Created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino, Supergirl made her debut in Action Comics #252 in 1959. Years later, producers Alexander and Ilya Sailkind bought the movie rights to both Superman and a Supergirl spin-off. While 1978’s Superman: The Movie and 1980’s Superman II were critical/commercial hits, 1983’s Superman III was a major disappointment. The Salkinds hoped that a Supergirl movie would reignite the franchise and return some of the goodwill they had lost. After Richard Lester and Robert Wise turned down directing jobs, the studio hired Jaws 2 director Jeannot Szwarc. Wanting an unknown lead actress, the producers cast 19-year-old Helen Slater, alongside Oscar winners Faye Dunaway and Peter O’Toole. On a $35 million budget, filming took place at Pinewood Studios between April and August 1983. Due to a falling-out with Warner Bros., the producers allowed TriStar Pictures to release Supergirl in 1984.
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Synopsis
Within Innerspace lies Argo City, an isolated community of survivors of Krypton’s destruction, led by Zaltar (Peter O’Toole). He shows young Kara Zor-El (Helen Slater) the Omegahedron, an orb-like device that powers Argo City. Unfortunately, an accidental tear in Argo City launches the Omegahedron into space, so Kara steals a ship to retrieve it. The Omegahedron lands on Earth, where it’s discovered by the power-hungry witch Selena (Faye Dunaway), who uses it to conjure magic. Meanwhile, Kara arrives and adopts the persona “Linda Lee” to blend in while searching for the Omegahedron. She enrolls in an all-girls’ school, befriends Lucy Lane (Maureen Teefy), and falls for groundskeeper Ethan (Hart Bochner). However, Selena also wants Ethan, but when a love potion fails, she uses the Omegahedron to exert authority. Linda, or rather Kara, must find the strength within herself to stop Selena and become Supergirl!
Review
On paper, Supergirl should’ve worked as a solid spin-off to the successful Superman movies, but it falls far too short. While it couldn’t ever outdo what Richard Donner did back in 1978, this could’ve been something special. Unfortunately, the movie fails on so many levels, from its cobbled-together script to its lackluster characters. The fact that the film went through at least five script rewrites would explain why the plot feels so slapdash. For instance, the movie establishes the importance of retrieving the Omegahedron to restore power to Argo City. But, instead of urgently scouring the Earth for it, our titular hero decides to enroll in school and make friends. Also, going from stopping a mastermind from sinking half the country to winning the groundskeeper’s heart is pretty weak. It doesn’t help that Hart Bochner has the charisma of week-old toast.
To her credit, Helen Slater makes for a decent Supergirl, possessing a quirky charm that makes her endearing. Unfortunately, the script gives her barely anything to work with, mostly just looking doe-eyed and confused. Faye Dunaway could’ve also made Selena a fun, campy villain, but again, she’s hardly given anything of substance. You almost get the feeling that David Odell doesn’t know how to write women, but that could’ve been the rewrites. Plus, Peter O’Toole seems confused about what he’s doing, especially when he disappears until reappearing much later, clearly drunk. The other actors are fine, but while the first two Superman movies had endearing side characters, this one doesn’t. We know very little about who they are and what their motivations are, so we don’t care. Again, much of this could be due to the numerous rewrites, but that’s still very egregious.
For his part, Jeannot Szwarc made the most of what little he had and made a decent-looking movie. It probably helped that they hired cinematographer Alan Hume, who worked on several James Bond movies and Return of the Jedi, amongst others. Also, there are some decent effects, such as a giant shadow monster puppet and some flying scenes. But then, there are scenes where they stretch the film to imply a character is being stretched apart. Also, while it lacks the gravitas of John Williams’ iconic score, Jerry Goldsmith’s music is decent but not his best. For a movie that’s only slightly over 90 minutes, the pacing is dreadfully slow, not helped by the dull storyline. This film could’ve been decent fun, but a confused plot, lackluster characters, poor pacing, and dull action hinder it. Overall, Supergirl isn’t the worst, but it’s a very poor first attempt.
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Where to watch Supergirl (1984)
