Supergirl
Milly Alcock makes a feisty Kara Zor-El in an otherwise overly violent and tortuous entry in the DC Universe.
Superslob: Milly Alcock
Image courtesy of Warner Bros.
by JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
As a general rule, Origins Stories work better than the following sequels. Of course there are exceptions, such as The Dark Night trilogy and the fabulously entertaining Superman II (1980), with Christopher Reeve in the red underpants. However, by the time Superman III (1983) and, indeed, Supergirl (1984) came along, the rot had set in, both critically and commercially (Supergirl has an approval rating of 19% on Rotten Tomatoes). The latest reboot of Superman (2025) was an exhilarating ride, being totally fresh, wildly inventive and frighteningly relevant to our own times – and it was a massive global hit ($618.7 million). Inevitably, Kal-El’s little cousin Kara was bound to have a bite of the cherry and the Australian actress Milly Alcock is a winning counterpart to David Corenswet’s appealing, empathetic can-do Man of Steel. As Kara Zor-El’s mother (Emily Beecham) lies dying, she begs her daughter to make her one promise: to be tough, even if she’s not nice, but above all else to be good.
When we first encounter Kara she is ensconced in a rusting RV that doubles as a spacecraft, but Kara being a typical teenager her place is an unholy mess. Then every teenage slob has her virtues and while Kara might not be nice, she at least has her heart in the right place. She’s actually 23-years-old now and is celebrating her birthday with a week-long binge of excess, drinking and moshing in a variety of dubious hang-outs across the suburbs of the galaxy. Accompanied by her trusty dog Krypto, she’s living the life, confident in her own powers and pretty much frittering away her youth. These early scenes are a riot and as Kara occupies one Star Wars cantina-like rave after another, she holds her own against the lurid, ugly-as-sin clientele. When one particularly hideous alien approaches her for a dance, she just says, “it’s not happening,” beautifully underplaying her retort.
But her fun is interrupted with the appearance of a girl, Ruthye (Eve Ridley), who begs the assembled party to help her locate a certain brigand who murdered her family. In return, she promises to gift them her kopis-style sword, a much-revered weapon – which is nonchalantly snatched out of her hand by a passing thief. Kara sees red and sets off into the night to retrieve the sword (in spite of her inebriated state), an act that is to lead her to a deadly confrontation with Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts).
Sadly, the Origins part of the movie doesn’t last for long – in spite of a lengthy flashback featuring David Krumholtz and Emily Beecham – when the full heft of Tom King’s story contained in the comic Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow kicks in. Unlike James Gunn’s Superman, this is very much a Heavy Metal take of the DC Comics’ property, and is set all over the seamier corners of the galaxy. Like Milly Alock, the director Craig Gillespie hails from Sydney, Australia, and brings a very Australian aesthetic to the film, mirroring the grungy brutality seen in the Mad Max franchise (and in the Cate Blanchett-starrer Borderlands). Each villain seems more repellent than the last, while the viciously amoral Krem, who looks like a Hell’s Angel version of Hellraiser’s Pinhead, gets his rocks off stealing young girls for his sex-trafficking racket. It’s all highly unpleasant. In spite of the 12A certificate, the film’s constant and relentless violence, and the dispassionate annihilation of key characters, makes it feel more like a 15. It’s just a sign of the times, I guess, as younger viewers become more and more inured to hardcore ‘entertainment’ like this.
Cast: Milly Alcock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, David Corenswet, Jason Momoa, Ferdinand Kingsley, Thalissa Teixeira, Emily Piggford, Asha Soetan, Leo Bill.
Dir Craig Gillespie, Pro Peter Safran and James Gunn, Screenplay Ana Nogueira, Ph Rob Hardy, Pro Des Neil Lamont, Ed Tatiana S. Riegel and Fred Raskin, Music Claudia Sarne, Costumes Michael Mooney and Anna B. Sheppard, Sound Jimmy Boyle, Kevin Penney, Rowan Watson and George Riley, Dialect coach Sarah Sheppard.
DC Studios/Troll Court Entertainment/The Safran Company-Warner Bros.
107 mins. USA. 2026. UK and US Rel: 26 June 2026. Cert. 12A.
