SUPERGIRL

Supergirl fails its leading lady Milly Alcock and her terrific performance on every front, creating a frustrating continuation of James Gunn’s DC Universe that is dull, void of colour and excitement, and sets female superhero representation back years, missing the brilliance of the comic run it is based on.

Heroes such as Superman, Batman and Spider-Man will constantly be rebooted on the big screen, but Supergirl has not been given that same honour. Originally appearing in 1984’s Supergirl starring Helen Slater which has grown to be a cult favourite, and having a supporting role in 2023’s The Flash when Sasha Calle wore the suit, Kara Zor-El has not gotten the same big screen appreciation that the last daughter of Krypton that her cousin has. Hot off the box office success of last year’s Superman, James Gunn continues his DC Universe and gives the honour of the second film of the series to Kara Zor-El, with House of the Dragon’s Milly Alcock taking over the mantle, and while her performance takes to the skies, the rest of the film does not. With an underdeveloped screenplay that offers little entertainment value and a forgettable villain, Craig Gillespie’s film remains stuck in the early 2000s superhero tropes in the worst way imaginable and diminishes the excellent performance of Alcock and the legacy of the character.

If there is one thing that is undeniable about Supergirl, it is the magnificent lead performance of Alcock as Kara Zor-El. From the second she appears on screen, Alcock captures the swagger, attitude and independence of Kara, creating a formidable presence on the screen. From the action sequences to the interactions with the various creatures she encounters on her journey, Alcock plays it with a devilish playfulness that ensures a hero that audiences will instantly vibe with. At the same time, Alcock develops a longing pain within Kara over the loss of her family and home planet and her inability to find a new place to call home in the universe, driving the emotional core of Kara’s arc over the film and letting her truly shine as an actress. Her casting is another win for the future of the DCU, as with the right screenplay, there is no question that Alcock’s Supergirl will quickly become a fan favourite hero alongside the likes of Superman and Batman.

While there is no question Alcock soars to heroic heights leading the film as Kara, the supporting cast never rises to the same standard set by her. Eve Ridley finds some moments of great strength that match the energy that Alcock is bringing to the film, but at other times she is failed by her character’s writing and falls into the category of annoying child sidekick. Matthias Schoenaerts is done no favours by Krem’s writing and comes across a sleep at the wheel, helping to create one of the most underwhelming and pointless villains in comic book cinema. Jason Momoa, making his DCU debut as Lobo, is obnoxiously unfunny and lifeless as Lobo, adding nothing of value to the film and merely establishing the character for future appearances. David Corenswet has two beautiful moments as Kal-El and David Krumholtz is effective as Zor-El, but both of them are barely in the movie which unfortunately diminishes their strong moments alongside Alcock and relegates them as minor blips in an otherwise disappointing film.

When taking over DC Studios, James Gunn was adamant that films would not enter production without a completely finished screenplay that as a studio head he was happy with. Marking the second film under his leadership, Supergirl seems to be in direct contradiction to this statement from Gunn as it feels like a first draft of a screenplay rushed into production to continue DC Comics’ presence on the big screen. Adapting the beloved Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic run, Ana Nogueira gives audiences a different type of superhero with this messy and chaotic version of Kara Zor-El, drastically contrasting James Gunn’s hopeful and more traditional approach to Superman last year. At the centre of the character writing, Kara remains kind and has the heart of the hero, which is never for a second lost in Alcock’s performance, and because of this it’s an interesting approach to the superhero that proves that Gunn and DC Studios are not afraid to tell different types of superhero stories.

However, it is almost everything else about the screenplay that derails Supergirl. While following the narrative path of the comic run, Kara is diminished to be a glorified babysitter to Ruthye leaving a bad taste with viewers as DC Studio’s first female led film in their new DC Universe relies on dated female caretaker stereotypes that feel out of place for 2026. Ruthye comes across as an annoying child character, recycling an overused storytelling trope that a hero cannot exist without a young child to help them grow as a hero, while far too many of the jokes written into the script fail to land despite the dedicated delivery of them by Alcock. Kara’s emotional arc is buried by a completely forgettable villain in Krem of the Yellow Hills that never for a second feels menacing or a worthy adversary for Kara, Lobo serves not justifiable narrative purpose to progress this story other than saving Kara despite her being perfectly capable to do so on her own, and some of the film’s best moments are given to the male characters in a female led superhero film which is flat out wrong. To be fair, there are some great moments in the screenplay where Nogueira finds an honest emotion that connects with the audience, such as Kara’s retelling of the destruction of Krypton and her life in Argo City and the two scenes with Corenswet’s Superman, but they are few and far between in an otherwise thin screenplay that feels narratively broken and hollow.

Even when superhero films have major narrative issues, they can be salvaged by the show stopping set pieces and brawls that the genre has become synonymous with, but once again Supergirl fails to get even this right. Each action scene is chaotically shot and edited, removing lots of the excitement from these big set pieces and highlighting the poor VFX work that too often utilizes CGI where practical shots could have been sufficient, it’s hard not to be underwhelmed. Piling on this issue is the colourless visual palette for the film, trading up the gorgeous imagery of the comic run for a bland visual style, and the poorly selected needle drops have little effect because the songs are never recognizable enough or they completely distract from and contradict the scene unfolding on screen. The entire production feels void of Gillespie’s style as a director and storytelling, instead trying to replicate Gunn’s Guardian of the Galaxy trilogy with no success, and in doing so makes Supergirl a hollow and lifeless imitation of better comic book films while committing the cardinal sin of boring audiences with its dullness.

Despite the valiant efforts of Milly Alcock who continues the streak of great casting of James Gunn for his leading heroes in the DCU, Supergirl is not only a disservice to the beloved heroine and revered comic run that this film draws inspiration from, but it highlights everything wrong with superhero films today. While you can respect the film’s dedication to bringing to life a more scrappy and flawed superhero and committing to giving audiences a different type of hero arc, brought gloriously to life by Milly Alcock who is the saving grace of the entire film, everything else that Craig Gillespie, Ana Nogueira and James Gunn have cooked up in Supergirl not only completely misses the mark but is another harmful blow to the already diminishing superhero genre. Dull, thinly plotted, poorly constructed on a technical level, and reminiscent of the poorly aged superhero films of the early 2000s but not in a campy nostalgic way, Supergirl is a disservice to both comic book fans and general movie going audiences despite the outstanding Milly Alcock who shines bright from start to finish in the titular role.