The latest chapter in DC’s rebooted universe sends Superman’s cousin on a galaxy-spanning revenge mission.
Milly Alcock’s Supergirl is taking flight. The actor stars as Superman’s sardonic, hard-drinking cousin in the new DC blockbuster, which lands in theaters on June 26.
It’s the first standalone Supergirl movie since 1984, when Helen Slater took on the role — but is the character’s latest interstellar adventure worth your time? Here’s what film critics are saying about Supergirl.
What is ‘Supergirl’ about?
Alcock, fresh from her breakout role in HBO’s House of the Dragon, plays Superman’s 23-year-old cousin Kara Zor-El, better known as Supergirl.
Unlike Clark Kent, Kara grew up on a fragment of the destroyed planet Krypton, watching those around her die before making her way to Earth — an experience that makes her a tougher, more rebellious hero than the ever-optimistic Superman.
Inspired by the comic Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, the film follows Kara as she joins a young alien girl, Ruthye Marye Knoll (Eve Ridley), on a quest to hunt down the mercenary Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts), who murdered Ruthye’s father.
Their revenge mission takes them across the galaxy, where they encounter dangerous enemies, including the cigar-chomping bounty hunter Lobo, played by Jason Momoa.
Alcock made a brief appearance at the end of 2025’s Superman, but Supergirl marks her first proper outing as the heroine. David Corenswet returns as the Man of Steel to serve as a bridge between both movies.
What critics liked
Alcock’s performance has been widely praised. The Associated Press hailed her as “terrific,” providing “a welcome, jagged riff on more buttoned-up superheroes.” USA Today said Alcock is “superb” at giving the character “likable depth while also maintaining an unpredictability,” and the Hollywood Reporter called the heroine “an appealingly punky protagonist.”
The Guardian called Supergirl “sprightlier and sparkier” than last year’s “boring” Superman, saying it was a “relief to see a DC superhero film that tells a clear story.”
Mashable enjoyed Schoenaerts’s “spectacularly creepy” turn as Krem, as well as Momoa’s “snarling” performance as Lobo, saying the actor exudes “the chaotic himbo energy that’s made him such fun on red carpets and in Fast X.”
Rolling Stone praised the bond between Supergirl and Ruthye, which keeps the story “emotionally grounded even when its heroes are flying past nebulae.” If the new-look DC Universe continues in a similar vein, the magazine said, “this whole 2.0 era might actually make you believe a franchise reset can fly.”
The AV Club appreciated how Supergirl blends a “kid-friendly, hope-suffused superhero story” with “bleaker, grittier stuff,” and said it succeeded in avoiding “demoting its main gal to a sideshow.”
What critics didn’t like
TheWrap called Supergirl “competent” but criticized its “messiness” and “ugly” visuals. The blockbuster lacks “the visceral action” of Superman, the publication added, saying that “most of the fights are blurry or marred by flying-related CGI or lazy fight tracking.”
Variety branded the blockbuster “numbingly flat,” while the Los Angeles Times was unimpressed by the “snarky” humor and said the big action scenes were “impossible to follow.”
The New York Times called it “derivative if altogether watchable,” noting that “numbingly similar” superhero stories have “flooded cinemas for decades.” The filmmakers “expend too much effort” trying to distinguish Supergirl from her more famous cousin, it added.
Deadline took issue with Supergirl relegating Kara’s dog Krypto — who played a key role in Superman — to a “mere cameo.” The pet is “basically a plot device to give our heroine an emotional hook and reason to go after the villain with vengeance,” the website added.
The Independent argued that Momoa’s “natural, charming exuberance is largely wasted in a character who communicates in grunts,” adding that Schoenaerts’s performance “quickly becomes indistinguishable from the average mobster in a straight-to-streaming action thriller.”
Is ‘Supergirl’ worth watching?
Supergirl hasn’t matched the critical acclaim of 2025’s Superman. At the time of writing, it has a 58% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 139 reviews, compared with Superman’s 83% from 502 reviews.
But the score doesn’t tell the whole story. Even critics who were lukewarm on the film agreed that Alcock has made the role her own, with her performance repeatedly singled out as the movie’s biggest strength.
If you’re already invested in DC’s rebooted universe, the mixed reviews may not be enough to put you off — especially as Alcock’s Supergirl may play a key role in the franchise’s future. Casual moviegoers may also find there’s just enough fun to be found — and a strong enough central performance — to make Supergirl worth a watch this summer.