While Supergirl the movie was laughable, the actress playing her - Helen Slater - was perfectly cast. Despite all the amazing women who have inhabited superheroine roles over the years, Helen Slater and Lynda Carter are still the only two actresses who have an otherworldly quality to them that made you think they were supernatural in some sense. They both had an angelic air about them that few actresses can project.
While it's not a superhero movie, really, I'd add Milla Jovavich in "The 5th Element" to that list. Between that and her "Resident Evil" role it's almost impossible to believe she's a normal human, lol.
yep, that's what i think the movies is not that good although it's part of my childhood and i love it so much. Yes, she is the perfect cast, because she was so good in it that after like 25 years i still have some fragments of memories about it. She is the best female superhero ever.
I loved this movie back in 1984 when II saw it in the cinema in the UK. It's actually the one of the original cinema series that I'm happy to watch again. The UK version had the scene with her exploring her powers, which was fun and established Kara as an ingenue, delighting in all the new experiences around her. It was important to show that she wasn't like her cousin, who grew up with his powers. I also like the villains in this. They're petty, low level magic users who suddenly get a taste of real power and it turns their nastiness into real evil. I found the Lex Luthor emphasis of the Superman movies a bit bland - but then I find Superman bland. He's one of my least favourite super heroes. The introduction of magic was a big plus for me in this movie. It added some real threat to the heroine. Yes, it's goofy but the entire franchise from that era is goofy and at least this one has some excuse for its goofiness. I don't care if the critics and die-hards didn't like it.
I think this film is underrated. It's campy but fun to watch. Magic has played a major role in the DC Universe. Kara is obviously not going to fly like Kal-El. She is a different person with different experiences.
Peter Cook was a comedy legend in the UK. But, he let his alcoholism and the jealousy he felt that his comedy partner (Dudley Moore) had become a big thing in 80's films ruin his legacy...
I remember Peter O'Toole saying in one of his interviews that this movie was the lowest of the low. In fact, he refused to discuss this movie ever again, just like Michal Caine did with The Island
She was so hearts-stopping I loved this as a young boy…I watched it again with my daughters and they adored this. So how can I hate this? Supergirl the movie did it’s job. Popeyes is better than KFC.
The biggest problems I have with this movie is just how dull and cheap looking it is. The camp value from the actors save this movie from being nearly unwatchable. And looking back, its very disappointing to see how Superman III, Supergirl, and Superman IV really hurt the Superman film franchise. Christopher Reeve and company deserved better, especially after the quality and good will of the first two movies.
According to Stan Lee, back then, nobody believed in comic books let alone movies as profitable. Helen Slater herself knew how bad this script was. The sad thing is that till this day, Warner Brothers has never learned how not to ruin DC comics movies and their related materials.
Enjoyed this, and as a kid I really loved the film. And it wasn't just the fact that I adored Helen Slater playing the titular character. There is a nice magic to the film, especially with Jerry goldsmith's score 😊🥰 Oh yeah, you know that scene when Supergirl's in the mud, that's linked to a truly iconic memory from my youth 😅😆😂🤭
Melissa Benoist was a really good Supergirl. I wish they would have got her for the movie. Not a continuation of the series but a reboot. I just love Melissa Benoist I guess.😍
Warner brothers had no involvement in the film. They were all independently financed through the producers , then release through a major studio. It's called a negative pick up deal. Warner Brothers had 1st approval ,Or and refusal rights because they owned dc comics. They only really became involved in the 1st 2 films because of the drama with the producers, and Richard Donner. In fact original distributor of Supergirl was Tri-star pictures. The rights reverted back to Warner Brothers years later for a dvd release. Do your homework!!!
I enjoyed it somewhat as a kid but this movie was horrible. The acting was absolutely abysmal and her character was a joke. I did have a mad crush on Helen Slater for some years after seeing her in the role. She looked absolutely breathtaking in the costume. She was ultra gorgeous. That was the movie's only redeeming quality.
I rewatch this movie a few years ago for the first time since I was a little kid. I was born in 1980 so I grew up with the Christopher Reeves Superman movies, the Star Wars trilogy, ET, back to the future, Ghostbusters and I was a fan of DC comics as a kid so of course I wanted to watch this movie and I don’t remember how I liked it as a kid so when I rewatch it I was pretty appalled. I don’t think the actress was a bad Supergirl but wow the story was horrible for one, the dialogue was bad, and it really makes me laugh when I see so many people today in a world on a scale of 1 to 10 that every movie is either a 10 or a zero, claims so many of today’s comic book movies are “the worst movie ever “. I think every movie that both DC and Marvel have put out, even the worst ones are 10 times better than this movie. It didn’t take me long to figure out why I didn’t remember this movie that well. I think one of the most damning things for me re-watching it really was that once she got to earth she was more interested in trying to be an earth girl then actually completing her mission which turned into almost an afterthought for her it’s like they shoehorn the fact that she needed to save her people at the very end. Again I don’t think it’s any of the actors fault and I didn’t think the actress herself did a bad job but man this was not a good movie.
