Released in 1984, "Supergirl" stars Helen Slater as Superman's cousin, Kara-El, in a community of Krypton survivors who lose the mysterious orb that powers their city. Kara goes to earth to recover it, masquerading as a student at a girl's school, where she meets Lois Lane's sister, Lucy (Maureen Teefy) and, later, Jimmy Olsen (Marc McClure). Peter O'Toole plays the leader of the Krypton city who is imprisoned in the Phantom Zone while Faye Dunaway plays a witch, Selena, who lives at an abandoned amusement park. When she obtains the orb she gains great diabolical power. Brenda Vaccaro and Peter Cook are on hand as her assistants while Hart Bochner plays the romantic interest of both Kara and Selena.
Remember how stunning the non-CGI props/sets/effects were in the opening Krypton sequence of 1978's "Superman"? They were so good they hold up to this day. Well, you can forget that with "Supergirl." The opening sequences at "Argo City" are laughable by comparison. Furthermore, if you thought Gene Hackman was over-the-top as Lex Luthor, wait till you see Dunaway's campy portrayal of Selena. But I don't mean any disrespect for Faye since that's how her character was written and she does an exuberant job.
In any case, if you can embrace these factors the movie's surprisingly enjoyable, particularly the second act when Kara comes to earth, discovers her powers, and hooks up with the girl's school. Slater had a winsome quality and, although physically beautiful, her costume wasn't made to over-emphasize it. Her beauty stems from within and the movie captures this. At the same time, the movie stresses her femininity and doesn't make her more masculine, like they did with Linda Hamilton in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (not that there's anything wrong with Linda in that film).
The film runs 124 minutes and was shot in Chicago, Manhattan and England.
GRADE: C+
Remember how stunning the non-CGI props/sets/effects were in the opening Krypton sequence of 1978's "Superman"? They were so good they hold up to this day. Well, you can forget that with "Supergirl." The opening sequences at "Argo City" are laughable by comparison. Furthermore, if you thought Gene Hackman was over-the-top as Lex Luthor, wait till you see Dunaway's campy portrayal of Selena. But I don't mean any disrespect for Faye since that's how her character was written and she does an exuberant job.
In any case, if you can embrace these factors the movie's surprisingly enjoyable, particularly the second act when Kara comes to earth, discovers her powers, and hooks up with the girl's school. Slater had a winsome quality and, although physically beautiful, her costume wasn't made to over-emphasize it. Her beauty stems from within and the movie captures this. At the same time, the movie stresses her femininity and doesn't make her more masculine, like they did with Linda Hamilton in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (not that there's anything wrong with Linda in that film).
The film runs 124 minutes and was shot in Chicago, Manhattan and England.
GRADE: C+