trevorwomble

I' will confess that I was slightly underwhelmed by this film but nonetheless I still enjoyed it. Although the basis is based on real events there are no great surprises and this kind of thing has been seen before in other films in recent years such as A Walk In the Woods or The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.but

That being said, Jason Isaacs and Gillian Anderson are both excellent and hold the slight story together very well. Anderson has never looked less glamorous as she does here and is almost unrecognisable putting in an understated but believable performance. Isaac's similarly looked different to what we've seen him in before and shows us all that given a good script he is actually a surprisingly deep actor. The two of them work very well together and you really do feel their despair and believe their love for each other keeps them strangely optimistic, dignified and grateful for small mercies.

The film does sag a little bit in places and doesn't really expand much on what led to their bankruptcy. That said though the film is a small scale effort held together by some big performances. Perhaps not essential viewing but a rewarding one nonetheless.

Where do I start with this film. The near non-existent script perhaps? The total lack of characterisation ? The truly terrible story? Or the criminal waste of on-screen talent?

The script is bad...and I do mean really bad. With cringeworthy dialogue delivered by otherwise good actors (who seem to know how bad it is). None of the characters are given any fleshing out. It's like a whole backstory is missing from all the major characters, as if the film is missing the first twenty minutes to explain why people are they way they are. For example why does Selina (Faye Dunaway) want to rule the world? And how incredibly convenient that she is in the right place at the right time to end up with the incredible power source that has been lost from Kara-El's world. And how has Selina ended up with a boyfriend like Nigel (Peter Cook)? The whole story just doesn't hang together and is preposterous.

The film just seems like they gathered together a good cast and then realised they needed to give them something to do. The story is more akin to an episode of the Adam West Batman TV series than a $35 million film.

To me it's a toss up as to if this film is worse than Superman IV. At least that film had a coherent if silly story. However that film was made on half the budget of this film. Supergirl does at least have some interesting visuals and well executed effects. It's just a shame its so boring with the talent at its disposal.