Supergirl

In the DC Comics and Cinematic universe, Supergirl is a minor star – and pointedly still a “girl” when cousin Clark Kent, not much older, has always been a “Super-man”. Put that behind you. If not the stratosphere, Milly Alcock definitely hits escape velocity, breaking free of the gravity of Supergirl’s famous kin to seal her place in the firmament. The breakout House of the Dragons actor, who also got noticed for her comic skills in Upright, is a winsome combination of the two here as a superhero who, at least initially, would rather be drunk senseless than do the whole saviour routine.

Supergirl is more in the zone of a girl-power film than a superhero flick. Director Craig Gillespie’s new outing is the sophomore instalment in the newest iteration of a superhero-movie universe (DCU), starring Mily Alcock in the titular role. Supergirl, however, isn’t technically ‘Supergirl’ until way into the film, supremely coming into her own in the climactic battle scene. For most of this 108-minute film, she is Kara Zor-El, a not-so-regular girl who wants to drown the sorrows of her 23rd birthday by bar-hopping across the universe, specifically near red suns, which is something that makes her “normal” and not the superhero she is/ supposed to be. Also, unlike her cousin Superman — David Corenswet pops up every now and then — she doesn’t want to get into the business of helping anyone. In other words, she can’t be bothered with being a superhero, even when her more famous (and far more responsible) cuz tries his best — via video messages — to keep reminding her of her DNA (and her larger goal).

Superhero films have become synonymous with worldbuilding, and any film in the genre that does less — fewer interwoven narratives, callbacks, and inside jokes — tends to feel odd (this is more a critique of the trend than the films themselves). Maybe that’s why James Gunn’s reimagined DC Universe continues its existential struggle, because Superman (2025) and the latest release, Supergirl (2026), are less about being pieces of a larger puzzle. That means these films don’t have an easy way out and have to be self-sufficient. That’s both the boon and bane of director Craig Gillespie’s Supergirl — it is indeed a story- and character-driven movie, but it lacks the punch and fails to be the event superhero films have habituated us to till now.

Superhero fatigue has been setting in for quite some time now, with both Marvel and DC struggling to find the right footing. In the race for bigger spectacles, sprawling multiverses, time travel, and interconnected sagas, many superhero films traded genuine emotion and character for sheer scale and experimentation. Audiences, understandably, began to lose interest. James Gunn rebooted the DC Universe with Superman (2025), introducing the dimpled David Corenswet as the new Man of Steel. While the film dazzled with its scale and visual ambition, it often felt emotionally scattered and underwhelming. What lingered long after the credits, however, were the brief but memorable glimpses of Milly Alcock’s carefree, rebellious Supergirl.