Supergirl (Christian Movie Review)
Milly Alcock does well with the title character, but Supergirl is another derivative comic book movie; a disappointing film that not only fails to soar as a standalone story, but one that raises questions about the future of the genre as a whole.
About the Film
The more things change, the more they stay the same. While Marvel is “getting the gang back together” to try to recapture its former glory, the DC branch of the comic book world is rebooting its cinematic universe in hopes of a brighter tomorrow. Unfortunately, the result is mostly the same. Having lost the plot of what made the genre boom in the first place, Hollywood is simply churning out more lackluster superhero content. Milly Alcock does well with the title character, but Supergirl is another derivative comic book movie; a disappointing film that not only fails to soar as a standalone story, but one that raises questions about the future of the genre as a whole.
Actress Milly Alcock received scorn for her ill-advised interview comments that some people online took as being disparaging toward Christian men, but she is the least of the film’s problems. She makes the most of a bad situation, bringing a rock n’ roll sensibility and Gen-Z flavor to the role. For anyone looking for positives in the tepid start to this new DCU, it’s the casting. David Corenswet is an excellent Superman (as he proves again in a supporting role here), and Alcock flashes potential to become a great Supergirl. They just need better stories to work with.
Supergirl may not be the worst comic book movie in recent memory, but it’s arguably the most uninspired. The story is an unfocused mess that never gives audiences a reason to care or become emotionally invested in the characters or events (beyond a preexisting affinity). To its credit, the film at least attempts to tell a contained story with personal stakes, rather than another iteration of “the fate of every world in the endless multiverse hangs in the balance!” Supergirl’s dog is poisoned and she needs to get the antidote. Simple and effective. There’s a version of this movie that works as a pure “girl and her dog” tale, with a John Wick-style escalation.
Instead, the filmmakers cannot resist the pull to try and fulfill a misguided quota of comic-book content. Supergirl continues to add more characters and subplots to the point that not even the characters on screen seem to clearly know what their objective is. Amid the spectacle and worldbuilding, the film undercuts Supergirl’s more interesting personal journey. Several flashbacks attempt to build her backstory, showing the death of her planet Krypton and her exile to earth. Yet the film is too distracted with empty-calorie action sequences to ever build upon her internal struggles in meaningful ways, which mutes the emotional impact of her internal growth by the end.
The film also features arguably the least interesting villain that the comic book genre has ever produced: a bumbling space pirate with no personality, motivations, menacing presence, or thematic tension with Supergirl. Jason Momoa’s appearance as Lobo (a morally questionable mercenary) is admittedly far more entertaining, but the character serves no purpose in the story beyond fan service. He’s given no characterization, necessary narrative function, or interesting relationship with anyone else on screen. He only shows up periodically to add some spice to the action scenes. The film tries to give audiences more and more things to care about, making the few plotlines that are compelling feel watered down or an afterthought. That it somehow manages to fumble a plot about rescuing a cute dog, which should be a bankable cheat code for any film, is egregious.
Despite its own problems, James Gunn’s Superman (2025) had a clear tonal and thematic identity. In contrast, Supergirl has absolutely no idea what kind of movie it wants to be, unsuccessfully balancing several conflicting tones and approaches. It’s often goofy and irreverent, but other times toys with a more gritty, almost R-rated approach. The result is an uncomfortable middle ground. For example, a major plotline concerns the villains kidnapping young girls as “brides” to further their all-male race, a serious plot that feels out of place in the otherwise silly film and is handled with a casualness that’s borderline offensive. Likewise, Supergirl is a story about grief, but characters are cracking too many quips to ever actually grieve. It’s possible to balance the silly and the serious (comics have been doing that for decades), but Supergirl struggles to crack that code.
The film also has an uncertain moral compass. At one point, Supergirl allows an innocent young girl to have her throat cut to keep another young girl from killing the murderer (wanting to preserve the innocence of her soul), which is obviously a questionable decision. Later, she again preaches “goodness” over violence and revenge, only to then immediately and violently kill the enemy herself. Supergirl is still developing, so some moral messiness is understandable, but it often feels more as if the film itself is uncertain of what she represents or stands for. Despite some good messages sprinkled in (see “themes” below), it’s not a film I would too enthusiastically recommend for younger viewers.
In the end, like its heroine, Supergirl feels like a story in search of a purpose. Audiences with affinity to the source material, or who merely want another semi-monthly dose of comic-book storytelling, may find enough worthwhile entertainment here. But for anyone else, the new DCU may already be back at a crisis point. Superman was a flawed film but promised a compelling new take (or perhaps, an old take) on the iconic character and a welcomed optimistic and earnest tone that had me intrigued. Supergirl mostly undoes that goodwill, suggesting that the “new” will look curiously like the “old”. Supergirl may be the “woman of tomorrow”, but her debut film fails to soar beyond any of yesterday’s problems.
For Consideration
On the Surface—(Profanity, Sexual content, violence, etc.).
Language: There are frequent profanities (mostly “s—”, and at least one “b—h” and “b—ard”), and several uses of words such as “frickin”).
Violence: The action is mostly the bloodless comic fare, although there is violence done toward young characters, including a teen girl who has her throat cut. There is also the implication of sexual violence toward teen girls who are captured to be “brides” to adult men.
Sexuality: Nothing, beyond the above-mentioned disturbing implication of teenage girls being forced to act as sex slaves for the adult men villains.
Other: Supergirl is often drunk.
Engage The Film
Fighting Back with Goodness
Superman seems naturally prone to be “good”, but his wayward cousin needs a bit more convincing. As Supergirl explains, “He sees the good in all people. I see the truth.” Despite Superman being older in age, she refers to him as “young at heart,” since she doesn’t think he has experienced the trials and challenges that she has. Much of her character arc in the film is for Supergirl to become more like Superman.
Her musing about the almost childlikeness of Superman brings to mind Jesus telling his followers, “Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mathew 18:3). The childlike optimism and earnest belief in goodness that Superman represents is a virtue rather than a defect and starkly contrasts to the juvenile selfishness that Supergirl demonstrates early in the film. Goodness is not just for the naïve; it’s a sign of greater moral strength.
Throughout the film, Supergirl slowly discovers this strength in goodness. She repeatedly attempts to prevent another young girl from seeking revenge and acting out in violence. Instead, she challenges her, saying, “Your life will be your revenge.” It’s a counter-cultural approach that echoes biblical wisdom, that in doing good works and treating even our enemies with love and respect, Christian will “heap burning coals on his head” (Proverbs 25:22). Both Superman and Supergirl confront the evil of a fallen world, but while Supergirl fights against the world that has wronged her, Superman attempts to inspire others to rise above and seek goodness. By the end of the film, Supergirl is still a work in progress, but she has clearly begun to see the world through Superman’s eyes.
