Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima has seen Supergirl in theaters. While he may not be a traditional media critic, Kojima is a legendary video game director renowned for his cinematic storytelling. And his movie reviews on social media have become somewhat of a cultural event in their own right.
"I saw “Supergirl” in IMAX. It wasn’t a “superhero movie” about saving the Earth through self-sacrifice as “justice” confronts “evil.” he wrote. "It was a coming-of-age story about saving oneself, Kara, as she struggles with her own trauma."
"Structurally, it feels less like “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015), where everyone is driven purely by survival instinct beyond notions of good and evil, and more like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), where heroes, villains, and scoundrels all converge," his post concluded.
Kojima's social media posts aren't traditional movie reviews, but longtime followers have learned to read between the lines. When he actually writes several sentences about a film's themes, structure, or characters — as he did with Supergirl — that's generally a good sign. It usually means something clicked for him. He rarely goes out of his way to trash a film publicly, so the tells are subtle. If he loved it, you get a brief write-up. If he didn't, you might just get "I watched it."
For comparison, here's what Kojima had to say about Superman back in 2025.
As you can see, Supergirl didn't quite get the same praise as Superman. However, the fact he posted more than just a simple "I watched it" indicates he at least connected with the movie on some level, which is at least a bit more positive than what most critics felt when watching it.
Following in the footsteps of 2025's Superman, there was a lot of hype surrounding Supergirl. Unfortunately, the movie has failed to live up to expectations, with critics largely panning it and pointing to uneven storytelling and a lack of emotional depth compared to its predecessor.
Supergirl currently sits at a rotten 56% on Rotten Tomatoes with critics. It's far from the worst-reviewed modern DC movie, but it's also nowhere near the 83% Superman received last year.
For what it's worth, general audiences do seem to be enjoying it a bit more. It has a 77% on the Popcornmeter and even our own Nate Best acknowledged it doesn't deserve all the online hate it has been receiving.
As of Saturday's reporting, Supergirl was tracking to finish the weekend with between $62 and $77 million at the global box office, which doesn't bode well for a film that reportedly cost $170 million to produce before marketing.