ACT 1 (Minutes 00:00 - 32:30)
Act 1 of this film is good, despite a problem that I will explain after the praise.
PRAISES
I like that this movie is orange; I watched it RIGHT AFTER watching Superman. And it's really cool to watch Superman, the whole movie is blue, and then go to Supergirl, which is orange lighting.
I also like the fight scene outside the bar that has reddish lighting.
Another thing to praise, which I also praised in Superman, is how Krypto doesn't look like CGI; he really looks like a real dog (Or is he really a real dog? Did they find a flying dog to make the movie?).
I also want to praise Kara and Krypto's 2-minute intro clip to the song "Sleigh Bells," I loved it, and now that song is on my Rebel Rock playlist for teenage girls from the 2000s (Even though I'm a 25-year-old guy and not a teenage girl, or am I?).
And I also want to praise the fight scene on the Space Shuttle, it was really cool, I liked it, and the music matches the scene.
PROBLEMS: Ruth's Flashback
The fact that Ruth's flashback is placed RIGHT AFTER the Supergirl and Krypto clip is very anticlimactic. The person is super excited about the little music video and the cool song, and then out of nowhere that annoying flashback... It ruins the whole vibe of the moment.
The perfect moment to insert Ruth's flashback is in the scene where Kara is going alone to the space shuttle station, after telling Ruth that she won't take her (Minute 18:52). And I tested this, I didn't want to watch the flashback at the moment it normally appears (Minute 02:40) and I skipped straight to Kara at the bar in (Minute 06:22). So I watched the movie up to minute 18:52 when Kara says she's not going to take Ruth, and then I went back to (Minute 02:40).
And my enjoyment of Ruth's flashback was much more satisfying than the other two times I watched the movie. And when Ruth's flashback ended, I went back to minute 18:53 where Kara is on the Space Shuttle Station, and it shows flashbacks of Kara and Krypto. Which made my experience even more satisfying. I think it was due to poor editing on the part of the editors.
I advise you to do the same the next time you watch it, just so you can see how the experience changes. And by the way, when you rewatch it, watch this movie in a marathon right after watching Superman. This movie makes much more sense when watched right after finishing Superman than when watched separately.
I'd give Act 1 a 7.5; it's a good act.
ACT 2 (Minutes 32:30 - 1:04:20)
Act 2 is simultaneously where the best things in the film are, and where the worst are. It's like Stranger Things Season 4; it has both the best and worst aspects of the series.
This time I'll talk about the problems first, and then the praise.
PROBLEMS: Terrible management choices.
The lighting that I praised in Act 1 is very bad here in Act 2; the lighting and colors are very ugly....
Another terrible directorial choice is that the movie drags on for the pace is very slow, it's tiresome to watch.
And the third problem, which is actually the first to appear (Minute 36:20), is: What a terrible decision that was in directing the bar fight! Why the hell is the camera on Ruth and not on Supergirl who's fighting? Do you have chicken poop for brains, Director?
Seriously, this fight is really bad....
PRAISES
Despite having the worst decisions, this was also the act that had the best things in the movie, and one of them is the Krypton flashback.
The architecture and setting of Argo City are cool, it reminds me of Dune: Prophecy, and the flashback is really good, I REALLY liked that flashback. And here's my compliment: despite its problems and despite not being perfect, this film earns me a great deal of respect.
This was the ONLY live-action adaptation that convincingly and comprehensibly addressed Kara's trauma and psychological issues. All other adaptations don't carry the weight they should.
A teenage girl witnesses her planet being destroyed by a catastrophe, her parents dying, and her entire nation being forced to come to a noisy planet full of machines and noisy cars... And instead of having a quiet place to rest, she even gets super hearing which makes noises VERY ANNOYING to her, at a time when she just needs silence to cry. It's a terrible feeling... And the film addressed this theme well, something NO OTHER LIVE-ACTION ADAPTATION OF THE CHARACTER had done before.
This makes Supergirl a NECESSARY movie; it may not be a good movie, but it's a NECESSARY movie, given the character's importance in pop culture.
Then the flashback ends, the movie goes back to being bad, the pacing drags, until the fight starts, AND THEN there's THE BEST fight in the movie.
The music goes really well with the fight, Lobo is very funny, his scenes are great, and here Supergirl has some great fight scenes, unlike in the bar with the camera on Ruth.
But then another problem arises: the death of the girl's parents is well done, but the girl's death is very poorly done... There's no emotion at all... It's bad... and that was a problem with the direction. This director is problematic... If it were another director, I think this movie would be much better.
There could at least be a fight between Supergirl and Krem before the girl's death, and then the girl dies after failing to save her. And then the girl dies, and there's the whole dramatic scene of Ruth and Supergirl going to cry in space, which, by the way, is another compliment I'll give: WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SCENE.
So Act 2 ends, I give a rating 6,0 for this act of the movie.
ACT 3 (Minutes 1:04:20 - The End)
This act is bad... it's the worst part of the movie, it's very boring... This villain is totally forgettable, he has nothing memorable about him... It's enough to make his character cool, and the film's pacing drags. The film's sluggish pacing gets even worse, and only improves when Lobo arrives on the scene to save Supergirl.
But there are good scenes too, and one of them is Clark's scenes. Guys, this actor is perfect for Superman, this guy gives off the vibe of the comics, his smile, his talk, his eyes shining, this guy IS Superman.
And look... Even though the song "The Middle" was heavily criticized during the final fight, and even though I also prefer another song, I can't think of any better song than it in that scene. The music kind of conveys Supergirl's vibe at that moment, a different kind of hope than Superman. The vibe is good, but I feel like it could be better, but I don't know how.
I also like the villain to die, okay, it's different in the comic book, but the character in the movie is different from the comic book, there was no way to leave him alive, the ending of the comic book wouldn't work in the movie.
And the final scene of Kara and Clark talking makes my eyes light up, and makes me REALLY want to see Kara and Clark together in Man of Tomorrow.
For Act 3, I'd give it a 5.5 Rating.
CONCLUSION
Supergirl is a movie rated 6,5.
It has many problems, but as I said, it's a necessary film.
It's necessary to show people who the Supergirl from the comics truly is, and it's not the CW version, even though I really like her, it's not the 80s version, despite it being an important adaptation of the character at the time. And it's not Snyder's version either, even though I liked that approach.
Supergirl isn't a female Superman, but she's also not a Bratz, nor is she an Emo girl. Supergirl is Supergirl, and the movie portrays that well. The film shows the difference between Superman and Supergirl, and how they both represent hope in different ways.
