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 first meet up with her. She’s on an interplanetary pub crawl “celebrating her birthday,” but really, she’s drowning her grief in the bottom of a pint glass, 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 booze-soaked 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 every one 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 doing his best Bane impression), who sports ball-bearings in his face. They’re responsible for Ruthye’s vengeance quest and imperiling Krypto, plus they’ve been kidnapping young “brides” for their all-male society, Immortan Joe style. These are seriously bad dudes, and Nogueira’s script doesn’t at all shy away from the threat of sexual violence.

That particular storyline lends to the space Western vibe that Gillespie cultivates here, with Kara, aka Supergirl, playing the washed-up fighter who steps into action in order to save a young innocent. She’s assisted by interstellar mercenary and all-around hardcore badass Lobo (Jason Momoa, returning to the DC Universe, but not as Aquaman), who rides in on a heavy metal riff with his flaming chopper and ubiquitous stogie. Even his presence feels very mid-aughts in a way, as a character that Nicolas Cage would have played in 2009, or a refugee from “Punisher: War Zone.”

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, aren’t always visually compelling. The rhythm and pace of “Supergirl” can sometimes feel off, never settling into a groove, and the self-contained story feels a bit minor, a random side quest in this vast universe of characters.

What holds it altogether is Alcock’s performance. Known for her breakout role as young Rhaenyra in “House of the Dragon,” she brings the requisite toughness to this new, not-so-spit-shiny version of the character. Our Kara sports a wild blond mop, vintage tee, ratty trench coat and boots for most of the movie, though when she finally dons the red-and-blue suit, she does so with pride. “Supergirl” is her 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.

This origin story doesn’t start at the beginning, but we learn Kara’s story in flashback. The strongest scenes aren’t when she’s battling bad guys in a motorcycle wagon circle from hell, but the quiet ones when Alcock delivers the story of Kara’s loss and grief, the pain she’s masking with alcohol and isolation.

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. Some of it works and some of it doesn’t, but what works here is Alcock, and all that matters is that we find some inspiration in the girl at hand, even if being good means being a little bit bad.

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'SUPERGIRL'

2.5 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: PG-13 (for sequences of strong violence, action, language, and smoking)

Running time: 1:47

How to watch: In theaters June 26

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