt more like an issue with how the character was written and how the film was directed.

This is the second superhero film in producer James Gunn’s new DC Universe, the first being Superman. Gunn was previously a director of both Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and DC’s The Suicide Squad, so needless to say, he knows what he is doing when it comes to creating epic films. However, he wasn’t as involved in this film as he was with Superman — apparently, he offered creative notes and approved the script — and that’s about it. Most of the film was left in the hands of director Craig Gillespie, known for I, Tonya and Cruella.

The Pros

Out of everything, I think the best part of the film for me was Milly Alcock’s portrayal of Supergirl. Before seeing the film, I hadn’t necessarily been a huge fan of Supergirl as a character, but I think it was just because I didn’t like the previous portrayals of the character. Alcock’s Supergirl was far from perfect, but her lack of perfection is what made me truly like her character. She wasn’t trying to impress anyone or be anything other than who she was. In a world full of unrealistic standards that girls are forced to grow up trying to meet — having a female superhero doing the opposite is so refreshing.

Another strangely likeable part of the film was the tone. It was emo and grungy, but it was in a light-hearted, funny way — not many films can accomplish such a contrast. This could be seen in the clever banter, the iconic band shirts, and my favorite of it all — the soundtrack. It included a mix of indie rock, punk, and alternative music, all of which were a perfect reflection of Kara’s deep-seated rebellious nature.

Why She’s Called Supergirl

Unlike some of the prior Supergirl adaptations, this one was based on the comic Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, published by DC Comics between 2021 and 2022. It follows Kara after she landed on Earth, became a hero, realized she didn’t fit in there, and left to travel alone (and drink on planets with red suns).

Eventually, she meets Ruthye, a young girl who also lost her entire family and whose only goal is to seek revenge on the criminal that killed them. Kara reluctantly decides to help her, but it’s obvious that she sees herself in Ruthye and wants to stop her from letting the grief turn her into a killer.

The great thing about this comic and this story specifically is that it did something that others haven’t before — it reminded us that Supergirl and Superman are not the same. They both are from Krypton, and they both have superhuman abilities on Earth, but their childhoods were vastly different. Superman was raised with a loving family, taught values at a young age, and was taught to be humble despite his abilities. Kara was taught similar values by her parents, but then she lost them and was sent away knowing that every person on Krypton would perish.

Kara experiences unimaginable grief as a teenager before landing on a foreign planet where she’s expected to become an honorable superhero like her cousin right off the bat. It makes perfect sense that she rejects Earth and rebels. At the very age she was supposed to discover who she was — she lost everything — so instead of maturing into a woman, she becomes stuck indefinitely as a girl. A girl trying to figure out who she is all over again while dealing with impossible grief at the same time.

Clark became Superman because he grew up knowing exactly who he was. Kara’s journey wasn’t as linear. She lost her home, her family, and the future she was supposed to have. So yeah, she’s still a girl — but she’s still super, even if she’s still trying to figure out who she wants to become.

The Cons

As much as I loved the story, the pacing of it all did feel a little bit off. I kept waiting for the story to truly begin — even when it was almost over. Plus, it was a tad bit predictable — there were parts where the foreshadowing was less of a shadow and more of a large sign that said ‘this is what happens next.’

Something that I have less knowledge about is CGI, or visual effects…or whatever it is called these days. Either way, it didn’t seem to be up to 2026 standards. Some of it was so blatantly not real — the prime example being the dog Krypto — why was it a CGI dog? I get that it can fly and do crazy stuff, but couldn’t we have figured out a way to make him at least look real?

And the last little issue that I mentioned previously was Lobo. He felt like a fan service character that should have probably just had his own film. He didn’t really impact Kara’s story much at all and, if anything, took away from it.

Final Thoughts

Even though this film didn’t perform as expected for a summer superhero blockbuster — I think it was still a success because it did exactly what Gunn needed it to — it introduced a heroine we want to follow. And honestly, as long as she remains a part of the foundation of this new universe, I’ll be there to watch.