I have been a big fan of James Gunn’s superhero projects, ranging from his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy for Marvel and up through his taking the leadership role of the relaunched DC Universe. That the latest film in that nascent franchise is less-than-stellar then feels more than a little disappointing to me. Gunn didn’t directly make this movie, with the script being handled by Ana Nogueira and directing duties taken on by Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya), but as the current co-head of DC Studios, one can’t help but wish he’d had the good sense to give it a little more time to work out some of the more glaring flaws. It’s still plenty of fun to watch, with several moments of genuine greatness scattered throughout, but it’s those moments that make the issues more obvious and leave one wishing for what could have been.

Supergirl Kara (Milly Alcock) is drinking away her pain in a bar on a dingy planet with her dog Krypto in tow, when a young girl named Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley) barges in seeking help obtaining vengeance against the Brigand leader Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts) for the death of her family. Kara has no interest in getting involved, but when Krem gravely injures Krypto with a poisoned dart, she is forced to go after him to obtain the antidote, and maybe a little revenge of her own.

While she does wind up feeling somewhat protective of Ruthye, Supergirl’s single-minded mission recalls John Wick while the visuals bring to mind Mad Max in space. It isn’t the most original set-up but it’s effective, especially if you are a dog lover. Schoenaerts’ Krem is a leering, malicious psychopath and one of the more convincingly evil villains in a comic book movie yet, though the near total lack of character development afforded him leaves his motivations a little hazy. The Brigands in general don’t make many logical decisions, and while their proclivity for kidnapping girls and forcing them to be brides is disturbing and unfortunately timely, it would have been nice if any time had been spent filling in the path they took to reach that point.

Supergirl herself also makes a pretty baffling choice at one point, though her battle against her own demons—brought about by past trauma—is at least explored enough to let it make some sense. That struggle actually forms most of the emotional core of the film and winds up being much more effective than I had anticipated, as she contends with her grief and anger, begins to understand her place in the universe, and gradually realizes that she doesn’t need to do so alone.

Flaws aside, this is an above-average bit of popcorn entertainment. Many of the gags work—even a large amount of those that involve the almost entirely pointless appearance of bounty hunter Lobo (Jason Momoa)—and there are some genuinely thrilling fight sequences, most notably one that sees Supergirl and a band of space pirates teleporting around the interior of a space bus while engaging in hand-to-hand combat. At a relatively fleet 108 minutes it feels like adding a few more scenes to help fill out some more details might have helped, but what is here will still bring more than a few smiles (and tears) to audience’s faces. ★★★½

Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, action, language, and smoking.