He has a very weird take on this movie. Most people seem to agree that Helen was a great supergirl, and the one bright spot in this film. But he says that she was shit, along with basically everything else other than the musical score. I don’t agree at all.
Zoltar? As in the antagonist from Battle of the Planets??? Sorry, wrong franchise!!!! Jeannot Szwarc would eventually drift into TV work, winding up doing episodes of Ally McBeal and even Supergirl
The best thing this film did was perfectly showing what drives her as a person. Her sense of endless wonder which leads her to fall in love with Earth during the flying around the world scene.
@@MisterUnknown707 Just like morons who love No Way Home for the EXACT same reasons. Supergirl at least had film craft, a story and a likable hero who tried to fix her mistake. Oh, and she didn't try to put Selena through rehab. And what memorable scores are there in today's comic book schlock climate? Zero. Jerry Goldsmith scoring Supergirl makes the film a better experience by default, and that's just one thing. Hylian may love it blindly, but at least he or she knows why it's enjoyable. With the exception of the two Wonder Woman movies, every comic book film and show today is nothing more than an assembly line production born from marketing tools of now old properties. Nothing more. Marvel Studios is more guilty of this than DC. But in the 80s, the idea behind superhero movies weren't franchises, toys and loser neckbeards podcasts. They were making motion pictures first and foremost.
@@JessicaChastainFan I'm sorry, but you lost all your credibility when you started defending the piece of excrement that is this movie. This movie makes all modern day superhero movies look masterpieces. Honestly, I don't care what you think about modern day superhero movies. I wasn't even talking about that. Move on, old man. And get with the times already. I'm just assuming that you're an old man, cause I'm getting a geriatric vibe from you. No offense. Okay, maybe a little offense. Mostly because you seem like a bit of a fool.
Last thing this movie is is goofy it's totally far from being goofy it's really too bad people back then never understand that Supergirl was just as good as Superman was that starred Christopher Reeve RIP! He will always be Superman although can't leave out George Reeves who starred in the original TV series back in the mid to late 50s!
Despite all it's flaws, there's one thing you cannot deny...Helen Slater looked damn hot as Supergirl! And she did the best with the script she was given.
@@tur74d56 I’m from Scotland, and actually there was really only one major flaw, & that was the script. It just wasn’t very good. I did however love it as a kid because I didn’t know any better 🤷♂️ I just feel it was a waste of a great cast 👍
I read somewhere that Supergirl: The movie was "Studio Interference HELL!". Everyone from the director, to the cast and even the crew were fed up with the Salkind's and Warner Brothers before production ended. Christopher Reeve, Margo Kidder, Terrence Stamp and Annette O'Toole played characters in the Smallville TV series.
The movie is still fun to watch for its campy charm. Peter O'Toole is a "drunken" manner, the bulldozer fight, the weird magic spells, and Supergirl herself are great.
O' Toole was a famous drunk. One friend told a story about a drunken afternoon rendezvous. O'Toole took him to a stage play, said "you'll love this part, this is where I come on. Oh, b*llocks!"
I don't agree with your assessment of Helen's flying.. I thought her "air ballet" was well done. In fact, I think it's the highlight, cuz there ain't much else to recommend about this movie.
I loved this movie. It came out when I was 3 years old. Helen Slater was so gorgeous. There wont ever be an on screen supergirl as good looking and charming
It's interesting that you singled out Kara having a different name for Earth being confusing when Superman's actual name is Kal-El but he goes by Clark. Not all confusing to me other than maybe the name Kara not being as well known in the early 80's but is pretty commonplace these days. But even in the 80's, Kara wouldn't come across as otherworldly as Kal-El. If anyone should be blamed for the naming convention it's the original writers who went with a somewhat generic girl's name rather than something more like Kal-El's original Kryptonian name. I remember watching Supergirl several times when I was a kid and while it was clearly a horrible film there was still something endearing about it. Pretty sure I watched this movie no less than 4 times and could probably quote a bit of it. The issue with this movie is that it doesn't hold up in the slightest. The original Superman, despite the era it was created and the aging effects, is still a good time versus Supergirl, which I probably couldn't sit through today.
Yeah, it's part of the disconnect of the film. Just like Superman's human ID of Clark Kent, Kara's alter ego was Linda Lee Danvers (Danvers being the name she received from her adoptive parents). Since there was no "Clark finds Kara's rocket, gives her a secret identity and takes her to Midvale Orphanage," there is no explanation for the name in the film. Note, what I described above was Kara's origin in the comics as of the time the film came out. She was killed off in the comics shortly thereafter and underwent a butt-load of reboots and retcons.
