In ‘Supergirl,’ Milly Alcock shines in gritty DC Universe tale

Even though it’s only the second installment in James Gunn’s DC Universe reboot (which kicked off with last summer’s “Superman”), “Supergirl” feels retro for recent history.

With indie sleaze swagger, a girly rock soundtrack and an unapologetically downbeat and gritty story, it feels like a return to the dark nights of the 2000s, when superheroes were moody, whiskey shots were flowing and grimy glam was hip.

It’s all conjured by director Craig Gillespie, who brought edgy style to the unapologetic bad girl bash “Cruella,” starring Emma Stone.

Screenwriter Ana Nogueira pens a tale that finds our girl, Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock), in a not so super state when we meet up with her. She’s on an interplanetary pub crawl “celebrating her birthday,” but really, she’s drowning her grief, spiraling through a perpetual hangover, isolating herself while dodging calls from her cousin Clark (David Corenswet) in Metropolis. Her only companion is her trusty pup Krypto, the last vestige of her life in Argo, a city on the doomed planet Krypton that her father (David Krumholtz) protected from destruction.

But even in her haze, Kara can’t escape the code that her mother (Emily Beecham) gave her before dying a slow and painful death from radiation poisoning on the dying Krypton. She teaches her daughter to always be good, that being good doesn’t mean you can’t be tough, and you don’t have to be nice, just to look out for those more vulnerable than you.

When a young girl, Ruthye (Eve Ridley), turns up at Kara’s bar du jour with revenge on her mind, Kara doesn’t want to get involved, but she can’t help but protect Ruthye from the exploitative, bullying bandits in that particular dive.

Kara spends her time in some pretty weird corners of the universe, and all of her haunts seem to be populated entirely by space creatures from the “Star Wars” cantina, a variety of bandits, outlaws, pirates and human traffickers. The worst of the worst are a brutal gang of “Mad Max”-inspired Viking bikers, the Brigands, led by Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts). They’re responsible for Ruthye’s vengeance quest and imperiling Krypto, plus they’ve been kidnapping young “brides” for their all-male society. These are seriously bad dudes.

That particular storyline lends to the space Western vibe that Gillespie cultivates, with Kara, aka Supergirl, playing the washed-up fighter who steps into action to save a young innocent. She’s assisted by interstellar mercenary Lobo (Jason Momoa), who rides in on a heavy metal riff with his flaming chopper and ubiquitous stogie.

The conflict on these minor outlying planets is kind of fascinating, and the design is well-conceived, even if the execution, with too much CGI and bland digital backgrounds, isn’t always visually compelling. The rhythm and pace of “Supergirl” can sometimes feel off, and the self-contained story feels a bit minor in this vast universe of characters.

What holds it altogether is Alcock’s performance. She brings the requisite toughness to this new, not-so-spit-shiny version of the character. “Supergirl” is Kara’s journey back to herself, back to the values instilled in her by her parents, carrying their “souls unfolding into the future” as her father described to her while sending her to Earth in her escape pod.

We learn Kara’s story in flashback. The strongest scenes aren’t the ones in which she’s battling bad guys, but the quiet ones in which Alcock delivers the story of Kara’s loss and grief.

This is a new version of the character that’s more “Rebel Girl” than “Supergirl,” with a distinctly mid-aughts flavor. With Kara’s melancholy monologues and musical taste, there’s really only one way to label her: emo girl. But what works here is Alcock, and all that matters is that we find some inspiration in the hero at hand.