Supergirl reviews: Milly Alcock’s hungover hero divides critics as DC extends its universe
Craig Gillespie’s Supergirl, starring Milly Alcock as a hard-partying Kara Zor-El, gets a lukewarm critical reception for its derivative style, sluggish pacing, and lack of fresh ideas, though Alcock’s performance earns some praise.
A hungover Kryptonian
Kara Zor-El, a refugee from the destroyed planet Krypton, spends her days getting drunk on planets with red suns, waking up dishevelled and accompanied by her dog Krypto. The new DC film picks up shortly after her brief cameo in last year’s Superman, but here she is the protagonist of a spinoff that aims for the wry sensibility of James Gunn’s earlier superhero work. Milly Alcock plays the character with a punk-rock swagger, her smile curled with spite, while the dog urinates on a picture of Superman in an early scene.
It’s the superhero equivalent of a Vegas impersonator.
The reluctant hero
Kara’s aimless partying is interrupted by Ruthye (Eve Ridley), a 13‑year‑old girl whose parents were murdered by Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts), an intergalactic trafficker who abducts women to use as breeding stock. When Krem poisons Krypto with a dart, Kara is forced to chase him to save the dog. The duo set off on a revenge quest, with Jason Momoa appearing as the cigar-smoking bounty hunter Lobo. The script, by Ana Nogueira, adapts Tom King and Bilquis Evely’s comic miniseries Woman of Tomorrow but simplifies the source’s cosmic grandeur, focusing instead on the dysfunctional bond between Kara and Ruthye.
Visuals and tone
The production design mixes high‑tech elements with analog props like record players and Polaroid cameras, creating a space environment that several critics likened to a diluted version of Guardians of the Galaxy. Many reviewers found the colour palette muddy and the worlds generic, though a few noted the film’s occasional flashes of fun with practical alien puppets. Gillespie, known for I, Tonya and Cruella, struggles to replicate James Gunn’s balance of sentiment and absurdism. The film’s darker, more cynical tone is meant to contrast with Superman’s hopefulness, but the execution leaves it feeling listless.
It’s a relief to see a DC superhero film that tells a clear story, without getting bafflingly bogged down … in tangled subsidiary material and boring backstory.
Critical divides
Reactions range from the Guardian’s description of a “sprightly and sparkling superhero yarn” to The Independent’s “visually ugly, dispiriting girl-power disappointment.” Gizmodo suggests viewers without overblown expectations will be delighted, while The Irish Times calls it “a shamelessly minor work without a single fresh idea in its head.” The Hollywood Reporter mourns the lost potential of a more committed origin story, crediting Alcock’s scenes with David Corenswet’s Superman as the film’s best moments. Across the reviews, the consensus lands on a middle ground: Alcock’s charismatic, damaged Kara is compelling, but the film around her rarely rises above a copycat effort.
This film’s tolerability is down to a spirited performance from the Australian good egg Milly Alcock.
A franchise’s first stumbles
As the second entry in the rebooted DC Universe under Gunn and Peter Safran, Supergirl faces the challenge of proving that the franchise can thrive beyond its architect’s direct involvement. Critics note that the movie’s reliance on Gunn’s aesthetic, without his writing or directing, points to a larger risk for DC’s slate. While some audiences may enjoy the film’s punk attitude and emotional undertones, the reviews signal that the studio has yet to find a distinct voice for its heroine.
