Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock), aka Supergirl, who we met briefly in last year’s “Superman,” is not your typical superhero. She parties too much, doesn’t seem to own a hairbrush and lives in a spaceship that’s so college-dorm messy a visitor wonders aloud “Was your ship attacked?” But, in Craig Gillespie’s darkly hopeful “Supergirl,” we learn Kara’s origin story and that she, like her cousin Clark Kent (David Corenswet, seen briefly here), is dedicated to using her powers for good. Not that the two of them are interchangeable. “He sees the good in everyone,” she tells a comrade in “Supergirl.” “I see the truth.”

If you’re hoping for something as joyful as James Gunn’s “Superman,” which lit up the multiplexes last summer, you may be somewhat disappointed by “Supergirl.” It’s definitely a more somber, flatter piece of work: Kara’s story is a darker one than Clark’s, and the reason she drinks so much is because there are things she’s trying to forget. “Supergirl,” when not showing us flashbacks to her earlier life, finds her on a dual quest: racing from planet to planet to save her beloved dog, Krypto, from the forces of evil (intergalactic baddie Krem, played by Matthias Schoenaerts), and to take on an unexpected big-sister role to 13-year-old Ruthye (Eve Ridley), who’s desperately seeking revenge against Krem for the vicious murder of her family.

Alcock, whose actor superpower is a hilariously casual charisma and a knack for seemingly ad-libbed comic timing (upon first meeting Superman, in a flashback: “Why is he in his underwear?”), swaggers through the movie in a likably badass way. She’s a delight to watch, but the fun here is leavened by the grimness of Ruthye’s story and of another plot point involving a group of kidnapped girls. “Supergirl” can’t quite seem to find the balance between the elements, and we careen from silly moments (a bar in which an alien singer is meticulously intoning “The Girl from Ipanema”) to zoomy action sequences to dark violence. Gillespie, whose work ranges from the sweetness of “Lars and the Real Girl” to the dark flashiness of “I, Tonya” to the over-the-top silliness of “Cruella,” perhaps isn’t quite at home here. And Ana Nogueira’s screenplay by necessity removes Krypto from much of the action — a disappointment for all who love this CGI pooch.

But there are numerous pleasures in “Supergirl,” not least Jason Momoa’s Lobo, a bounty hunter (he’s “an immortal with a god complex,” as Kara explains) who says things like “You’ve all been super useless” in his thundering voice, and rides around on a motorcycle whose headlights look like two red zombie eyes. And some of the CGI space creatures are wonderfully imaginative, even if one might make you rethink popcorn as a snack.

I left “Supergirl,” however, thinking only of Kara and wanting more of this striving, imperfect heroine, intrigued by what her role in this universe might next be. “How come he’s a man and you’re a … ?” Ruthye asks, noting that Clark and Kara are of the same generation. It’s a question left unanswered; maybe next movie.

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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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