Supergirl movie review: Milly Alcock's flair and spunk are undone by two Kryptonites - bad writing and soulless fun

SUpergirlDirector: Craig GillespieCast: Milly Alcock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, st. Saint david Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, Jason Momoa, and David CorenswetRating: ★★.5If thither was any dubiousness nearly Milly Alcock’s calibre to hold her own on the screen after House of the Dragon, Supergirl dismisses that completely. This film is her vehicle, her launch, and her playground. The young actor does everything in her power to shoulder this superhero adventure, but is ultimately let down by a wafer-thin plot, a villain who inspires neither awe nor fear, and an overall lack of soul. Yet, true to James Gunn’s DCU, Supergirl is fun, even if that fun remains hollow for the most part.What is Supergirl’s plot?Kara Zor-el, Superman’s cousin, is awaiting her 23rd birthday. While Clark has found roots in Metropolis and protects Earth, Kara travels with her dog, Krypto, to planets with red suns to get drunk. Her pub crawl introduces her to Ruthye Marye Knoll, a young girl whose family has been killed by brigands, looking for a hunter for hire for her revenge. A reluctant Kara joins the cause after the leader of the brigands, Krem, leaves her dog Krypto paralysed and dying. From then, it’s a race in the stars to find Krem, the antidote, and revenge for Ruthye. What works for SupergirlThere is a problem that films featuring Kryptonians face. Since Superman and Supergirl are almost always so overpowered, it is a struggle to show them as underdogs. A combination of Kryptonite and foes like Doomsday (and a determined Batman) have solved this conundrum in past films. Supergirl does it in the most innovative manner, by using the red suns in the galaxy and booze as a clever counter to Kara’s powers. It makes this almost a young-adult coming-of-age drama, where this superpowered being can be reduced to an underdog without killing the logic.The USP of the film is Milly Alcock. The young actor showed promise in House of the Dragon, and here she shows that it was no fluke. She balances vulnerability, pain, panache, and confidence in a blend so natural it immediately pulls you into the story. Her bond with Krypto is pure that it makes you root for her, despite her ‘errant teen’ ways. The fact that Krypto is adorable helps with that as well. Eve Ridley as Ruthye is a good foil for Milly. The 14-year-old acts as the film’s moral compass and the audience’s eyes in this wonderful world. Full marks to Rob Hardy’s cinematography for playing with light and shadows perfectly in worlds of red, yellow, and green suns, giving us a beautiful-looking film at least.Where Supergirl falls flatBut despite this promise, Supergirl never truly takes off. It is an action film where very few of the action set pieces actually land. The action, which is meant to show Supergirl's awe-inspiring powers, is largely confusing and shot without giving the chance for that awe to land. Minus a couple of sequences in the climax and one in the first half hour, this action film fails to get its action right. Another aspect where Supergirl falls flat is its bad guy. Matthias Schoenaerts is given very little to do as Krem, the leader of the Brigands. This clichéd, one-note villain is neither memorable nor new. Every beat, every mannerism seems copied from a number of things we have seen before. Only the snivelling quality Matthias brings to him seems to redeem him somewhat (as an entity, not the character). The absence of a powerful villain flattens the stakes. That Supergirl has a wafer-thin plot where everything is so predictable that you can see plot twists from a mile away does not help either.Does Supergirl soar, though?Milly Alcock deserves a better film, and she shows it here. The viewers, particularly DC fans, deserve a better Lobo, too. Jason Momoa, the man who oozes charisma, is rendered forgettable here in a role that he was probably born to play. That alone shows how badly packaged this while affair is. And yet, despite all these flaws, Supergirl delivers on one front: it is fun. Yes, that fun is unabashed, sometimes even hollow. But to casuals, it may just be worth the price of admission.