Following the disappointment that was Superman III, the producing partnership of Ilya and Alexander Salkind decided to try and freshen up the series by turning their focus to Superman's cousin, Supergirl. The original idea was to be that Christopher Reeve would reprise his role as Superman to pass the torch along, but Reeve decided against returning and so instead there's just a passing mention that during the adventures in this movie, Superman is busy in a distant galaxy. A poster of him does show up at one point, and Lois's previously unmentioned little sister makes an appearance, as does Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen, making him the only actor to appear in all 4 of the Salkind produced Super-movies. The idea was to make a trilogy of Supergirl films and Helen Slater was signed to a 3-picture deal, but the cold reception by audiences and critics alike, meant that those sequels never materialized.
The plot starts silly and gets sillier as it goes along. It begins in Argo City, a remnant of Krypton that exists in something referred to as inner space. No details are given as to how it survived Krypton's destruction or just what inner space is. Those are just some of the things that don't make sense however. We also never learn how it is that the citizens of Argo City seem to know all about the Earth and are familiar with Superman and Clark Kent. Peter O'Toole plays Zaltar, an eccentric Kryptonian genius who casually loses the power source that's keeping Argo City alive. Somehow this power source, which looks like a glowing marble, travels from whatever inner space is, to Earth. Kara goes after it and for some reason the exit from Argo City to Earth comes out beneath a body of water and somehow just by entering our world Kara's clothes are changed into Supergirl's familiar outfit.
As with most Hollywood movies where the hero is a woman, so is the villain. Faye Dunaway plays that villain, although I should say "overplays". Her Selena is a wannabe witch who suddenly finds her powers working when she comes into possession of the Kryptonian power source. She has a vague plan about taking over the world, but she hardly seems the type. She's vain and fairly stupid. A good portion of the conflict in the story is simply Supergirl and Selena fighting over the same man. Near the climax the film vaguely shows her discussing plans to conquer the world, but they seem out of place. It's as if the writers decided they needed to make the stakes higher.
Helen Slater was unknown when she was cast. Physically, she's perfect for the role. Her character though, is very uneven. At times she's written as if she's mentally a young child while other times she seems more mature. It's understandable that she would be naive, but the inconsistencies in her character are jarring at times. Slater is quite good when allowed to play closer to her true age, but there's not much she can do in the film's dumber moments. Eric complained about the extra powers Superman was occasionally given in his films, and here Supergirl has the ability to change her clothes and hair color instantaneously.
The special effects are quite well done. By this stage, the filmmakers had perfected the flying routine and some of Slater's flying scenes are the best in the series. Certainly they are light years ahead of those in Superman IV. The production values are quite high in general and all of the silliness is slickly packaged.
There are a few other famous faces in supporting roles. Mia Farrow plays Supergirl's Kryptonian mother. Her part is a mere cameo though and she makes no real impression. Peter Cook plays the former mentor of Selena and he's fine in the part, but his considerable comic talents are wasted as he plays it completely straight.
The Salkinds originally wanted Richard Lester to direct this film as he had Superman II and III, but he turned down the opportunity. The job instead went to Jeannot Szwarc on Christopher Reeve's recommendation after Szwarc had directed him in Somewhere in Time. Without Lester, at least the sight gags that plagued the Superman films are absent. That doesn't mean this movie isn't without humor, just that most of it is unintentional and the result of the general campiness.
It was the failure of this movie that prompted the Salkinds to sell their Superman rights. And that might be this film's biggest sin of all. In a way, we have it to blame for the abysmal Superman IV. This movie is bad, but nothing compared to that later film. Neither one is very good, but this one is bad in a way that's almost enjoyable....almost.
