Supergirl review: Milly Alcock's superhero film soars but stumbles on landing

Superhero films have become synonymous with worldbuilding, and any film in the genre that does less — fewer interwoven narratives, callbacks, and inside jokes — tends to feel odd (this is more a critique of the trend than the films themselves). Maybe that's why James Gunn's reimagined DC Universe continues its existential struggle, because Superman (2025) and the latest release, Supergirl (2026), are less about being pieces of a larger puzzle. That means these films don't have an easy way out and have to be self-sufficient. That's both the boon and bane of director Craig Gillespie's Supergirl — it is indeed a story- and character-driven movie, but it lacks the punch and fails to be the event superhero films have habituated us to till now.

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A girl, a dog, and a grudge

As a film, Supergirl keeps things simple. It has two primary focuses: setting the origin story of Supergirl aka Kara Zor-El, played by Milly Alcock, and having her help a hapless alien, Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley), avenge the brutal death of her entire family at the hands of Krem of the Yellow Hills, head of the Brigands — a space pirate group who traffic young girls for the propagation of their species. But for the superhero to help the girl, she has to snap out of her own personal grief over losing her home, Krypton.

The reluctant hero trope returns

When we meet Supergirl, she is an alcoholic, far away from the yellow sun, her source of power, as intoxicants don't seem to work when she is charged up. She fits the typical stereotype of the reluctant warrior, eventually forced to help the innocent. But Supergirl also has a personal stake — her beloved but naughty dog Krypto is attacked by Krem, who holds the antidote to save the dying dog. Thus, the two set off on an adventure, where we are also introduced to new antihero Lobo, played by Jason Momoa, an intergalactic bounty hunter who now rides a space cruiser instead of sea creatures, as he did in previous DC films.

The film's beating heart

What works in the new DC film is the bond between Supergirl and Ruthye. In one instance that would fail the Bechdel Test, the two characters speak about Superman, and the teen wonders how he is called a 'man' while she is called a 'girl', despite a small age difference between the two. While the film raises a question on the tip of every feminist's tongue, it fails to come up with an answer. Like many superheroine-led movies, Supergirl tries to weave a broader cause into its narrative by bringing abducted women into the fold, but it all feels like an afterthought.

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Where the film does succeed is in its interpersonal arcs. The way it establishes why Superman tends to see the good in everyone while Supergirl sees the truth is effortless. Superman left Krypton before its doom and never witnessed his home's destruction firsthand. Supergirl, on the other hand, left much later, after watching it decay.

Its Kryptonite

When it comes to the action and superhero spectacle, the redundant use of Kryptonite in the last act makes the film a tiring watch, despite its brief 1 hour 45 minute runtime. The action set pieces are a letdown — with the exception of the standout sequence aboard the space bus, where Supergirl takes on tech-savvy space pirates. Also, the villain here barely makes any sort of register. He was the most painfully dimensionless character, even in 3D. The fact that he is no match for Supergirl and the stand-off gets delayed by different forms of Kryptonite makes the element a problem for both Supergirl, the movie and the character.

Where DC goes from here

Supergirl is neither a triumph nor a disaster, and that, oddly, might be the most honest thing about it. Milly Alcock gives the character a lived-in complexity that the script only partially deserves, and the Kara-Ruthye dynamic suggests the DCU can do intimate, character-driven storytelling when it trusts itself.

But the film also reveals the limits of that restraint — underdeveloped themes, forgettable action, and a villain who barely registers. James Gunn's DCU has staked its identity on being different from the gloomy old DC and the campy Marvel machine, on story over spectacle, character over cameo. Supergirl is the clearest test of that promise yet, and the verdict is still out. However, there's also this question of whether this is just the foundation to something bigger to come or it is all there's to it.