Shortly after picking up Krypto, Kara whizzes off to the planet Holzherr to celebrate her 23rd birthday, letting loose with the booze flowing in plentiful supply. The morning after a night celebrating is very rarely fun, but in Kara’s case, it’s made even worse when the nefarious space pirate Krem of the Yellow Hills (Schoenaerts) arrives to commandeer her ship and poisons Krypto, leaving him fighting for his life. With a limited window to save her beloved pooch, Kara reluctantly teams up with Ruthye (Ridley) on a quest to find the antidote and get revenge.

After earning well-deserved recognition for her brilliant portrayal of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon, Milly Alcock steps into the role of a superhero with effortless ease. As the young Targaryen princess, she balanced a refined, regal presence with a rebellious streak. It is the latter that comes to the fore at this point in Kara’s life. She may have adopted the mantle of Supergirl, but unlike her cousin, she struggles to adjust to her new life on Earth because of the devastating fate that befell her family and Krypton. Such raw pain and grief lead her to planet-hop and drink as a coping mechanism, a tragic foundation that Alcock brilliantly brings to her performance.

Alongside Alcock, Ridley gives a commendable performance as the young warrior driven by her quest for revenge against Krem after he murdered her family. The chemistry between them takes a little while to click, but they make for an effective duo to root for. Adapting Tom King’s Woman of Tomorrow comic, widely considered the best Supergirl comic, should give screenwriter Ana Nogueira plenty to work with and help it stand out in a very competitive genre. However, despite some fun action sequences and emotional moments exploring Kara’s origin story on Krypton, the script lacks sufficient spark overall and does little to differentiate itself from the plethora of superhero origin stories we have seen in recent years, not least last year’s Superman. Director Craig Gillespie, no stranger to directing films centred around compelling and complicated women (I, Tonya and Cruella), does little to spruce up the rather bland action sequences. Furthermore, with needle drops aplenty, it all just comes across as a hollow imitation of Gunn’s previous directorial efforts.

Schoenaerts’s Krem certainly looks ominous and threatening, thanks to some striking hair and make-up, but not even that can prevent him from falling into the generic and forgettable villain territory that has so often been an Achilles’ heel of superhero movies. While the film might have wasted its villain, at the very least, Jason Momoa lights up the screen with boundless charisma as the bounty hunter Lobo. A dream role for him, and it is easy to see why, as he feels like he was born to play this character. One can only hope the studio plans to have Momoa reprise the role in future films. It is incredibly frustrating that, despite having all the right components to build on the foundations of this cinematic universe and to do justice to this character on the big screen, the film still struggles to take off, even with the best efforts of its superheroine.

Milly Alcock does everything she can to elevate the material she was given, but ultimately a lacklustre script prevents this space adventure from delivering on its considerable potential.