Early reactions to Supergirl are in, and they point to the same surprise: Milly Alcock looks like the real center of James Gunn’s next DC Universe chapter. Members of the film press saw the movie before release, and the first responses also singled out Jason Momoa’s Lobo while describing the film as pushing Gunn’s world into Mad Max territory.
That matters now because Supergirl is the next test for the DC Universe after Superman, and Alcock is carrying the title role. The film opens in theaters July 26, and the earliest reaction cycle is already shaping the conversation around whether this is simply a follow-up or something more distinct.
Simon Thompson said the movie is not a classic, but it is fun and hits most of the targets it aims for. He also said Alcock is great as the titular heroine and that Momoa’s Lobo is a blast. Germain Lussier was even more expansive, calling the film highly enjoyable and saying it works as both a perfect companion and follow-up to Superman, with better characters, more complex relationships and action that lands harder because the movie is so emotional.
That is the basic shape of the early response: warm, enthusiastic and built around Alcock’s performance. The same group of reactions keeps circling back to the film’s tone, with one viewer saying it looks and plays more like a Mad Max movie, with dirty worlds, gross villains and a self destructive hero. Another described it as a cool intergalactic road trip that carries a dash of Mad Max: Fury Road energy, while others praised the title character as the perfect Kara.
There is still a sharp edge to the praise. One of the first reactions makes clear that, even with the compliments, the film does not quite have the resonance of Superman. That is the kind of comparison DC Studios can live with only if the movie earns its own identity, and the first wave of reactions suggests that is exactly what it is trying to do.
Supergirl, directed by Craig Gillespie and based on Tom King’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, stars Alcock as Kara Zor-El, with Momoa as Lobo and David Corenswet appearing as Superman. The supporting cast also includes Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, David Krumholtz and Emily Beecham. If these first responses hold, the film is not just arriving as the next DCU release. It is arriving with its own rougher, stranger identity already attached to it.
