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Wonder Woman 1984 is perhaps the riskiest superhero
film since Iron Man. Not because it stars an actor no one cares about
anymore as a superhero no one cares about. Nor because it sets out to establish
a template for an interconnected metaseries of movies. By choosing to swing for
the fences in nearly aspect and refusing to play safe, WW84 reaches
heights few of its contemporaries even dream possible. It also hits lows many
of them avoid.
Spoilers for Wonder Woman 1984 follow. You've been warned.
1984 is a very specific era in US history. While Wall
Street would not release for three more years, the Geckoian “Greed is good”
philosophy was in full swing. This was a time of bounty and instant gratification
for many. Thus, why all of pop culture attempts to recreate that time: it is
seen as the good ol’ days we should be striving towards. When we had the world
at our heels, and everyone was happy. Of course, that is all a lie and
something the film both happily engages in and interrogates.
The film opens with an extended scene of the Amazonian triathlon
(I think) that sets up the themes of the film and, theoretically, ties into the
big finale (more on that later). This scene is too long and adds nothing, a fact
exaggerated by a second introductory scene that immediately follows. This one
occurs in Washington D.C. during 1984, quickly establishing its setting and
setting up the coming events as Wonder Woman stops some thieves in a mall. It
would have been brilliant as an action-packed intro to the film, but someone
determined we needed a scene with Connie Nielson and Robin Wright because more
is better.
Speaking of excess, this movie is too long. There is an
argument to make that WW84’s self-indulgent 2.5-hour length furthers its
primary thesis that more is not necessarily better. In a film that falls apart in
the final half hour, the length is a detriment. There should have been cuts.
Why is the triathlon opening in the final cut? What does Barbara add other than
an excellent Kristen Wiig performance? Of course, none of that matters with an
ending as lost and unsure of itself as this movie has.
The final two climaxes—WW84 has three--of the movie is
an attempt at the same kind of ending I praised in my Wonder
Woman #769 review: Diana solving
her problems through communication and empathy. Unlike that comic, Diana comes
ready fight. She wears the armor of greatest Amazonian warrior (Later revealed
to be Lynda Carter in a fantastic post-credit scene). Upon arriving at the
secret government facility where primary antagonist Max Lord is, Diana runs
into Barbara (in full Cheetara mode) and they fight. She does not say a word to
Barbara for the first two minutes of the fight and then only because Barbara
speaks first. Diana says a single line, not trying to empathize with her friend
or convince her she needs help, but to condemn her and command she renounce her
new gifts. Finally, after another two-minute stretch, Diana speaks, again demanding
her friend return her power with no explanation. When Barbara refuses, Diana
electrocutes her.
From there, Wonder Woman moves inside to find Lord granting
wishes to as many humans as possible via television. It does not make any sense
but go with it. As he grants wishes, he takes whatever he wants from the
recipients, often their vitality or life force. Also, this summons a tornado in
the room for some reason. How does Diana attempt to stop him? With her lasso of
course. The violent solution is the first choice. Ultimately, she does choose a
peaceful path by giving a big heroic speech. It actually has nothing to do with
the ongoing conflict, but it is a speech that convinces the entire world to
stop being greedy. It does introduce the idea that wants are born from
powerlessness, which is not only a strange idea to introduce at this point but
undermines the primary theme by providing a good reason to want more. The entire
sequence feels half-baked and feels disconnected from the preceding two hours.
The movie gestures at a noncombative resolution but neither
attempts it nor succeeds at what it actually does. This is likely due to fact
the message had already been delivered moments before as Diana was made the
choice to give up Steve to save the world. If this had resolved the plot, it
would have been a perfect peaceful solution. Alas, it was not to be.
Likely the reason the creators were not comfortable with that
is the titular character is not actually the star of this movie. While the
openings and conclusions center around Diana, she spends much of the runtime in
a B-plot. A very good B-plot that embodies the themes perfectly, but a B-plot nonetheless.
This film belongs to Pedro Pascal’s Maxwell Lord. From the moment he absorbs
the Dreamstone—a literally amorphous wish granting McGuffin—Lord becomes the
driving force of WW84, in both plot and theme.
While one of the biggest gambles the film makes, its
ultimately to the film’s detriment as Pascal is somewhat miscast. He is neither
slimy enough nor charming enough to make the role land. He does do a suitable
job hamming up his performance in classic ‘80s style.
By far the largest swing here is the dedication to the ‘80s
bit. It starts with the performances, especially the aforementioned Pascal and
Wiig. When in the Wonder Woman costume, Gal Gadot is often doing a Christopher
Reeves Superman impression. Only time-displaced Chris Pine is giving a more
modern, naturalistic performance in the vein of the 2017 film. When in scenes
with Pine—so, most her scenes from the 45th minute to the 120th—Gadot
reverts to her previous performance style. It all works quite w
The plot too is ‘80s style superhero movie simplicity. There
is a wish granting McGuffin, but the monkey’s paw curls and our heroes learn
something about themselves on their way to stopping the villain from destroying
the world. Where this story excels is in the spaces between. Much time is spent
on Diana’s romance with Steve, making her ultimate decision to give him up emotionally
affecting. The scene where they steal plane and watch fireworks from above the
clouds is extraordinary.
The plane stealing scene connects directly to maybe the most
Reeves Superman moments this movie gets. When stealing the plane, Steve and
Diana are being followed by others as their flight is unauthorized. Luckily,
she has a new power! She can turn the jet invisible because, as this film fails
to mention at any other point, she is a literal god. Of course, Patty
Jenkins is a coward for not showing Gal Gadot and Chris Pine floating through
the air surrounded by the outline of a fighter jet, but I digress.
In that same scene, Steve explains why he loves to fly and
this comes back later when Diana discovers she can fly—again, she is a
literal god. This comes just after Steve dies again. Diana remembers what
he said about the way it feels how it makes him feel and she learns she has a
new power. It is very Reevesian and works as the emotional climax.
The most interesting aspect of this film is the Diana-Steve
relationship. Like the first, their easy rapport and clear affection for each
other endears viewers o both characters and makes it easy to get emotionally
invested in their future. This remains the best part of the series as it is so
refreshing. Modern superhero movies have become weirdly sexless. They virtually
do not exist in the MCU and those that do poorly realized. Other DC movies are
also lacking with the exception of Batman v. Superman and the
effectiveness there is certainly up for date. It is all very weird, but Wonder
Woman continues to defy that trend.
I would be remiss not to mention how good this movie looks.
As with its predecessor, WW84 is shot on film. This is obvious as soon
as Themiyscira comes onscreen. The luscious trees and beautiful water standout
immediately. When the movie transitions to “modern” day, the barrage of color
is at first off-putting in a way it would not be in most superhero fair because
it is on film. The cinematography is excellent and creative. It is very good at
evoking the exact feelings it wants, even when the writing or story do not.
Wonder Woman 1984 is an ‘80s period piece in many
ways. From costuming to plotting to runtime. That is often to its benefit. It
is in many ways a return to that era of superhero moviemaking with splashes of
the modern. It is an incredible, candy-colored, emotional journey that,
unfortunately, goes off the rails at the end and fails to resolve its story and
themes properly. But there is an invisible jet and Lynda Carter, so the movie
certainly make sup for it. Maybe next time, the big swings will land and we
will have an all-time classic on our hands.
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