- Date of Release: 26 June 2026
- Genre: Action, Superhero, Adventure, Drama, SciFi
- Language: English
- Watch On: Theatres Only
Supergirl
Introduction
The English film Supergirl has literally got to be the most bland and basic superhero film ever. It almost made me question on where is the conflict really – both internal and external. Where are the characters that would remain in the veins of people long after the end credits roll. At this point, I can’t even call this film a low hanging fruit – something that I wouldn’t mind if the proceedings were even remotely entertaining. But what is the justification of keeping things simple, when the plot reeks of the one from stone-age times. When you are introduced to the protagonist Kara Zol-El aka Supergirl (Milly Alcock) at the start – it is the start of the birthday week for her, even as she travels from one planet to another to ‘enjoy’ with her little CGI-pup Krypto. She comes across as a prickly character, often dismissing her cousin Superman who wishes for her to settle on earth. But the underlying layer remains that of pathos and trauma from her past – a trait that may have been there on paper, but never fully translates in the proceedings. In fact, the same is randomly integrated as a part of the flashback that not only feels clunky but also soulless.
Story & Screenplay
Written by Ana Nogueira, Supergirl just wishes to mount itself on a potential revenge plot that feels so frivolous, that it cannot even justify the ‘super’ in its title. There were themes of identity and popularity when one would compare the protagonist with her cousin Superman – something that is literally left out from the narrative, only to serve the most boring formula for a superhero hero. What you instead get is another character named Ruthye (Eve Ridley) who wishes to seek revenge from the intergalactic pirate Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts), who in turn has killed her parents. This also remains the fundamental flaw in the screenplay given how the starting point of the conflict isn’t extended to the protagonist, but another character, thereby instantly lowering the stakes in the narrative.
One of the weakest aspects of the drama remains its characterization. For instance, the character of Krem remains so one-dimensional and a caricature that at no point could I take him so seriously in the narrative. He felt hardly threatening while also not having enough screentime to justify the presence of a powerful nemesis. Secondly, the miss also extends to the characterization of the protagonist who literally feels aimless at the start. Some may argue that that may well be the point – but my counter to that is that because the internal conflict of the character isn’t tapped into, the character itself turns out to be weak, often coming across as a wannabe superhero than someone who has a purpose to fulfill. Remember Wonder Woman and the internal conflict that she had with respect to idealism and the human flaw?
If the screenplay is mounted on the incident involving a little pup, and how it being poisoned triggers a chain of events involving the protagonist seeking for an antidote along with her bout of revenge from the antagonist, then the basic need of the hour was to establish the conflict between the human and the animal. I literally felt nothing at the point of Krypto being poisoned by Krem, a pivotal moment that could have been a coming of age tale for the protagonist.
But the effort to rush towards the finishing line is alarming – taking the protagonist and her ‘sidekick’ from one planet to another, from one action set-piece to another, and only introducing a handful of characters that don’t exude of any emotions. Think of the possibilities that an alien bounty-hunter Lobo (Jason Momoa) could bring to the table – as opposed to just making him a generic and forgettable character in the mix.
The writing almost felt like scrolling through the menu of the restaurant, while having to order the most basic and overrated stuff on the menu card. There was not only a significant lack of intensity to the proceedings, but also having a zero emotional connect – even during an instance when the antagonist goes on to kill off a couple of characters that flirted with the idea of possessing an emotional core. What is even more ridiculous is the brief obstacle of a planet’s green sun, only for convenience to flip the tables. And by the end of things, I was patiently fidgeting in my seat for the action set-piece to end – with the protagonist winning the day. No surprises there, and it was even more laughable for the antagonist to be wiped off in a jiffy without any resistance. Wonderful writing, I must say – dolloped with facepalms and cliches.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are as flat as a pancake, offering only traces of words from an elocution competition – while serving as a soulless cocktail of emotions that don’t exist in the first place. The BGM is marginally better, while trying hard to elevate the money shots in the narrative. But having said that, the tracks just aren’t memorable enough to sustain the moment. The cinematography perhaps is the one aspect of the drama that actually manages to impress. Be it the 360 degree camera movement to capture a rather generic action set-piece, or the wide frames used to showcase the ambience of the various planets. Even if relatively so, the frames definitely manage to capture your imagination.
The editing pattern is pretty weak, almost opting to compartmentalize and isolate one sequence from the other. What that does is that the emotional thread is never established, while in turn also isolating the individual conflicts from the rest of the drama. Director Craig Gillespie misses the mark by a countrymile. Neither is his world building exciting nor is his characterization, while also opting to address the most generic conflict of revenge in a narrative that lacks intensity. It is probably the worst piece of direction that I may have witnessed for a superhero film in recent times. And my yawns were symbolic of it.
Performances
The performances are pretty basic by the members of the cast, most of whom are let down by the writing. Thalissa Teixeira as Mareck and Kadiff Kirwan as Bomar faintly flirted with a brief emotional core, before being redundant by the writing. Jason Momoa as Lobo has hardly anything to do here, and he is completely wasted in the narrative. Matthias Schoenaerts as Krem is laughable as the antagonist given his one-dimensional traits and some goofy makeup that do him no favour in elevating his already mediocre act. Eve Ridley as Ruthye just doesn’t have a strong emotional depth to her performance, that feels too staged and surface-level to have any sort of impact.
Milly Alcock as Supergirl doesn’t have the right backing of the writing to make a splash, but she still tries her best with her body language and expressions that work fairly well in parts. Also, she excels in combat sequences which also made me wonder on how her performance would have been elevated had the writing been a little more layered.
Conclusion
Supergirl completely crashes to the ground, securing its place as the absolute blandest, lamest, and most uninspired superhero film to hit theaters in recent times. The narrative lacks any semblance of real conflict, driving forward with a hollow plot that features zero stakes, zero tension, and a complete absence of a compelling antagonist to challenge the protagonist. The end result is nothing short of a total cinematic travesty that insults both comic lore and general moviegoers alike. Available in a theatre near you.