So, I wake up one morning and remember, there’s a pretty famous novel called 1984, about censorship, in a horrible alternate civilisation. Which got me thinking; I wonder if Pedro Pascal’s character is going have the goal to become like Big Brother? I wonder if director Patty Jenkins, and the team behind Wonder Woman 1984 want me thinking about George Orwell’s 1984 at all. Either way, I am; hmmm. Before I went to Wonder Woman 1984 I rewatched Wonder Woman, from 2017, and I’m glad I did; I found a few more little things that bugged me again, but also, I gained a sharper understanding of what works for me in regards to Wonder Woman as a property, and I stand at a respectable 3.5 for that movie. I saw a lot of scrunched-up faces in YouTube thumbnails, which gave me pause to reign in those expectations ahead of seeing this movie; a luxury that some eager others may not have had. But, with that said, I had a blast. I kept waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under me, to join the fellow disgruntled viewers, but until an admittedly confusing last twenty minutes, I think this movie is really cool.
Set in 1984, Diana Prince (A.K.A Wonder Woman, played by Gal Gadot) has now been among human civilisation for decades. She spends her free time inconspicuously fighting crime, whilst working at the Smithsonian Museum, where she runs into Dr. Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig); a mousy specialist, put in charge of detailing ancient artifacts, including a stone that’s secretly able to grant a wish to anyone who holds it. Diana unknowingly wishes Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) could come back into her life, after he passed away during the events of Wonder Woman, but Barbara wishes to be more like Diana, becoming so much more than she expected due to Diana’s secret identity. Max Lord (Pedro Pascal), a con-man and failing oil tycoon, knows of the stone’s magical powers and tracks it to the Smithsonian in the hopes of turning his fortunes around. Lord has an endless dream, and soon the entire world is on the verge of unravelling.
I feel like Wonder Woman 1984 is deliberately reminiscent of some of the best characteristics of classic DC material in tone, incorporating a fluoro colour scheme of the eighties and embracing the past Wonder Woman TV series with pride. Diana’s costume, has never looked better; her abilities in action (superspeed, deflecting bullets and flipping around on that lasso) are unique enough, and help her coolly stand tall in a gluttony of other superhero movies. As a hero, Wonder Woman is a great bright symbol of hope; a lot like we’d imagine Henry Cavill’s Superman should be, amirite? I sense Diana, like Gal Gadot as an actress, has grown, and is more maturely focused in her driving force than in the first Wonder Woman; this is the most I’ve ever connected to Gal Gadot, and Diana is elegantly revered in her personal life. Some of the highest points of the movie are stunning; the Amazonians competing in their contest at the beginning, Wonder Woman tracking Lord in a highspeed jeep chase, and Diana eventually having to turn her back on Trevor. There is a clear blend of practical stunts, while some of the CGI and green-screen is still a little jagged, like they were in the first film too. But then, I can’t believe the movie finds a way to have an invisible jet scene and not feel ridiculous – admittedly, I’ve never seen Wonder Woman’s invisible plane before now; I’ve only heard about it, but it always seemed as fuddy-duddy as that queer image of Aquaman riding dolphins as skis. I’ve heard criticism of this movie, that there’s no equivalent to the No Man’s Land scene in Wonder Woman’s first outing; for me, it’s the invisible jet scene. Whilst No Man’s Land displays Wonder Woman’s strength, bravery and tenacity, this flight under the fireworks is a moment of beautiful celebration, highlighting Wonder Woman’s past and present possibility to inspire the world. I thought the jet scene was just as awe-inspiring as when Superman first took Lois Lane to the skies in the original Superman movie – maybe I’m the old fuddy-duddy.
In her first outing in Wonder Woman, Diana learns that the ability to commit atrocity dwells within all human hearts, and here, Wonder Woman 1984 tests all its characters on temptation, greed and selfishness – the pursuit of a quick and satisfying fix, thematically setup during the movie’s opening contest on Themyscira. As daughter of the Gods, Wonder Woman continues her tasked effort in protecting humanity. I like how the content of these Wonder Woman movies can attack broad themes of the human condition. It’s a unique offering from the perspective of a quasi-God; Marvel’s Thor is a God but he never had the same nurturing connection to humanity – he just thought we were friendly, and Natalie Portman was really hot… he’s not wrong. But with DC in mind, Superman has the alien refugee angle to play, and Batman has criminality and despair; an albeit silly magic wishing stone works in Wonder Woman under the guise of a test from the Gods.
I’ve been saying since the trailers that Kristen Wiig is going to bring it; she’s often complimented for being funny and cute, but I think she’s so talented as well. I thought she was great; both Wiig and Pascal are inspired choices for these villains, and I’m struggling to recall a better antagonistic duo in recent years that share a similar relationship – their chemistry reminded me of those in Batman Returns or even Batman & Robin, since Barbara and Poison Ivy are both undervalued doctors after all. The movie allows us to empathise with Barbara in the same vein as Michelle Pfeiffer’s Selina Kyle for me, and that’s a compliment all round. I’m pretty sure Barbara is still powered by the end of this movie, refusing to renege on her wish, and after the random Christmas moment near the end, I half-expected Barbara to pop-up from the shadows, like Catwoman, at the end of Batman Returns – that would have been special.
Negatively, Wonder Woman 1984 is a little long. The movie sets up its main characters with equal time in the spotlight and it’s not always smooth. As Lord ignites his misguided plan, the movie’s scope keeps growing bigger and bigger, and I think the movie loses its handle on it; but I also think it kind’ve reflects the turmoil happening within the story too, as the world becomes increasingly complex and chaotic. I’m pretty confident in saying that I don’t like how Wonder Woman saves the day, though it all ends so fast. There’s no consistency to these wishes; drones turn to dust instead of disappearing – the stone can warp some people’s minds, make tax fraud appear out of nowhere, but Steve Trevor gets placed in some random guy’s body, when I’m pretty sure the stone could have just brought him back to life. I’m pretty sure the random guy Steve Trevor ‘entered’ would have been wishing to know why the hell he deserved to be possessed, if he was autonomous again when Max appears on telly. I would have been happier with a young Anakin Skywalker finale, when he blew up the Trade Federation Control Ship, and the Battle Droids just stopped; why can’t Lord relinquish his wish to be the stone, and cut the connections to all the wishes he has granted? And, I’ll say it if nobody else will; how the hell is Pedro Pascal’s son Asian? Is this how movies are going to fulfil diversity quotas now? A Sunburnt Christmas had a pretty ethnically diverse family too, but at least they addressed it. As Quentin Tarantino says, never confuse your audience; every time Lord’s son was onscreen, I was taken out of the movie.
This movie is a bit like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story for me – Wonder Woman 1984 is certainly rough around the edges, but the style and vision are exemplary, and helps me ignore or fill in the gaps myself in some of the dodgier moments. More than a few times, I wanted to say ‘wait a minute’ but most questions I had, I felt I could explain away or didn’t really bother me in the grander scheme. Yes, Diana also seems pretty hopeful, contradicting what I remember of her from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but I choose to view Wonder Woman 1984 as a sequel to Wonder Woman, and ignore the other darker nonsense that also exists as much as I can – maybe a third movie will effectively leave her cold. This movie is campy; it’s big dumb fun. Remember when comic book material was big dumb fun? Forget Bruce Almighty for an apocalyptic mess today, because Wonder Woman 1984 has got you covered.
4.0
P.S. If you want to fight me in the reply box because Wonder Woman 1984 is a 2020 release, I’ll easily fold. You are right! I’m reviewing this movie after seeing it in cinemas on its initial release, in 2021.
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