'Supergirl' Review: Milly Alcock Soars in Lastest DC Universe Outing
- 11 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By Jack Ransom - June 28, 2026
The second feature film in the 2025 launched DCU. Supergirl sees Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl (Milly Alcock), join forces with an unlikely companion (Eve Ridley) on an interstellar journey of vengeance and justice when an unexpected adversary (Matthias Schoenaerts) strikes too close to home.
Unfortunately this film has become the latest victim to a particularly toxic and loser-filled section of the internet who were immediately opposed to the idea of a Supergirl movie and barraged the film’s lead star with vile insults, abuse and attacks on her physical appearance (which is bold considering what most of them look like when they aren’t hiding behind and anime profile picture) and of course the obligatory boycotting on IMDb.
A lot of this discourse bleeds into the timeline and of course when the mixed critical reception and potential box office underperformance came to the forefront it led to more fuel for the fire for those weirdos. Anyway, sorry just had to get that off my chest. The film itself may not be perfect but it was a lot scrappy, punky and angst tinged fun that does a swell job of distinguishing Kara from Clark (David Corenswet) and building the already strong DCU backbone.
I know there has been some disappointment and discussion surrounding how this adapts elements from the critically acclaimed Woman of Tomorrow run. Even without this prior knowledge, it is undeniable that the film has been trimmed and tweaked in some respects, and is left with a somewhat jumpy structure that can feel a little jarring and particularly undercooked when it comes to the impact of Ruthye’s (Ridley) motivations. That being said, when it comes to integrating Kara’s tragic backstory, her love for Krypto and why she drowns her sorrows, the film (and Alcock) excels.
The pacing is hasty and even though the choppiness is apparent the space adventure planet hopping romp style of the story works effectively and efficiently takes us to the bizarro outer regions of DC’s galaxy with plenty of pit-stops at hostile to homey sites that all feel lived in and feature glorious amounts of wacky inhabitants for Kara to interact with, a couple of which got genuine laughs from myself and audience (when she is hit on by a slug creature - “Never gonna happen.” and one particular surprise voice cameo got a large cackle).
Unfortunately some of the action does suffer from quick cutting and poor lighting (one thing they should have utilised from Superman) and there are some patchy CGI backdrops. However, when all cylinders are firing it’s great seeing Kara kick ass and get stuck into some gritty fisticuffs. Sure, the finale blowout is a big CGI explosion-fest, but the choreography and slow-motion usage is a lot of fun and the flying looks superb. Also, having Lobo (Jason Momoa) pop up to wreak havoc every so often adds to the chaos. Stylistically the Mad Max comparisons are apt and there is certainly GotG DNA too. Lastly, big fan of the needle drops including Wet Leg & Wolf Alice, and whilst I get whilst it’s divisive, *that* cover tune in the final act didn’t bother me.
Milly Alcock perfectly encapsulates the depressed, snarky, loner with a heart of gold deep down. She’s instantly likeable and raucous fun and there’s one particular scene with Corenswet that makes me even more excited to see the duo again in Man of Tomorrow. Corenswet is an extended cameo here really, but he once again effortlessly charms and proves how great he is as Supes. Whilst he really is only here for fan service and essentially could be removed from the film entirely with no consequence, Jason Momoa is clearly having the time of his life as the cackling, money hungry bounty hunter Lobo. Eve Ridley’s no-nonsense and grief stricken sincere Ruthye is a good counter to Kara’s cynicism and lastly, whilst he is fittingly evil-for-the-sake-of-being-evil and Schoenaerts is fittingly hamming him up, Krem unfortunately is a pretty generic villain presence.
Supergirl is a solid second film for the DCU and whilst it does suffer from a messy structure and dodgy CGI and action lighting, it absolutely soars when it comes to Alcock’s performance, Momoa’s enthusiasm, the exploration of the universe’s wacky and weird outskirts and entertaining action beats. Looking forward to seeing her again next year!
'Supergirl' released in cinemas on June 26.
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