In July 2025, James Gunn’s “Superman” dominated the box office and cultural zeitgeist. It felt like a triumphant return to the superhero flicks of old — vibrantly colored, idealistic and romantic. It would be a tough ask of any script to follow such a financial and social success, but the most recent “Supergirl” falls flat in nearly every category except for its stand-out lead.
When Kara Zor-El — Kara Danvers on Earth — first appeared in 1959 DC comic #252, she was depicted as a jaded counterpart to Superman, albeit with the same heart of gold. Born 13 years before her cousin Clark Kent, she was old enough to feel the acute loss of Krypton and everything she had ever known. She thus lacked Superman’s trademark optimism, and in these initial characterizations would often leave the orbit of Earth’s yellow sun to shed her powers and imbibe off-world.
This is how Craig Gillespie’s “Supergirl” starts: Kara (Milly Alcock) is on a pub crawl through space to celebrate her 23rd birthday, with only her dog for company. Though Clark (David Corenswet) tries to reach her from Earth, she has no plans to return to Metropolis or slip the Supergirl suit back on. As Kara spells out at one point in regards to her cousin, “He sees the good in everyone, and I see the truth.”
While this aimless quality makes Kara a compelling character, it does a disservice to both the uninspired plot and flat script. I found myself craving an origin story: When did she decide to join her cousin in fighting crime? Exactly what does her life on Earth look like? Ultimately, what comes next after the film’s rather lackluster conclusion?
The action begins when Kara encounters Ruthye (Eve Ridley), an alien pre-teen on a quest for vengeance against the one-note villain Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts) for the senseless murder of her family. Ruthye’s pleas with Kara for help are at first ignored, but when Krem poisons her dog the two reluctantly join forces to track Krem and an antidote down before her dog dies in 72 hours. In doing so, she stumbles upon an intergalactic human trafficking ring and the unkempt bounty hunter Lobo (Jason Momoa). Despite her attempts to deny it, her mission becomes a moral one.
Alcock’s performance is by far the crux of the film, and the closest it gets to redemption. She has some great line deliveries and comedic moments, and consistently imbues the stale dialogue with convincing vulnerability. As has been true since her breakout role in “Game of Thrones” spin-off “House of the Dragon,” one of Alcock’s greatest gifts as an actor is her ability to inject otherwise hardened or caustic characters with sensitivity and depth. Even during Kara’s bender in a “Blondie” t-shirt, she feels layered.
The other major strength of the film is its worldbuilding. Kara and Ruthye traverse through many distinct planets, taking celestial buses to astral rest stops. Kara is essentially a cosmic nomad, drinking her way through space on planets that feel properly fleshed out. The worldbuilding is also the largest source of comic relief — in one entertaining moment, the heroines are mugged on intergalactic public transit without a yellow sun, the source of Kara’s abilities. Not only is this scene tonally and practically distinct from other DC films, but it also effectively showcases Kara’s prowess and ingenuity. However good the worldbuilding may be, though, it cannot change the fact that the appeal of any “Superman” or “Supergirl” adaptation is watching the lonely Kryptonian navigate life on Earth.
“Supergirl” is quite formulaic and condensed — at just one hour and 45 minutes, it is one of the shortest DC films to date. It also feels like fight sequence after fight sequence, which makes it difficult for the emotional moments to land while sandwiched between similar battles and lackluster needle-drops.
Yet, despite all of my qualms with the film itself, I’m truly looking forward to Alcock being integrated into the new phrase of the DC Universe. This may have been a rather uninspiring introduction, but as a vessel to highlight her Kara Danvers, it was nothing if not effective. My hope is that from here, the franchise can only go up — up, up and away.
