Supergirl
Currently only in theaters
Runtime: 1 Hour 48 Minutes
Rated PG-13
Kara Zor-El, Superman’s cousin, made quite an impression in last summer’s Superman as a hard-drinking, bar-hopping powerhouse. Still drifting from planet to planet in search of her next drink, Kara crosses paths with a young girl driven by a single goal: revenge against the alien warlord responsible for murdering her family. When that same villain poisons Kara’s beloved dog, Krypto, the unlikely pair join forces to hunt down the ruthless Brigands and their sinister leader.
Themes:
Kara Zor-El, drinking, pets, revenge, exotic weapons, red suns, human trafficking, space travel, aliens, family, death, loss, science, parents, life, anger, bounty hunting, protecting people, values, extinction-level events, friendship, moving on, grief, and finding one’s moral compass.
Language:
A*s - 3 B*stard - 1 B*tch - 1 Sh*t - 15 Religious Exclamations - 4
The word “whore” is also used.
Stuff to be aware of: (Some of this could be considered spoiler territory)
Alcohol - There is a lot of drinking in this movie. Multiple scenes take place in bars, and the beginning of the movie is Supergirl bar-hopping. Several scenes see Supergirl and other characters drinking.
Gross -
A dog pees on a newspaper and misses.
Supergirl has a piece of shrapnel sticking out of her leg, and when she pulls it out, the wound bleeds.
Supergirl is half-seen on a toilet peeing. Not much flesh is seen, but the peeing can be heard.
An alien throws up in one scene, and Supergirl throws up a few times in one scene.
An alien creature is pooping, and the poop is used as food.
There is a two-headed mouse.
There is a man who pees in a bucket. Only his back is seen, and peeing sounds can be heard.
Scary - The main villain looks human, but has small metal beads all over his face and skin. There are multiple scenes with aliens. Some could be scary to younger viewers.
Sexual - One character mentions, “If I had balls,” where another one says what someone did is “ballsy.”
The group of bad guys in the movie is an alien race of all men. They take younger girls that they refer to as “brides” and basically enslave them and force them to reproduce with them. This is a significant part of the story.
Violence/Gore - There are multiple fight scenes, as one would expect from a superhero movie. Here are the more intense parts.
A kid dies by getting an axe thrown into his back. The boy’s parents are stabbed and killed.
A dog is shot by a poison dart. One character says the poison is painful.
Supergirl breaks an alien’s arm while arm wrestling. The audience sees his arm break.
A character kills a teen girl and her parents by slitting their throats and stabbing them; no blood was seen in this scene.
Other - A character flips someone off.
Overall:
Seeing It With Your Family
If you enjoyed Superman, be aware that Supergirl takes a much darker, grittier, and at times more disturbing approach. I wouldn't consider this one particularly family-friendly. In addition to frequent drinking and several heavy themes, the biggest concern is the villains' involvement in human trafficking. Although nothing sexually explicit is shown, the film repeatedly depicts young and teenage girls being held in cages while the villains refer to them as their "brides." The implications are unsettling and could be too intense for younger viewers.
What I Thought
I really loved Superman last summer. It was a strong launch for the new DC Universe, and when Kara showed up at the end of the film, I couldn't wait to see where her story would go. The first trailer for Supergirl only heightened my excitement. Maybe my expectations were simply too high.
What should have been a straightforward manhunt adventure, with Supergirl confronting her own trauma while mentoring a young girl consumed by revenge, becomes surprisingly muddled. The core story is compelling, but the execution often loses focus. Milly Alcock gives a strong performance with the material she's given, yet Supergirl's emotional journey reaches a climax that never quite feels earned. The character growth is there, but it doesn't have the foundation needed to make the payoff fully satisfying.
I also found myself enjoying the movie most whenever Jason Momoa's Lobo appeared on screen. He's charismatic, entertaining, and steals nearly every scene he's in. The problem is that once the credits rolled, I realized the story barely needed him. Remove Lobo entirely, and the overall narrative changes very little. His inclusion feels less like an essential part of Supergirl's journey and more like an attempt to expand the shared universe. While I enjoyed seeing the character introduced, he ultimately serves the franchise more than he serves this movie.
That said, I still had a fun time watching it. I couldn't help but notice how often the film reminded me of other franchises, particularly Star Wars and Mad Max. Several sequences, visual choices, and even character moments feel like obvious homages. Inspiration is one thing, but at times those influences are so pronounced that they distract from Supergirl establishing its own identity.
Not every chapter in a shared cinematic universe can be a home run. Just as the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had its highs and lows, the new DC Universe is bound to have installments that resonate more than others. Supergirl didn't quite live up to the promise I saw in Superman, but it was still an entertaining watch, and I'm genuinely excited to see where DC goes next.
One final note: there are no mid-credit or post-credit scenes. Once the credits roll, you're free to head home; you won't miss a thing. It's an unusual choice for a modern superhero film, but in this case, the story truly ends when the movie does.