SPOILERS ALERT!!!
Hello everyone! 🙂
Welcome to ‘Bradley’s Basement’ blog and I’m Tim Bradley!
So, whilst I was away for ‘Christmas with the Doctor’ last weekend in Andover, my Dad apparently purchased the 2026 film ‘Supergirl’ on DVD from Asda. I suppose it was inevitable I’d be reviewing 2026’s ‘Supergirl’ on my blog, but I didn’t expect it to be this soon.
If you’re not aware, I’m not really a fan of the James Gunn cinematic universe of DC superheroes. This is due to the fact that I wasn’t impressed with the 2025 film ‘Superman’, which I saw at the cinema last year. I was very disappointed with the film. 😐
So, I held back from checking out the 2026 ‘Supergirl’ film at the cinema when it came out in June this year. There was also another reason for this. As well as not liking the current DC superhero cinematic universe, I felt I didn’t know much about Supergirl as a character.
Hence, why I substituted my viewing of ‘Supergirl’ by checking out the 1984 film on Blu-ray as well as checking out the ‘Supergirl’ TV series starring Melissa Benoist via ITVX, which I’m currently enjoying. I was expecting to check out 2026’s ‘Supergirl’ after the TV series. 😐
But since I’ve gained enough exposure to Supergirl through the 1984 film and the TV series (I’m currently on Season 5 at present), I felt now was a good time to check out the 2026 ‘Supergirl’ film. And it’s just as well my Dad purchased the film on DVD for us to watch it.
After seeing the 2026 film…yeah. It’s not good. I mean, I expected it not to meet my expectations and frankly, I’m stunned this happens to be Supergirl’s introduction in this DC cinematic universe, even though she briefly appeared at the end of 2025’s ‘Superman’.
It’s a shame because I wanted to like Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl in the film. This could’ve been a great opportunity to showcase how great Milly Alcock’s interpretation of the character is compared to how other versions have portrayed Supergirl as a character.
Instead, this film depicts Kara/Supergirl as a rather grumpy and moody character. She also tends to get drunk a lot, which isn’t something ideal in a role model like Supergirl. Like, this is meant to be the funny part of the film, and I found it very annoying quite frankly.
At least in the ‘Supergirl’ TV series, there was one episode where we see Kara Danvers getting drunk in Season 2. And that was funny because Kara/Supergirl had never been drunk before and Melissa Benoist played it very well, as it’s meant to be played for laughs.
Regarding the story itself in the 2026 ‘Supergirl’ film, it’s mostly set on alien planets away from Earth. Like this is more of a ‘Star Wars’ film or a ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ film as opposed to being a superhero film like ‘Supergirl’ and ‘Superman’. It’s just so out-of-place.
Plus, the film looks dirty-looking. I don’t know what vision the director Craig Gillespie had in mind when he put this film together, but I would’ve expected it to be more colourful and cheerful than that. At least the 1984 film made some effort to appear bright and colourful.
Incidentally, Craig Gillespie previously directed the 2021 film ‘Cruella’. I could tell it was him directing this movie, since a lot of pop songs are featured throughout the music score. I suppose he likes his movies to be musical for both ‘Cruella’ and the 2026 ‘Supergirl’ film.
I’m also annoyed that Kara doesn’t put on the Supergirl outfit on until the climax of the movie. Like, couldn’t she have worn that outfit a little earlier? At least in the 2025 ‘Superman’ film, Clark Kent is seen to be wearing his Superman outfit more than once. 😐
Going back to the story, Kara/Supergirl embarks on a journey across the galaxy to hunt down an adversary who harmed her pet dog Krypto. You know, from seeing the 1984 film and the ‘Supergirl’ TV series so far, I’m surprised Krypto hasn’t appeared in any of those.
As well as Milly Alcock as Kara/Supergirl, the film’s cast also includes Matthias Schoenaerts as Krem of the Yellow Hills, who is the evil villain of this movie. There’s Eve Ridley as Ruthye Marye Knoll, who seeks to avenge her parents’ deaths as they were killed by Krem.
There’s David Krumholtz (who’s been in the first two ‘Santa Clause’ movies and Season 1 of ‘The Santa Clauses’) as Zor-El, Kara’s father, and there’s Emily Beecham as Alura In-Ze, Kara’s mother. I did like the flashback scenes featuring Kara as a young girl on Krypton.
Or rather the Kryptonian city of Argo that escaped Krypton’s destruction. I would’ve preferred it if the Kryptonians weren’t speaking in an alien language. Or if they’re going to speak in a different language, couldn’t the subtitles be larger and clearer for us to read them?
David Corenswet returns as Clark Kent/Superman from the 2025 ‘Superman’ film. In a flashback, he welcome Kara and Krypto to Earth when they arrive via space pod. In the present day, he encourages Kara to return to Earth whilst she’s celebrating her birthday. 🙂
Jason Momoa stars as Lobo, an alien mercenary and bounty hunter who gets involved with the fight against Krem of the Yellow Hills. Jason Momoa previously played Arthur Curry/Aquaman in the ‘DC Extended Universe’ from 2016 to 2023. Nice to see him in this film.
There’s also Ferdinand Kingsley as Elias – Ruthye’s father, Emily Piggford as Delilah – Ruthye’s mother, and Bruce Lennox as Emond – Ruthye’s brother. Sadly, these three get killed off early in the film by Krem. It’s astonishing that Ruthye managed to survive in this.
Apparently, Seth Rogen makes a voice cameo in the film as Lloyd, a small alien that Kara encounters on a space bus. I thought I recognised the voice when hearing him. 😀 He voiced Pumbaa in the 2019 film ‘The Lion King’ and its follow-up film ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’.
A controversial moment in the 2026 film is when Kara/Supergirl kills Krem with a sword by the story’s end. This is after Kara pleaded with Ruthye not to kill Krem and convinced her it wouldn’t ease her pain. This is something I’m not comfortable with regarding this take on Supergirl.
I appreciate people being upset with the Superman breaking General Zod’s neck scene in ‘Man of Steel’, but at least he felt regret for what he’d done, even if it was short-lived. The moment where Kara/Supergirl kills Krem after telling someone ‘it’s not right to kill’ is contradictory.
Supergirl should at least stick to her principles for not killing people even after she tells someone not to do it. It comes across as rather comical, which I’m sure is not the film’s intention. It also does not present Kara/Supergirl in a good light when viewed as a hero. 😐
The 2026 ‘Supergirl’ film is a mess. I don’t regard it very highly and it’s just as well I didn’t see it at the cinema, as I knew I’d be disappointed in seeing it. I’m glad I’ve seen it to satisfy my curiosity, but I wish this film could’ve been so much better than it ended up becoming.
It’s a shame because I would’ve liked Milly Alcock’s interpretation of the character had she been more cheerful and hopeful. It’s something I’d associate more with Melissa Benoist’s version of Supergirl, who I find more engaging to watch than the movie versions.
Don’t get me wrong, Helen Slater played Kara/Supergirl well in the 1984 film, but it wasn’t enough to appreciate who she was as a character and the story in that film didn’t do her justice. 😐 Same can be said for Milly Alcock’s Supergirl when seeing her in this film universe.
I doubt I’ll be checking out ‘Man of Tomorrow’, the film instalment coming out at cinemas in 2027. Maybe I’ll see it on DVD like I’ve done with the 2026 ‘Supergirl’ film. But as is, I’m just content in checking out the rest of the ‘Supergirl’ TV series via ITVX for the time being. 🙂
Thanks for reading!
Bye for now!
Tim 🙂