Amazon.com: Supergirl qualifies as one of the most bizarre comic book adaptations ever to hit the silver screen. Bereft of logic or sensible plotting, but featuring a strong cast and slick special effects, the film follows Superman's cousin Kara (played by Helen Slater in her film debut) as she leaves Krypton to venture to Earth to retrieve the "Omegahedron," a life-force globe vital to her people's survival. She tracks down the device, unaware that it's fallen into the hands of aspiring black magician Selena (Faye Dunaway), which leads to an inevitable showdown.
All of the strong characters in Supergirl are women, making for a nice change of pace from traditional superhero machismo. However, none of the players seem to notice that many things are left unexplained, including how the naive Kara knows so much about Earth while having never been there, how a novice sorceress can attain power so quickly from something she does not understand, and how hardly anyone notices Supergirl flying around their city! (And hey, where's Superman?)
Taken as a campy 1980s comic book relic rather than a serious adaptation, Supergirl is fun because of its engaging special effects and sets, tongue-in-cheek humor, and Dunaway's truly inspired performance. Look for Marc McClure reprising his Superman role of Jimmy Olsen, while Mia Farrow and Peter O'Toole have small supporting roles as Kara's mother and mentor, respectively. The director's cut DVD features 24 minutes of newly restored footage that has never been seen before, which should enthrall Supergirl aficionados, although the additional material doesn't make the story any more logical. --Bryan Reesman
It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Supergirl! "Supergirl" thrilled me when it opened back in 1984. Along with Wonder Woman and She-Ra, Supergirl was part of an era of female superheroines. "Supergirl" is a true camp classic. It marked Helen Slater's debut (and subsequent departure) from the silver screen. Faye Dunaway could've shouted,"No more kryptonite wire hangers!" but she's close enough. "Supergirl",along with "Puma Man",is one of the cheesiest superhero movies ever made.
"Supergirl" opens on the heroine's homeworld,with her mother Mia Farrow&her mentor Zaltar (Peter O'Toole,hammy as ever) They need the Omegahedron to restore their world. Supergirl,a.k.a. Kara,is sent to Earth. Her cousin Superman is mentioned, but never makes an appearance,since the late Christopher Reeve wanted nothing to do with this movie. Kara confronts thugs, goes to a boarding school. In the meantime, the evil sorceress Selena (Dunaway) is in control of an amusement park. She has a female companion (Brenda Vaccaro) Lest one think these two dowdy ladies are carrying on a super-Sapphic romance, Selena lusts for a hunky carpenter/gardener. And yet she wants world domination??? Somehow the Hunky Guy is in the middle of all of it. There are numerous cheesy battles. At one point, Supergirl is hurled into the Phantom Zone with Zaltar. Somehow,good triumphs in the end. But not good taste.
"Supergirl" is gloriously campy fun. Take flight!
Supergirl? Almost. This is an okay pass at a Supergirl movie. In an effort to set this one apart from the Superman series, the filmmakers tried to make this one more about a magical enemy, rather than the more Sci Fi aspect of the Superman movies. Magic had already been introduced into the comics as a force that could harm the Super clan, but it becomes a bit tricky to portray it on the big screen without losing your audience.
The villainess and her assistant have little charisma, which already places them below Lex Luthor in the minds of the audience. This is one of the large problems that plagued Superman III. Of course it doesn't help that the main thrust of Serlena's "evil plan" for most of the movie seems to revolve around getting a hunky construction worker to fall in love with her.
When the spell accidentally causes him to fall for Supergirl's human guise, Linda, Serlena decides to start the catfight to end all catfights. Or that's what it seems like. There's little sense that there is a real threat for Supergirl to fight except for the attacks against herself. Superman and Supergirl work best when the fight they are in is for more than their own lives. We just don't get a sense that that is happening here.
Other than that, the effects are not terrible, but the fight at the end with the force of shadows is a bit obscurely filmed. It comes across as a bit confusing.
In truth, the world is actually in danger because Serlena has been using the Omegahedron to increase her powers exponentially, but it doesn't come across like that.
It's better than Superman IV (big deal) and it may be roughly on par with Superman III, but that can largely rely on your personal preferences in this matter.
A cheezy movie girls 6 to 13 will enjoy. My daughter got this movie when she was six. Two years later she still watches it from time to time. It is very cheezy, but kids will enjoy it. There is nothing explicit, and the violence is fairly mild.
"Why Are You Doing This?" ~ I Have The Same Question Supergirl I don't know if I've ever seen a more incomprehensible, absurb adaptation of a comic book superhero on film than the '84 travesity 'Supergirl'. I can almost hear the pre-production board meeting conversation, "lets cash in on the popularity of the Superman films with a Supergirl spin-off. We'll find a female unknown to fit the supersuit and hire a couple of big names (Peter O'Toole and Faye Dunaway) to lend credibility to the project and we're done. Don't worry about the script, we'll have her fly around alot with beautiful scenic backgrounds and nobody will care."
Well you were right, nobody did care. About this movie that is. Just plain bad. The only film fans who would want to add this DVD to their collection are the hard core comic book completist (like me).
some people will back anything I watched this tonight for the first time. I wanted to see it to say yes I've seen them all. I would have quit watching it as soon as Supergirl emerges from her ship wearing the "super" outfit but I wanted to stick it out. My kids, 5, 10 and 12 were yelling about how stupid it was but I wanted to perservere. It didn't get better. This was one of the worst, stupidest movies I have ever seen. Every thing about the Superman movies, that made you care, was lacking here. Its like they thought if they just slap the outfit on this girl it would hypnotize the masses and deliver a decent movie. Apparently this only worked for the weak minded. This movie totally sucked. It was stupid and not in a good way. I'm glad it was just borrowed from my neighbors. As soon as it was over I made the kids return it. I didn't want that piece of crap stinking up my house any longer than necessary. You have been warned.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
