Film - Supergirl
In the aftermath of Krypton's destruction, a fragment of the planet hurtles into inner space. A survivor, Zaltar (Peter O'Toole), creates a new utopian society called Argo City but a young girl, Kara Zor-El (Helen Slater) messes with the new world’s power source, the Omegahedron, and both the source and Kara are transported to Earth. Kara takes the name Linda Lee and enrols in a girls’ school under the guise of Clark Kent's cousin where she is befriended by Lois Lane's younger sister, Lucy (Maureen Teefy).
The Omegahedron is discovered by evil wannabe witch Selena (Faye Dunaway) who is having issues with her lover Nigel (Peter Cook), a warlock. Supergirl (aka Kara) must battle Selena to win back the Omegahedron and save Argo City but is captured by her instead and banished to the Phantom Zone. Supergirl meets Zaltar there, as he has exiled himself as punishment for his part in the Omegahedron's disappearance, and he sacrifices his own life so Supergirl can go back and defeat Selena and save Argo City.
I was nine years old when Supergirl was released and the idea of another female super-hero was beyond me. I had only discovered Wonder Woman at the time and was delighted to have another character in my life. I loved the film and lapped up the adventure BUT I was nine and easily pleased. I hadn't seen the film again until recently and was dreading it, as now I'm a grown up (allegedly) and I was more than aware of the derision the film had received.
Sorry internet you’re wrong... it was still good! The problem with bloggers and reviewers nowadays is we are all so very spoilt by Hollywood's 'A' List stars lining up to play a super-hero and the gazillion dollar (my accountant assures me this actually a figure and coincidently what I owe him) budgets and special effects. The modern films are aesthetically more pleasing than a small budget film from 1984, I am more than aware of that and yes, we all love the familiarity that seeing Samuel L. Jackson in EVERYTHING brings, but the writing from back then is about as good, the universes they wrote are pretty similar to those written now and, unlike today’s adventures, the films didn’t take themselves seriously. Christopher Reeve was a goofy guy on screen and the whole reason that his incarnation of Superman still holds up is the fact that he played an alien hero with the humour of the era, an era of nuclear Armageddon threats and violence, an era we appear to still be in!
He filled his lycra well and anyone who can make a suit like that look good deserves credit, so why none for Supergirl? Helen Slater looked as convincing in the suit as Reeve, and played a young school student with the innocence you'd expect. "Oh but Faye Dunaway and Peter O'Toole were awful" I hear you cry! What and Nuclear Man and Richard Pryor gave Oscar winning performances did they?
We need to take a leaf out of the Supergirl's book and stop taking ourselves so seriously. For those of you that missed the trailer that sparked this article it is here...
Image - IMDb.
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