I could make this very long, or I could make it strict. stricted? yes... This is a truely wonderfull movie that on a mainstreame level has never gotten the attention it deserves. Faye Dunaway is a excellant adversory to Helen Slater and almost everyone in this movie seems to have a great chemistry together wich is outputed highley during it. The special FX are wonderfull and were advanced for its time, many in the movie even to today's standards. It has its roots in artistic litrature, it has heart, because the movie is about a teenager there is a vulrability to it wich feels more humane and personal to a level of a teenager myself...unlike the Superman movies where you simply feel "yes, he's super...he can do anything. good for him" This movie suffered for many reasons wich isn't about its story. It was marketed purley as a Superman "action sueprhero" sort of movie. When the fact is there is a more gentile apraoch to this film, sourcery, love and lots of imaginative things wich make it very unique to the superhero genre. unfortunatley it doesn't do it much favours considering to many it is the worst superhero movie ever. Everything about this movie is very imaginative and creative. From Supergirl flying out of a lake without getting wet to her almost flawless flying ballet (THATS when u believe a person can fly. Unlike Supermans blue screen FX) and the highly inspireing fair ground scenes. This is purley fantasy. Not a Spiderman/Superman action superhero movie wich it was promoted to be. So its real targeted audience didn't want to see it as its trailer and promotion didn't look like "their sorta thing" and the people that did see it were dissapointed as it wasn't what it was said to be. so let me say...STUPID marketting team!simply...its like making American Pie SOUND LIKE the matrix. Many people saw Supergirl and did not expect to see many of the things they saw.
If this film was marketed the way it should have been and released the way it should have been (some countries got a seriously bad edited version wich effected the charactors allot) then this would have been the success everyone thought at the time and still deserves to be This is a great movie and its one of my favourites. I don't think I could praise it enough. I think its not what many people wanted ot see back then though...they wanted explosions, action and they wanted Superman to fit into this film.
I think the fact that Supergirl arrived on earth in the supercostume without no actual logic was bad. Because firstly you need rules, and even more so in fantasy movies. Because it may be fantasy but you still should believe it. I think it could have easily been written in for Supergirl to get her costume. Zaltar could have made her it because she is a big admirer of her cousin Superman. But no, unfortunatley it isn't once explained how and were she got her costume from. Also...the instant costume portrays that she is an instant hero and she wasn't wich let many people down. As she was still nieve, cute and girly and not the strong wilded heroine she turned out to be at the end.
Also, this movie arguable did not fit into the superman mythology very well...But so be it. There is no flaw in this movie that could effect the enjoyment and believability of the movie. On its DVD release there are more visual flaws then I saw on its video release wich is surprising. Not many however but on her first ever flying shot there are...wich makes me cringe. HOWEVER, I am still to see better better flying in a movie that isn't from Supergirl. Highlights of this movie deffanitly are Supergirls flying ballet (you will never see anything as visually wonderfull and pretty as this in a film) and Supergirls scenes with Ethan. This movie is full of heart and art, with beautifull actors and its all acompanied by a wonderfull score wich captures allot of emotion and depth.
I will end this review with that you WILL believe a girl can fly. Because most of the time...it is live flying and not against a screen (when will you learn Superman?)
