Supergirl Rotten Tomatoes score just landed — here’s how it fares

DC Studios has picked a rather bold day to lift the review embargo for Supergirl—right as early fan screenings kick off, just for a bit of added drama. For anyone trying to get a read on the shape of the DCU, this is the second live-action feature out of the gate, so whatever critics have to say matters more than your average superhero outing. Up 'til now, James Gunn has had his fingerprints all over everything: Creature Commandos season one, Peacemaker season two, even the upcoming Superman film. All written by him, most directed by him as well. Not so with Supergirl, where Gunn’s just got a producer credit, so the response is a bit of a test drive for when he’s not the main man in the creative seat.

If you’re tracking numbers, as of this moment, Supergirl is sitting at 62% on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s from 86 reviews—not an insignificant sample. Quite frankly, the score started off 'rotten', but a bit of positivity trickling in from later critics has nudged it up over the line, though only just. It’s seen as much of a split decision as you’d expect after seeing the online chatter—no obvious consensus, more like a film stirring up just as many negative takes as positive ones.

The Divisive Bits

The main bones of contention seem to be with the script, written by Ana Nogueira. A number of critics have pointed out the film’s juggling act with tone, and not always in a good way. One review from DiscussingFilm doesn’t mince words, saying the film 'prefers to sheepishly flirt with all these tones rather than balancing them.' It’s the sort of polite British way of implying the screenplay bites off more than it can chew but doesn’t really know what to do with any of it.

Milly Alcock Gets Top Marks

Here’s what’s surprising: even the most underwhelmed critics are lining up to praise Milly Alcock in the title role. MovieWeb’s review calls the film 'uneven' but absolutely singles Alcock out as 'fantastic', then throws in a dig at people who decided to pile on her before even seeing the film, saying trolls 'need to eat crow.' Frankly, whatever wobbles there are with story and tone, Alcock seems to hold it together and then some. She feels like she actually fits the character, which bodes quite well for her upcoming stint in James Gunn’s Man of Tomorrow further down the line.

Where the DCU Goes From Here

• Gunn can’t possibly direct and write every single DCU project, so Supergirl is really the first time the creative training wheels have come off.
• Director Craig Gillespie and writer Ana Nogueira have served up a film that, while a bit messy, hasn’t derailed the DCU.
• There’s already chatter around Clayface, another DC film dropping later this year, so the train rolls on whether Supergirl gets full marks or not.

For all the grumbling, the film’s done its job cementing Milly Alcock as a strong new face among DC’s growing pool of heroes.