“Supergirl” was directed by Craig Gillespie, is based on the comic book series, “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow” and is the second film in the DC Cinematic Universe following 2025’s “Superman”. Milly Alcock returns as the titular and reprises her role from the “Superman” film and is joined by Eve Ridley, Matthias Schoenaerts, David Krumholtz & Emily Beecham. David Corenswet also reprises his role as “Clark Kent / Superman”. Jason Momoa also returns to DC but as a brand new character. Momoa played “Arthur Curry / Aquaman” in the DCEU from 2016 – 2023. This film is supposed to be the first phase of DC’s new cinematic universe, which has been called “Gods & Monsters”.
Kara Zor-El (Alcock) has been living on Earth with her cousin, Kal-El or Clark Kent (Corenswet) and is having a hard time adjusting to life on Earth after the destruction of their home planet, Krypton. While Clark is out saving world (the events of the Superman film), he still tries to connect with her but isn’t making much progress. Kara plans to travel to different planets to celebrate her 23rd birthday with her dog, Krypto. On one of her stops, Kara comes across a young girl, Ruthye (Ridley), who just witnessed her family murdered by a gang of space pirates and is seeking revenge. Ruthye is on the hunt for the pirate known as, Krem (Schoenaerts) and is hell bent on killing him but when Kara sees her pain, she tries to intervene. When Krem & his crew learn of Ruthye’s, they attack her & Kara. In their fight, Krem poisons Krypto with a toxic dart & leaves him for dead. Kara learns that Krypto only has 72 hours to live. Now, Kara must join Ruthye to catch Krem in order to save Krypto.
I was never a fan of the “Supergirl” character until the CW show came out in 2015 and the character’s portrayal in the “Injustice 2” video game in 2017. This film did a great job introducing the character & giving her layers that people can relate to. Milly Alcock’s performance is great and really grounds the character. Her suit isn’t the best but giving the style & tone of the “Superman” film in 2025, it fits the setting of the established universe. Where the movie falls apart though, is the surrounding story. I enjoyed the back story & origin of Kara Zor-El & her tragic backstory & her adjusting to fit it on Earth with Clark Kent. That’s interesting. The side stuff with Ruthye & Krem & his crew feels tacked on & unnecessary and really bogs the movie down. The visuals are great & the action sequences are top tier. The tone is almost “Mad Max” meets “Guardians of the Galaxy” but the real issue is the story. Jason Momoa as the bounty hunter known as “Lobo” was fantastic. He was rumored to play the character initially in the DCEU but instead was offered the role of Aquaman. Despite his limited screen time, Momoa was entertaining and a great addition to this new universe.
Overall, this was solid movie with great visuals & a great performance from our leading lady but the “adventure” she goes on is bit boring & felt unworthy of a “Supergirl” story. The initial plan for Supergirl was continue in a standalone film following the events of 2023’s “The Flash” where Sasha Calle played the character but after James Gunn & Peter Safren took over DC films, the planned standalone was cancelled in favor of a reboot. Meg Donnelly was offered the role of “Supergirl” after voicing the character in the animated films, “Legion of Heroes” in 2023 & “Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earth” in 2024 but was passed on in favor of Alcock. While a sequel has not been announced at the moment, Peter Safren made it official that Alcock would return in future DC projects, including the sequel to “Superman”, 2027’s “Man of Tomorrow”.