James Gunn’s reboot of Warner Bros DC Comics Universe (DCU) began with Superman last year. Before the highly anticipated The Batman: Part II and Man of Tomorrow (both currently filming), Gunn and his team are introducing audiences to Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl. 

Unlike the 1984 film with the same name, the plot for Supergirl is simple. Kara (Milly Alcock) is celebrating her birthday with her dog Krypto by going on a pub crawl on different planets that have a red sun (so she can get drunk). On one planet she meets Ruthye (Eve Ridley), the daughter of a family that was just slain by the evil Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts). Ruthye seeks revenge and wants help hunting him down.  Kara initially brushes off Ruthye’s requests. After an encounter with Krem and the Brigand’s Krypto is struck with a poisonous dart and Kara’s ship is stolen.  

Kara has 72 hours to find Krem and get the antidote for Krypto. She reluctantly takes Ruthye on this wild space adventure, despite how dangerous it is.  

On the surface, Supergirl is a story about a girl trying to save her dog/best friend. At its core, it’s a story about the toll that grief and vengeance take on us.  Ruthye is driven by a blood lust to get revenge for her family’s murder while Kara is still dealing with the grief of watching her planet die. 

2025’s Superman was full of hope. When audiences meet Clark, he’s in the middle of fighting to save Metropolis because that’s his home. In Supergirl, we meet a young woman that doesn’t feel like she has a home. Instead of trying to find it, she’s drinking to numb the pain. Because of that, Kara feels a lot more like an anti-hero for most of the film. The character reluctantly does good things instead of doing what’s right.  

Kara’s anti-hero journey takes audiences to different planets. Most of them are dark junk planets filled with villains that look like Mad Max extras. To be fair, a lot of this film looks and feels like it belongs in the Mad Max Universe. The Brigand’s are trafficking young women just like Immortan Joe and Krem looks and behaves like a character from Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. 

Schoenaerts’ performance as Krem is solid but the character feels like a remix of other tyrants we’ve seen. The story would’ve been better if Krem was a unique threat instead of recycling a generic post-apocalyptic bad guy.  

It takes a minute for Supergirl to get going but when it does, the film is fun. When Kara learns she has 72 hours to save Krypto, the film starts to find its stride as we follow Kara and Ruthye to various alien planets. We meet a cast of characters, the funniest being the driver of a vehicle that can be best described as a Greyhound bus in space.  

Milly gives a strong performance as Kara. Even if the film doesn’t work for audiences, there’s hope for the character in future films. Kara spends a lot of screentime as a reluctant hero being snarky, moody, and hungover. However, during the final act of the film is when you see Milly shine as Supergirl. There are moments throughout the film when you can feel Milly carrying the movie with her charisma and excellent comedic timing.  

The action sequences are fine. Because this film takes place off world, there’s entirely too much CGI and quick edits for some for the battles. Jason Momoa as the cigar chomping Lobo adds some much-needed humor and lightheartedness to the film.  

Supergirl is a great origin story for Kara and a solid intro into the DCU. Milly Alock carries the film and delivers a character meant for the big screen.  Because the film looks so much like a mashup of Star Wars, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Mad Max, it never quite feels like its own thing. Hopefully the next time Kara lands on our screens, it’ll be an amazing original film that helps expand the DCU and turns Milly Alcock into a househould name.  

Grade: B