Supergirl (1984) Review:

After studios witnessed how successful super hero films could be with the release of Superman (1978), Superman II (1980) and Superman III (1983), the ball was beginning to roll for other properties. While Swamp Thing (1982) had proven to be adequate, Warner Bros. wanted to bring another hero from the planet krypton to the big screen. Being that Kara, Superman's cousin was the only other well known person, it was decided to move along with her own story. Mind you this is where the possibility of a shared universe was in its infancy. This was years before anything MCU or DCEU related. Unfortunately for Supergirl, her initial outing wasn't the success producers wanted. When finishing the feature, it can be seen as to why this happened. It was a bold step, but perhaps, a little too bold for its own good.

Helen Slater as Supergirl

The plot is about a powerful orb known as the omegahedron that Zaltar (Peter O'Toole) loses to Earth. The orb itself powers the place Supergirl (Helen Slater) and Zaltar live in. Thus Supergirl goes after it, only to have to blend in with society. Meanwhile, Selena (Faye Dunaway), an evil witch, her assistant Bianca (Brenda Vaccaro) and on-off boyfriend Nigel (Peter Cook) discover the omegahedron and seek world domination with it. This in itself is pretty outlandish already, but that's what was written by David Odell. Surprisingly that's really the only thing to this movie that isn't done well and the end product suffers greatly because of it. There's just so many questions going on with it, it's a lot to take in without hesitating first. Odell was also known for writing The Dark Crystal (1982) and Masters of the Universe (1987).

To start off, all actors seem to very invested in their roles. No matter how over the top some may come across, they are making their character their own. Faye Dunaway and Brenda Vaccaro play off of each other very well even though they portray themselves as the most casual villains ever. Helen Slater portrays our heroine well too. She's naive, kind, pretty and puts her best food forward. Peter O'Toole as Zaltar gives some insight into the omegahedron as well as the phantom zone. Peter Cook as Nigel is an interesting character as well, since he's familiar with the dark arts, as is Selena. All of which these actors have been in various movie credits that are well known. Even Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen appears, which proves this film was supposed to be the start of a shared universe. So who ripped off who again?

However, as to what the characters do is another thing. Right when Selena finds the omegahedron she is able to make it do things for her (occasionally). Half of the time she knows how to work it, while other times not so much. It doesn't make any sense. She's never had the orb before so where's the logic? Even Nigel has understandings of the dark arts but only introduces a powerful artifact at the very end out of nowhere. Okay I guess. Not to mention the fact that Selena's motivations are clearly out of her range. World domination? One step at a time lady. Her plan behind this is to woo a guy name Ethan (Hart Bochner), who will then help her in completing her mission. Not sure how. Let's also not forget that he mistakenly falls for Supergirl. It's rushed and utterly silly.

"I look soooo evil.....yesssss"

This kind of jagged story structure leads to the pacing of it all. It's okay in various spots, but other moments it just lags for periods at a time. Jeannot Szwarc, the director of this film and Jaws 2 (1978) should know better than this. Believe it or not, the visual effects of the film are decent for 1984 standards. Most of which still hold up now. The weakest area belongs to the flying sequences which is understandable. Alan Hume as the cinematographer helped with that too. Being that he had worked on other movies like Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) and Octopussy (1983), it shows he knew what had to be done. Musical score was also impressive thanks to Jerry Goldsmith. While it may not be as recognizable as John Williams music from Superman (1978), Goldsmith gives the lead her own theme and the sound is overall very upbeat.

While the actors try really hard to make things entertaining, the cinematography is competently shot and the music well composed, it is ultimately not enough. The script has too many flaws, the plot is too reliant on one thing and the pacing is uneven. It's not a horrible outing, but it's not the best either.

Points Earned --> 5:10