A year after Superman made his big-screen debut in July 2025, his Kryptonian cousin Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, flies into theaters. We already got a sneak peek of Milly Alcock as Kara when she visits the Fortress of Solitude to pick up her cherished dog, Krypton. Instead of James Gunn, we have Australian director Craig Gillespie taking the reins. He’s known for his films featuring antisocial characters or outcasts who live on the fringes of mainstream society, like Lars and the Real Girl, Cruella, and I, Tonya.

In many respects, Gillespie seems like a great fit to direct Supergirl, who’s a reluctant anti-hero grappling with her inner demon and a lot of emotional baggage. When we first encounter Kara, she’s completely wasted in her rusty spaceship, which she uses as a crash pad while taking a break from Earth on a far-off red-sun planet. Her only buddy is Krypto, who loves her no matter how chaotic her life gets. Unlike her tidy and clean-cut cousin, who always tells Krypto to behave, Kara lets the superdog run wild and do whatever he wants, as she prefers that others treat her the same way. 

Ana Nogueira adapted The Woman of Tomorrow comics for the screen, which feels like a mashup of the Guardians of the Galaxy and Mad Max. I haven’t read the comics, so I’m not going to do a comparison between that and this movie; there are other reviewers more qualified than I am. What I can say is that the casting of Milly Alcock is spot on; she absolutely rocks the role with her devil-may-care attitude. She exemplifies the movie’s tagline of ‘Truth. Justice. Whatever,’ to a tee. It’s such a contrast to the overly chirpy Superman (David Corenswet), which makes all the scenes between the two quite hilarious.

Although the film isn’t exactly an origin story, we do catch a glimpse of Kara’s early years with her parents, Zor-El (David Krumholtz) and Alura (Emily Beecham), in a surviving dome fragment that separates itself from Krypton just before it explodes. We get to see how Krypto comes into Kara’s life during a time of great need, which explains why he is more than just a pet. He’s more like a rambunctious service dog that plays a vital role in her mental well-being. This flashback scene is emotionally compelling, but the tone feels completely different than the rest of the movie. Kara was a teenager when her father sent her to Earth to live under the yellow sun after her mother’s passing. The extensive use of the Kryptonian language is interesting and makes for a funny scene when she first meets Kansas-bred Clark, who can’t understand her mother tongue.

I appreciate that Supergirl breaks away from the usual superhero story, fighting crime on Earth, but goes for a more adventurous cosmic road trip through the stars. During her intergalactic journey, Kara meets Ruthye (Eve Ridley), a determined young girl seeking revenge on a ruthless space pirate and human trafficker named Krem (a miscast Matthias Schoenaerts) who took her family from her. Unlike Kara, who seems to be wandering aimlessly after losing her sense of purpose, Ruthye is incredibly focused and driven, which makes for some amusing moments. At one point, Kara teases her in a cosmic bar, but eventually, they join forces when Krypto gets hit by Krem’s poisoned arrow.

When I saw Krypto going down, my first thought was, ‘Oh no, that means this fun superdog would be absent for most of the movie.’ Instead, we end up with more focus on Ruthye, which detracts from Kara’s storyline. It wouldn’t be as much of an issue if Ruthye weren’t so boring. This isn’t a knock on Ridley, the actress, but rather on how the character is written. I was zoning out during many of Ruthye’s scenes, wishing to see more of Kara in what’s supposed to be her journey. I get that Ruthye exists in the comics, but her character arc just doesn’t seem that captivating on screen.

The biggest letdown here is undoubtedly Krem, who is definitely not the crème de la crème of the movie. Schoenaerts is a talented actor, but the movie’s take on the character is off-putting and cringeworthy, lacking any real menace or charm of any kind. On the other hand, Jason Momoa is obviously having the time of his life as Lobo, a cigar-smoking cosmic bounty hunter sporting KISS makeup. It’s apparently the role of his dreams, so that explains why he’s essentially been playing the same type of Lobo-type role with the same swagger for most of his career. He doesn’t appear on screen very often, but in all honesty, I’m not sure just how important Lobo is to Kara’s overall story.

The action scenes are hit-or-miss; the scenes aboard a space bus involving a teleportation machine are entertaining, but it all turns chaotic and discombobulating in the third act. Plus, the needle drop—a slowed-down cover of Jimmy Eat World’s The Middle—feels out of place here. Claudia Sarne‘s score isn’t bad, but it’s largely unmemorable. The visuals have a deliberately dark and grungy vibe that gets more drab on a dusty planet. Thankfully, it doesn’t reach the overly garish level of Zack Snyder’s Dawn of Justice. There are some breathtaking shots from DP Rob Hardy, but overall, it’s not one of the best-looking films of the year. Some of the set pieces remind me of Mad Max: Fury Road, but this feels more like a cheap knockoff of that epic action western.

I do enjoy the flying scenes; they give such an adrenaline rush, especially when Kara taps into her strength after being tipsy and drunk for most of the first act. At one point, she blasts off into space and screams in frustration. Even though the sound is inaudible—in space, no one can hear you scream—you can really feel Kara’s deep anguish as she fears losing Krypto forever. Alcock does a great job of showing Kara’s vulnerability, making her feel very human. You can really sense her isolation and disappointment at living constantly in the shadow of her heroic cousin. It’s kind of ironic that even after she leaves Earth, Kara still gets overshadowed by Ruthye or Lobo.

In the end, I find Supergirl more entertaining than I expected, despite Gillespie’s middling direction that lacks a fluid rhythm. At just 1 hour 48 minutes, though, it’s a refreshing change from the overly long runtimes of many recent superhero films (it’s 20 minutes shorter than Gunn’s Superman). I’m not clamoring for a sequel, but I’d be up for seeing more of Alcock in future Supergirl movies. Here’s hoping that next time she can take her flight to new heights and the film can keep pace with her.