@@TroyPacelli -- Okay, yes. I understand your logic now and you're right, since she just appears out of nowhere, rather than being rescued/adopted by a family on Earth, it doesn't seem necessary for her to change her name. I don't recall her having a family name on her "home planet" (or whatever that funky tent on a floating rock is called) so she could've simply said she was Kara Kent and everyone would've believed her because, well, why not? They bought Linda Lee, might as well stick with her real name first name of Kara to keep things simple. But I guess the writers felt like she needed a secret identity because that's just how superheroes operated back then. Come to think of it the MCU is the first universe of superheroes that didn't rely on a secret identity. The only hero in the MCU, at this point, that operates under an alter ego is Spider-Man. The DCEU for better or worse is still holding onto that trope because I guess you can't have a Batman that everyone knows is a psychopathic vigilante. His mystique is part of his character. This is completely off-topic but I'm gonna say it: Iron Man is better than Batman. Not only do we know who he is (or was) but he's way smarter. I never saw Bruce develop the ability to travel through time, create a new compound on the chart of elements or create nano technology so he can change into his suit by just tapping his chest. But I digress. Supergirl was kind of a mess but I grew up with it so it'll always hold a special place in my heart.
@@incredibilistic For some reason lost in the mists of time, many Superman associated characters had the initials "LL". Lois Lane, Lana Lang, Lee Luthor and many others. Hence Linda Lee, adapted to Linda Lee Danvers when the character found adoptive parents. Stan Lee had a similar quirk. Peter Parker, Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, etc. He said it just sounded better. Oh, and Kara is officially called Kara Zor-El.
she was and will always be the perfect actress for the role, sweet, naive and gentle enough to play kara but also fearless and determined, too bad she was casted in a moment where no one believed in the potential of her as kara or in supergirl as a standalone franchise
I was 10 yrs old when i saw this at the cinema when it first came out and i remember really enjoying it but as an adult its just a guilty pleasure film.
None of the bad stuff you mentioned has no significance to me personally on emotional level. This movie WARMS MY HEART even today as it did when I was a kid. Everything else is noise or blur or whatever. Nostalgic sentiment wins me over
at 10:00, i'm sorry, but i disagree with this statement about slater being the reason the flying scene "didn't" work when it fact it did. a lot of people who saw this film remember it mostly because of the flying scenes. If you watch the making of Supergirl she was given directions to frolick while flying during the flying ballet scene. Not sure why you decided to blame Slater for something you oddly didn't like when it mostly praised for it.
Kara Zor-El is her Krytonian name. Linda Danvers is the name she adopted on Earth, according to the original comics. Once you know this, it isn't all that confusing
Helen Slater being the best on-screen Supergirl, great practical effects, Faye's hilarious performance, the Christopher Reeve poster scene, the expansion of the ReeveVerse with Argo City and what happens INSIDE the Phantom Zone and Jerry Goldsmith's score makes this film an underrated gem. Thanks to the Crisis crossover, we know this, 3, 4 and Returns are all connected to I and II. The Richard Donnor Cut of Superman II is the only film that's an alternate reality, like Zack Snyder's 4 hour sloth schlock.
maybe it was growing up with a single mom, but this movie always meant so much to me because, my mom was like a superhero to me and it was like this proof that women can be strong too. i was ~5 but that was what always stuck with me about Supergirl
Still feels gut-wrenching to see such a wonderful cast wasted by all the production and script writing SNAFU. Helen Slater, despite her greenhand performance, was perfect for the SG role. If only we could have seen more of her in the SG universe during her prime.
I really disagree with you regarding the flying effects. Overall, I think it's the unusual bad movie that could have been decent with "only" a page one rewrite.
clearly you are a superman fanboy lol, the flying was way better in supergirl than superman and there were things done in supergirl that was not even tried in superman when it came to wirework. and slater was fantastic
What I liked about this movie and this specific version of Supergirl with respect to any other, is that, in this version, Supergirl is not simply a female copy of Superman. She does not have the exact copy-pasted timeline as Superman, she does not fight the same villains as Superman, etc. While Superman fights against an evil scientist (Lex), an evil Kryptonian (General Zod), etc. she fights an evil witch who basically summons a demon. In this movie, they try to give her own original story, adding more fantasy elements in the film, so it's not the classical action-driven superhero movie that people might expect. Sure, it has its flaws, but you should also take into account that in the original script, Christopher Reeve's Superman should have appeared in the film, but he changed his mind. So the writers had to figure a way to change some parts of the story. That's why some parts might seem illogical.
I think the reviewer on this video makes little to no sense. First of all...the criticism of the effects is way off. The flying effects in the this film were the best in the series and the film had a $35 million budget when it was filmed in 1983; that was a huge budget back then. He criticizes that you can see the wires in some of the flying scenes, well you can also see wires in the Superman films. I think overall Supergirl looks very good from a production design standpoint. As far as Helen Slater's performance - she was almost universally beloved in the role and critics even singled her out as being the best part of the movie so again not really sure what the reviewer is getting at. And lastly, Faye as Selena. Are we really going to pretend that Gene Hackman wasn't just as campy as Lex Luthor? I honestly never found Lex Luthor to be a scary nemesis. He and Otis were just as over the top as Brenda and Faye.
