“Supergirl” has all the pieces of a great superhero movie, but its execution was … meh.
“Supergirl” follows Kara Zor-El, as she fights to save someone very close to her. Along her travels she reluctantly partners with a younger travel companion, Ruthye, as they navigate how to find and take down those who wronged each of them.
Kara’s journey makes herself and those around her ask difficult questions. I just wished the movie cared more about the answers.
That may sound like I didn’t enjoy “Supergirl,” but I walked out feeling like the movie did so many things right.
A worry I had going into the movie was that Superman’s presence would overshadow Kara as the main character. I was happy to see that Kara was largely independent of her fellow red-caped Kryptonian cousin in many ways. Superman’s contribution to the story made sense and did not distract from Kara.
Unlike her cousin’s upbringing that led to him embodying a symbol of hope, Kara’s experiences lead her to becoming someone who struggles with feeling lost and without a home. In a desperate attempt to prevent her despair from completely overwhelming her, she drowns herself in alcohol and pushes away anyone who tries to help her move on from her past.
It’s an intriguing story to see someone as powerful as Kara face things that even the strongest struggle with.
My issues with the movie center on its inability to make any of these problems feel compelling. We’re introduced to Kara struggling internally before knowing why, and the movie attempts to get the audience up to speed through multiple flashbacks.
At the same time, the characters are rapidly moving from location to location. The story never takes the time to let any of these issues breathe and create any real impact. It keeps its heavier themes like depression, human trafficking and children orphaned due to violence at the surface level with no real impact.
Do I expect superhero movies meant to be watched by families to center topics like human trafficking in their stories? No, I do not. That being said, if you’re going to include it, then make it matter. Each time the movie introduces something that could elevate the story and provide some larger connection to the audience, it chooses to dismiss them.
This leads to the main characters seeing very little opportunity to grow throughout the story. Any growth that is found is achieved from the characters being forced through chaotic events that force their hand, rather than any internal change from lessons they learned along the way.
“Superman” (2025) saw a figure with godlike powers get knocked down over and over, sometimes by the very people he was trying to save, and continued to learn and grow from each event. “Supergirl” felt like it was forcing a reluctant plot forward, while attempting to retroactively make the audience care more.
“Supergirl” isn’t a bad superhero movie. It’s frustratingly underwhelming, because it contains all the pieces to make it stand out for superhero movie fatigued audiences. Kara was a great character and I’m excited to see her be a part of a story that does her justice.
