“Supergirl” Review: Milly Alcock Soars in a Grittier, More Emotional Take on the DCU

Milly Alcock brings grit and vulnerability to ‘Supergirl,’ a cosmic, trauma-driven DCU adventure that mostly delivers despite a weak villain.

Supergirl is the latest DC Studios film and the second live action entry in the DC Universe. The film is directed by Craig Gillespie (“I, Tonya”) and stars Milly Alcock in the lead role along with Eve Ridley, Jason Momoa, and many others.

Supergirl is loosely based on the comic series Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King. The movie follows a Kryptonian named Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) who embarks on a planet hopping journey across the cosmos. Along the way, Kara is recruited by a troubled girl named “Ruthye” (Eve Ridley) who is seeking to bring justice and revenge to a space pirate who killed her family. As Kara also becomes affected by this pirate’s villainous behavior, she agrees to help Ruthye while also being forced to confront her own emotional scars and unresolved pain. Shaped by a life marked by hardship, trauma, and loss, Kara encounters new worlds, deadly enemies, and difficult choices that will ultimately help shape the hero she becomes.

I thought Supergirl was a reasonably entertaining superhero film that, despite some shortcomings, delivers a solid cosmic adventure with interesting themes and some enjoyable action sequences. As a companion piece to 2025’s Superman, the film works fine while attempting to establish its very own identity through a more emotionally driven and rugged approach. While some interpretations of Supergirl tend to lean more heavily into hopeful optimism, this version instead focuses on themes of grief, revenge, identity, and redemption as Kara struggles to find her place in the world. Much of Kara’s traumatic past is explored via flashbacks to her life on Planet Krypton, which helps provide added context for the emotional journey she is on.

In terms of casting, Milly Alcock gives a strong performance, which is a unique and spirited take on the character. Rather than simply portraying a female version of “Superman,” Milly Alcock brings personality and vulnerability to a character who is flawed, emotionally scarred, and searching for purpose. As far as additional star power, Jason Momoa also stars as Lobo and is clearly having fun delivering a charismatic performance, which injects energy into each of his scenes. Lastly, as seen in the trailers, David Corenswet returns as Superman. While his role is relatively small, his appearance should be a welcome one for fans eager to see more of his version of the character.

From a directing standpoint, Craig Gillespie does a solid job of balancing the film’s story, characters, action, and emotional moments. In terms of the visuals, Supergirl embraces a grittier and darker look, which features barren worlds, unique creatures, and generally strong VFX work. With much of the film’s runtime taking place on various planets in space, there are times where the overall aesthetic of the film becomes eerily reminiscent of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies from Marvel. However, as this is not an Earth-based story, the presence of planets, spaceships, and other cosmic creatures appearing in it didn’t feel like too far of a stretch for the specific story being told in the film.

As for criticisms, I felt that Supergirl occasionally struggled with some pacing issues and featured a few uneven storytelling choices. There were also a few comedic moments, tonal shifts, and certain music selections that didn’t always land for me personally. Also, while Supergirl contains some cool action scenes that showcase Kara’s powers quite effectively, there are some moments where the editing may be a tad jarring or a little too dark to clearly discern the action taking place on screen. Lastly, I thought the film’s villain, Krem, felt like a boring and overly generic antagonist who was one of the weakest aspects of the movie.

Nevertheless, I felt Supergirl was an accessible superhero film that benefits from a spirited lead performance, some effective emotional moments, and strong action sequences. Milly Alcock brings her own personality to Kara, while the cosmic setting and adventure elements help keep the film engaging enough throughout. If I had to directly compare this film to 2025’s Superman, I personally enjoyed this film more due to the emotional depth of Kara’s backstory and plight, as well as the film’s action sequences resonating with me a bit more.

As a final observation on this being the second live action film for the new DCU, like David Corenswet’s casting as Superman, I feel Milly Alcock’s casting is sufficient for the specific type of tone the DCU is promoting for their characters on film. However, while I think both actors work fine in that regard, the surrounding movies they have appeared in still haven’t made me feel that I’m watching something really epic or special as of yet. Regardless, while I may not consider Supergirl a standout entry for the superhero genre, I do feel that it succeeds at being both a fun and competent summer comic book film that should be an easy watch for fans.

Supergirl will be playing in theaters now and comes recommended for fans of the character or superhero films in general — Enjoy!

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