Supergirl (2026) Review
The second film in James Gunn’s DC universe, Supergirl, is flying into theaters this weekend. As a massive DC fan, I was very excited for the movie, and Superman was one of my favorite movies of last year. What did I think of this movie? Was this another victory for the DCU or a disappointment? Let us talk about it!
The Review
This is a movie that my excitement level going into the year was high. I believe I had it on my most anticipated list of 2026 and was even on my most anticipated list for summer 2026. The review embargo dropped yesterday, and the Rotten Tomatoes score is currently at 59% with 190 reviews counted. The score has been flipping between fresh and rotten. By the end of the weekend once more critics scores are in, it is either going to be slightly fresh or slightly rotten. With that in mind, what did I think about Supergirl?
Honestly, I thought the film was fine. It is not one of the best movies of the year, but it is also not one of the worst movies of the year. That is what most people are going to feel after leaving this film. As we get to the end of the year, I don’t think a lot of people are going to be having it as one of the worst movies of the year and there’s not going to be many people having it as one of the best movies of the year. It is so frustrating that the film is only just ok, because there is a lot of potential for this movie to be great. There are some interesting ideas in here and there is a clear character arc for Supergirl herself, and how her being a mentor is not the best thing for. You can see how all of this can come together to make a good and fun superhero movie. But unfortunately, the film does not come together as well as it should and so leaving the theater you are leaving the theater frustrated because you can imagine a better movie.
The ultimate problem with the film is that it lacks a sense of urgency and forward momentum. The film was marketed as Krypto gets injured, so Supergirl must go on this journey to rescue him. You can see how the movie could have been this John Wick inspired superhero movie with Supergirl, and how you have villains that you want to see defeated. The problem is the film treats Krypto as dying on the back burner. The stuff with Krypto happens within the first 15-20 minutes of the movie which causes the big adventure to kick in. It is about 30-45 minutes of Supergirl and this little girl getting into hijinks and having to fight their way out of it. So much so, that there is a point in this movie where they mention that Krypto is dying and I at once thought “oh yah, Krypto is out there.” The fact that a dog gets shot and is dying is not something that is on my mind as I’m watching it is a problem. The other big problem with the lack of urgency, is that the villain here is one of the worst and most memorable comic book movie villains of all time. When you have a revenge movie like this, you want there to be villains that you want to see taken out and our hero defeated. You can look at Taken and John Wick as perfect examples of this, and Supergirl (2026) utterly does not create a compelling villain that you want to see our hero take out. You do not care about him at all, you do not remember a single line of dialogue, you barely remember his name, and the only thing you remember about him is that he shot Krypto. We are watching a movie that is trying to have urgency and forward momentum but features an underwhelming and forgettable plot and villain.
The other big problem here is that the film feels like B-grade James Gunn and B-grade Guardians of the Galaxy. The trailers for the movie, specifically the first one felt more like a James Gunn movie then his Superman movie did. The second trailer they put out, still had the fun and pop songs. But you can also see the darker ideas in there and how this could differ from James Gunn’s style. As I was watching the movie, I felt like this movie would have been so much better if James Gunn wrote and directed the film. Because they got a young screenwriter, who does not really have any screenwriting credits prior to this. The director of the film, Craig Gillespie does have a filmography of many films. But you watch his earlier movies, and they are not big tentpole blockbusters. He did the Cruella “remake” from 2021, which had a lot of interesting style and elements to it. This film lacks all the creativity and style that he brought to Cruella. Had he brought those elements to Supergirl, you would have a movie that might not have been great, but it would have been better and would not have felt like somebody trying to copy what James Gunn did with Guardians of the Galaxy.
One final small negative to talk about here, but there’s several laps in the logic of things or some screenwriting trickery that isn’t a big deal in the scope of the movie, but it’s a number of small things that I noticed and I felt like held the movie back for me. In several of the action scenes, there’s multiple points where I went “wait a minute, how did this character survive that?” Or to get out of certain things, they would have to repeat information that the audience and the characters already know. There are just so many of those elements with the film that are so frustrating and bring down what could have been a good Supergirl into an underwhelming Supergirl movie.
On the positive side of things, Milly Alcock as Supergirl is good in the movie. She has her fun and charming moments here and there, and when she needs to step into action and be the hero you believe her as the character. Since she is great, but the movie is not great, you almost feel bad for her and want to see her in a different and better movie. I am excited to see her in Man of Tomorrow next year, because I think with a better screenwriter and director she can shine more and have better moments. Her scenes with David Corneswet’s Superman are very fun, you buy them as cousins and you want to see more of them together, so I’m actually very excited to see where they take her character in future films hopefully with better screenwriters and directors. The other fun one to talk about here is Jason Momoa as Lobo. To be clear, he is not in a lot of the movie. He only has 10-15 minutes of screen time. So do not go expecting a bunch of Lobo in this film. But even with the limited screen time, Jason Momoa shines. It is one of those castings that is so obvious and if you know anything about Logo or Jason Momoa. But sometimes the most obvious casting is the best and most fun. You want to see more of him, and I am sure that we will see more of him in the future. Even with where they leave his character, they set up that he can easily return and come back for another adventure.
It is also a movie that is never boring and I had fun with. Will I pay $13 to see this movie again in the theater? Probably not. But it is not because the movie is bad, or one of the worst comic book movies of all time. It is the fact that the movie does not do anything super memorable, besides some fun casting and the fact that it is never boring. For better or for worse, this feels like a comic book movie that would’ve been a bigger hit in 2015 or 2016, but because it’s coming out in 2026 you want something bigger and better and the fact that the second film in the DCU isn’t great, is kind of disappointing.
Final Thoughts: I know it seems like I am being really negative on the film. The reason I am being more negative is because it is so frustrating that the film is not better, because it had the pieces to be good and interesting. I am sure some people will enjoy this movie because it is a fun adventure that is not trying to be anything more than it is. I did not hate the film; it is not going to be one of the worst movies of 2026, but it is also not going to be one of the best movies of 2026. It is right there in the middle as this mediocre film. As I have said throughout this review, I feel like a lot of people are going to be in that boat.
The Score: 7.8/10 (C+)
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