Film reviews: Supergirl is genuinely enjoyable when it works, but it could have been so much more
Clockwise from left: Milly Alcock as Supergirl, in 'Supergirl'; Nikolaj Lie Kaas: Anker, and Mads Mikkelsen as Manfred in 'The Last Viking'; Jodie Foster as Lilian Steiner in 'A Private Life'
★★★☆☆
Audiences first encountered Milly Alcock’s Supergirl in a cameo at the end of 2025’s Superman, bursting into the Fortress of Solitude with an anger and intensity that sharply contrasted with David Corenswet’s calm, deliberate Man of Steel.
(12a) opens on a distant world where Kara is lying low with her beloved dog, Krypto. Fans of the ‘Superman’ story will know that Kryptonians draw their powers from yellow suns, but Kara has deliberately chosen a planet orbiting a red sun, where her abilities are significantly weakened. Her reason? To get drunk.
As she drinks through another night, Ruthye (Eve Ridley) enters the bar seeking a warrior to help her avenge her family’s murder. She hunts Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts), a ruthless killer who annihilated her family.
Kara refuses to help Ruthye on her quest for revenge. However, Krem has other plans. After crossing paths with Kara, he steals her spaceship and poisons her adored dog, Krypto.
There is no cure for the poison except a rare antidote that Krem carries around his neck at all times. With Krypto’s life hanging in the balance, Kara has three days to track down the fugitive, recover the antidote, and save her faithful companion before the super-powered pooch dies.
Kara refuses to let Ruthye join her mission, but the resourceful girl keeps slipping into places she shouldn’t. Soon, Kara has little choice but to take her along, and as they continue their pursuit of Krem across the galaxy, an uneasy partnership begins to form.
Tracking Krem leads Kara and Ruthye to a remote world where he has built a violent warlord gang and is taking young girls as brides. Kara’s mission escalates: she must recover the antidote to save Krypto, while also keeping Ruthye hidden from Krem.
Along the way, they encounter a manic bounty hunter, Lobo (Jason Momoa), and we see flashbacks to Kara’s time on Krypton and her early days on Earth, as the film clatters towards an explosive finale.
When James Gunn took creative control of the DC franchise, the aim was to clearly set his era apart from the tone and style associated with Zack Snyder. That shift was evident in Superman, which embraced a lighter, more character-led approach.
However, Craig Gillespie, working within Gunn’s DCU banner, appears to reintroduce some of the visual language associated with Snyder, including stylised slow-motion sequences. The film also leans into a darker, greyer palette, echoing aspects of Snyder’s earlier DC aesthetic.
Jason Momoa’s Lobo is played as an over-the-top caricature, feeling like he’s wandered in from Mad Max. In fact, there are too many Mad Max-style influences. The child-bride plotline is better suited to it than Supergirl.
It isn’t all bad. Milly Alcock is terrific, balancing comedy with real angsty edge, while Krypto consistently steals his scenes. There are some striking visuals throughout, and when it works, the film is genuinely enjoyable. But it feels like it could have been so much more if Gillespie had steered clear of echoing familiar stylistic choices from other films.
★★★★☆
Anders Thomas Jensen is a Danish filmmaker known for dark comedies that blend humour and violence. His latest, (15A), is no exception.
Mads Mikkelsen plays Manfred, a man with a behavioural disorder. He idolises his brother Anker (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), a robber who, while on the run, gives Manfred cash to hide.
Years later, Anker is released from prison only to discover that Manfred, who suffers from a dissociative identity disorder, is convinced he is John Lennon. Any mention of his real name sends him into a state of distress.
Threatened by a vengeful ex-con, Anker takes Manfred to their old family home to dig up the cash, but Manfred, unsettled by his return, refuses to reveal the bag’s location.
Manfred’s doctor, Lothar (Lars Brygmann), convinces Anker that reuniting The Beatles is the only way to reach Manfred, setting off a brilliantly absurd chain of events.
Pursued by a violent thug and haunted by the scars of a traumatic childhood, the brothers must navigate a minefield of obstacles.
Exceedingly twisted and violent, the film delves into heavy themes, including child abuse, yet finds surprising strength in its dark comedic moments. At times, laughter feels inappropriate —but Jensen frames the absurdity so that it is not only acceptable but necessary. Without humour, the family’s pain would be overwhelming.
Lie Kaas strikes a delicate balance between hardened criminal and devoted brother, while Mikkelsen brings both humour and vulnerability to Manfred. Madcap and comical, The Last Viking is a dark gem.
★★★☆☆
Jodie Foster takes on her first French-language role in (15A). Foster stars as Lilian Steiner, a renowned American psychiatrist living in Paris, who struggles to regain her composure after the death of one of her patients, Paula (Virginie Efira).
When Lilian learns that Paula has committed suicide, she can’t accept it. Paula’s husband, Simon (Mathieu Amalric), blames Lilian, arguing that the fatal overdose involved medication she had prescribed. Paula’s daughter, Valérie (Luàna Bajrami), demands to know what happened during her mother’s therapy sessions — answers that Lilian cannot ethically disclose.
Since Paula’s death, Lilian has found herself unable to stop silently crying. Convinced there must be a physical cause, she turns to her ex-husband, Gabriel (Daniel Auteuil), an ophthalmologist, believing she is suffering from allergies. Instead, she is forced to confront the reality that her tears are from grief.
Unable to accept this, Lilian seeks out a hypnotist, who induces a dream-like state in which she witnesses events that convince her Paula was murdered rather than driven to suicide.
Determined to prove her theory, she embarks on an increasingly obsessive investigation, accompanied by the indulgent Gabriel. As clues begin to emerge that appear to support her suspicions, Lilian becomes ever more convinced she is right. But are these developments evidence of foul play, or merely a series of coincidences feeding her belief?
While there are a few plot holes and unresolved threads, Foster commands the film with such focus and charisma that it is worth watching for her performance alone.
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