After DC Studios took a major win with 2025’s “Superman,” it was going to be a challenge to uphold that standard. “Supergirl” is the ambitious next installment of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Universe.
Based on the orginal comic run, “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow” by Tom King, the plot of the film deals with Kara Zor-El/Supergirl (Milly Alcock) spending her 23rd birthday at bars on red suns until a tragic accident with her dog, Krypto. The heroine has three days to save her dog as she is recruited by Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley) to hunt down the same warlord who hurt Kara’s dog, Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts).
In many ways, the film has a variety of strengths, yet also a fair bit of weaknesses.
The action is certainly polished. While every scene isn’t on a level of being entirely memorable, there are moments where the action can be fun to enjoy. Each song played in the film was also fit for their moments to help heighten the scenes.
Alcock’s Supergirl and Jason Momoa’s bounty hunter character Lobo were honestly the highlights of the movie. After his first stint with DC as Aquaman, Momoa proves why he was born to play a character like Lobo. There are moments where you feel like his dialogue lands so much better than his Aquaman portrayal that give such a rebellious, yet renegade feel. You can tell that whenever Momoa’s Lobo came into the screen, something was about to go down.
You can also feel David Corenswet’s Superman influence throughout the film. Especially in the scenes between him and Kara, Corenswet gives the same warmth and heroic nature he gave back in his own film back in 2025, showing why his portayal of the Man of Steel is so humane.
However, while the humoring moments of the film landed pretty well, and the film stood out on its own very well in the DCU with some changes to Tom King’s comic run. Still, there are some instances where there the script by Ana Nogueira could have been better.
Much of the dialogue throughout the film feels very standard, which would’ve been fine, but expectations from “Superman” (2025) were very high. Although DC Studios’ head, James Gunn, praised the script by Nogueira, it feels in some ways anti-climatic given the material in the film and the comparisons to the original story by Tom King.
While you get the sense of why the villain, Krem, is feared as the movie goes on, in many ways, he still comes off as a underwhelming villain with a bland design and not much depth, even though his actions throughout the story are cruel.
The difference between the film and the comic also go beyond just one being an adaptation of another. For example, the ending caused controversy amongst fans of the comic.
Without spoiling the film, the original ending of the comic provided a lot interesting themes and lessons presented to the characters for Kara, but especially for Ruthye. Even with many readers misinterpreting and often confused its ambiguity, it was something that provided much intrigue about the growth and explorations on trauma and grief.
However, the film’s adaptation of the ending changes to a degree that makes the moral of the book almost non-identical to the moral it was going for. Still, in many ways, the ending manages to keep the same themes from the comic and explore them different, unique ways that give more to Kara’s character.
This film may not be for everyone. If you were someone who enjoyed the comic and are expecting a true adapation of it, this film may not be for you. However, if you’re looking for an average, yet still fun, comic book flick, than this might be more up your alley.
Overall, while not a perfect adapation or critic smash, “Supergirl” is just a fun time through, with cool action, enjoyable characters and a nice story that works as another stepping stone in the larger DCU.
