Milly Alcock's a perfectly hell-raising hero in 'Supergirl' - Review

She does eventually end up in that signature cape and “S” shield combo, yet Milly Alcock’s title hero in “Supergirl” is better suited to rocking a ratty T-shirt, a grubby duster and a bad attitude.

Hot on the heels of last summer’s excellent “Superman,” the rebooted DC universe expands into uncharted territory with a new star and a scrappy space adventure. Brandishing an offbeat sense of humor à la “Guardians of the Galaxy,” along with scuzzy “Mad Max: Fury Road” vibes, “Supergirl” (★★★ out of four; rated PG-13; in theaters June 26) is an intergalactic revenge flick that boldly freshens up familiar tropes with the help of a jaded, self-destructive protagonist who needs to figure a whole lot of stuff out.

Audiences met Kara Zor-El (Alcock) at the end of “Superman” as she drunkenly crashed into the Fortress of Solitude of her straitlaced Man of Steel cousin (David Corenswet) to pick up her chaos-agent dog, Krypto. “Supergirl” pretty much takes off from there as Kara celebrates her 23rd birthday getting wasted and nursing a hangover, over and over again, on planets with a red sun where she can feel the effects of an adult drink. (Yellow suns give Kryptonians like her and Supes their superpowers, which make getting inebriated incredibly difficult.)

That party ends abruptly one night when Kara meets Ruthye (Eve Ridley), a girl seeking revenge on the vicious Brigands who killed her parents. Kara also runs afoul of this crew, and their ruthless and eccentric leader Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts) poisons her beloved Krypto. While reluctant to help Ruthye at first, Kara brings her along when she finds out she has only three days to track down Krem, get the antidote and save her superpup.

Directed by Craig Gillespie (“I, Tonya”) and based on the fantastic “Woman of Tomorrow” comic book, “Supergirl” has plenty of action sequences, including one great bit when Kara battles teleporting tech pirates on a space bus. On the whole, however, it’s a much more emotional journey than a superhero movie fan might expect.

Kara and Ruthye figure out the Brigands are trafficking young women for dastardly purposes, giving them yet another reason to smack some dudes around. (The fact that Kara fights the same way no matter what color the sun, whether or not she's super-strong, reveals her inherent no-nonsense mettle.)

But Ruthye’s plight and Krypto’s poisoning also spark a look at Kara’s own traumatic origin story, which involves the painful, slow-burn death of loved ones and her people. The various Kryptonian flashbacks that lead up to Kara and Superman’s first get-together slow the main narrative’s momentum, though they do work to build out Kara’s motivations and a vision of a hero different from her cousin.

Alcock has proven to be a chameleonic actress in her previous roles, as in “House of the Dragon” and “Sirens,” and her being tough to read plays well with Kara’s personality. She’s good without being kind, which puts her in stark contrast with Superman, and Alcock is superb at giving her likable depth while also maintaining an unpredictability.

Much more straightforward but just as well cast is Jason Momoa, who makes his debut as the over-the-top Lobo – we just get a taste of the cigar-chomping bounty hunter, but gonzo cosmic biker fits him much better than erstwhile Aquaman from that previous DC movie universe.

A lack of focus, not nearly enough Krypto and a one-note baddie in Schoenaerts’ Krem don’t do “Supergirl” any favors, but they also don’t derail the film’s overall vibe of spunky weirdness. With Corenswet's handful of appearances, he continues to cement his place as a darn good Superman (with his own sequel in the works). But here it's Alcock who's making her own cinematic statement: She's not going anywhere, and the new DCU is better with a hell-raising Supergirl in it.