Supergirl opens Friday, June 26, and the first reactions are in. They split cleanly down the middle on the film itself while landing unanimously on one thing: Milly Alcock is the role. Whatever else you think about this movie, she is the reason to see it.
Craig Gillespie directed this one, and he had $170 million to work with, which makes this a proper DCU tentpole and the first real test of James Gunn's new universe beyond Superman. Early reviewers are comparing the film more to Mad Max: Fury Road than to Superman, which suggests Gillespie leaned into action and intensity rather than the warmth and optimism that Gunn brought to his Superman film. Whether that tonal shift works for the broader DCU is going to be debated for weeks.
Jason Momoa shows up as Lobo, and from what early viewers are saying, he is having the time of his life. Lobo is basically the anti-hero space biker of the DC universe, a character who exists to break things and enjoy doing it. That is Momoa's sweet spot. After years of playing Aquaman with a kind of restrained coolness, letting him cut loose as a character who has no restraint at all sounds like the right call.
But the real story here is Alcock. Three years ago she played young Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon and did more with a glance than most actors manage with a full monologue. That was four episodes. Four episodes and she became the performance everyone remembered from the entire first season. Emma D'Arcy is excellent as the older Rhaenyra, but Alcock's version had this raw, unguarded quality that made you lean forward every time she was on screen. That was the preview. Supergirl is the full performance.
The fact that every early reaction, positive or negative on the film overall, singles out Alcock as the clear highlight tells you something important. When a $170 million movie gets mixed reviews but every single person agrees the lead is phenomenal, that is not a failure. That is an origin story for an actor's career. The DCU just found its anchor, even if the movie around her needs work.
Gillespie has made good films before. I, Tonya was sharp and mean in all the right ways. Cruella was better than it had any right to be. Whether he was the right fit for a superhero movie at this scale is the open question. But he gave Alcock the space to do her thing, and that alone might be enough.
The film is debatable. The casting is not.
No comments yet