“Supergirl” Delivers Some Decent Action Yet Feels Flat At Times
- Matt Palmer
- Jul 2
- 3 min read
Last year, filmmaker and DC CEO James Gunn started the new DCU with 2025’s “Superman” (which despite some mixed initial reactions I really enjoyed). With a “Superman” sequel scheduled for a release next year, the second installment of this relatively new cinematic universe focuses on Superman’s cousin Supergirl.
When an unexpected and ruthless adversary strikes close to home, Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, reluctantly joins forces with an unlikely companion on an epic, interstellar journey of vengeance and justice.
When I looked at the trailers for this movie, I thought it looked like an okay watch. Now that I finally had the chance to check out the next DC cinematic adventure, despite a character-driven story and a decent performance from Milly Alcock, the overall movie is just an average superhero movie.
Despite the controversy on some of the actresses’ remarks, Milly Alcock actually did a decent job as Kara/Supergirl. Throughout her performance, Alcock brings a compelling blend of fierceness and genuine emotional vulnerability. Her character also tackles themes of trauma, bringing a darker, more complex backstory to the character that sets her apart from her cousin, Superman. We also get to see how little, scene-stealer Krypto ended up with Supergirl.
The pitch-perfect casting of Jason Momoa as the intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo is probably one of the best highlights of this superhero movie and Momoa absolutely steals the show for sure whenever he’s on screen. He brings his larger than life energy, chaotic swagger and perfect line delivery of the character’s different personality.
“Supergirl” also delivers a grounded, melancholic tone and the emotional depth brought by Alcock is pretty decent at times. We also get to see Kara’s final days on Krypton and the movie also explores her deep-seated trauma from that event and isolation rather than just her powers.
While “Supergirl" does feature some fun action moments that can be a little exciting, some of the action can also feel a bit on the lackluster side. There’s an entire sequence where Kara battles teleporting space pirates on a space bus that’s actually imaginative and is easily one of the best stand out moments of the movie.
A lot of the action sequences feature some muddled CGI and rapid fire editing, which can be really distracting while you’re trying to enjoy the action scenes. In the climax of
the final action scene, there’s a slow indie version of Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle” that plays when things slow down that feels really out of place and didn't quite work out well for the scene.
Even the movie’s main villain, Krem of the Yellow Hills, is a bit on the bland side and feels just like a generic, space-bandit leader or even a low level thug. I’ve been seeing online that this version of the Krem character is completely different from the comics, which I’m not really familiar with at all.
“Supergirl,” the second entry of the DC Universe (DCU) reboot, has been met with a mixed response. While lead star Milly Alcock has gotten praise and the movie sometimes delivers some okay action, the latest from DC has faced significant criticism for its disjointed plot and underwhelming antagonist.
Cast: Milly Alcock (Supergirl); David Corenswet (Superman); Eve Ridley (Ruthye); Matthias Schoenaerts (Krem); Diarmind Murtaugh (Drom Baxton; Ferdinand Kindsley (Elias Knoll; Emily Piggford (Delilah Knoll); Bruce Lennox (Edmond Knoll); David Krumholtz (Zor-El); Jason Momoa (Lobo)
Writer/director: Ana Nogueira (writer); Craig Gillespie (director) (Dumb Money; Cruella, I, Tonya; The Finest Hours)
MPA: Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, action, language and smoking (runtime 107 minutes)
This marks Jason Momoa's return to DC as he previously played as Arthur Curry/Aquaman in the DC Extended Universe from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) to Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023). He's also been campaigning to play Lobo for years and when he first joined DC he thought he would've been offered the part but he was offered Aquaman instead.
Originally titled "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow," after the comic book of the same name, written by Tom King and drawn by Bilquis Evely, which served as the basis for this film. The story updated Kara's character as a 23-year-old young woman adventuring in the depths of space.
Sasha Calle had signed a multi-picture deal with DC Studios and Warner Bros., reprising her role from The Flash (2023), before the creative change. Calle has admitted it was frustrating, since she had originally shot an ending of "The Flash" that was supposed to pave the way for future adventures as part of her multi-film contract.
Although the intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo is not in the comic book story line that this film is adapted from, he was considered for the series originally by writer Tom King.
James Gunn teased this film by sharing a cover artwork from "Woman of Tomorrow" on his social media.
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