Why Wonder Woman 1984 is Not to Expect Much

In other years, the sequel to the bright, but too naive "Wonder Woman" probably would have expected a little less and discussed more strictly - the abundance of comic strips on the big screen tired many. But in 2020, fans of the genre saw only funny, but the most passable "Birds of Prey" and "Immortal Guard", the failed "Bloodshot" and no less failed "New Mutants".

Therefore, it is “Wonder Woman: 1984” that should be at least some breath of fresh air for everyone who misses the unrealistic and striking blockbusters. The film copes with this role, but many of the details of director Patty Jenkins failed.

The most light and positive film

Almost 70 years have elapsed since the first painting. Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman, still grieves for her beloved Steve Trevor and tries to lead an inconspicuous life. More precisely, she regularly prevents robberies, rescues hostages and rescues passers-by from under cars, but tries to stay in the shadows.

The rest of the time, Diana, who is very familiar with ancient cultures, works at a research center. There she meets the shy gemologist Barbara Minerva, who was brought to study an artifact, supposedly capable of fulfilling one desire of everyone who touched it.

Soon Steve returns to Diana in a strange way, even for himself. Meanwhile, the stone falls into the hands of the power-hungry Maxwell Lord, who does not intend to waste his only desire on petty requests - he wants world domination.

It is enough to watch the first 30 minutes of the new film or at least a couple of its trailers to understand: “Wonder Woman: 1984” is literally a New Year's and Christmas present. The film has become even brighter and richer than the first part, clearly continuing the traditions of "Aquaman" and "Shazam" from the same MCU.

The very first scene in the introduction - a flashback from Diana's childhood on Themyscira - turns the action into an attraction with incredible choreography. In the main part, Diana continues to perform incredible tricks, clings to lightning with her lasso, soars in the sky, saves children and smiles sweetly.

The best action scene, of course, remains the battle on the road, which has been shown in all of the trailers. The insane production with slow-mo inserts seemed to come straight from the classic comics with their maximalism.

But that's not all. No wonder the authors transferred the action to one of the brightest and most fashionable eras of American culture today - the eighties. Even the everyday scenes in the new Wonder Woman sparkle and shimmer. Acid swimwear, catchy fashion, break-dance, electronic music, TV commercials and finally fireworks - the first half of the film looks like a Christmas tree, which by its very appearance should cause a burst of endorphins.

Gal Gadot and Chris Pine in Wonder Woman 1984

To add even more grotesque, Patty Jenkins uses not too honest, but always working moves: she shows the transformation of Barbara and throws Steve Trevor into the plot. On both, you can put on the most unusual and flashy costumes, and to the second, you can also explain all the changes that have taken place in the world, creating more comical situations.

As a result, Wonder Woman 1984 seems like more than just a comic book about the eighties, as if she herself came from this era. And not from the times of Burton's Gothic, but from the times of Superman performed by Christopher Reeve and the Wonder Woman series with Linda Carter. It turned out very positively and as far as possible from the dark start that Zack Snyder gave to the MCU.

But there are problems with serious themes and action

However, optimism was not the only thing that came from the eighties. In some moments, it seems that in the visual range, the filmmakers were guided by the classics of cinema comics. Some moments, especially those that take place in the sky, are too reminiscent of all the same classic Superman films. In today's high-budget blockbuster, it looks very sad.

It is even sadder that with an impressive timekeeping of two and a half hours, there are only three really large-scale action scenes in the whole picture. Moreover, in the latter, problems with special effects are too felt. At home, they may not be striking, but in a movie theater, and even more so in IMAX format, such a rude approach can be disappointing.

This isn't the first time the DC cinematic universe has stepped on the same rake. The first Wonder Woman was scolded for weak special effects; Suicide Squad, among other things, was criticized for the final battle in which the villainess simply stands still. All these claims can be presented to the new product.

What is the rest of the time doing? The film tries to talk about serious topics, and the questions are really important and correct. Minerva, and Diana herself, are constantly faced with sexism and harassment. Maxwell Lord appears to be a typical businessman, too hungry for power. Here it is simply impossible not to notice the already fed up allusions to Donald Trump. But too well such a figure fits into the ideology of the film comics.

However, the problem is not even with the main villains. Literally every person in the world is too obsessed with selfish aspirations: from the dream of expelling emigrants to the desire to possess nuclear missiles to intimidate hostile countries. From this everyday selfishness, the world's problems are built that even Wonder Woman cannot deal with.

However, in the film, these questions are revealed in the simplest, head-on way. In the last third of the film, Jenkins seems to be trying to tell the viewer that being evil is bad.

Just as the war ended suddenly with the death of Ares in the first Wonder Woman, in the sequel all problems are somehow solved by themselves, with justification at the level of a children's fairy tale. Moreover, it is known that Jenkins reworked the ending of the picture. Apparently Warner Bros. still believes that all ideas should be presented as large-scale and naive as possible.

Heroes have become more controversial and interesting

This does not apply to Diana Prince performed by Gal Gadot. An interesting feature is added to her in a flashback, but still the desire to cheat in childhood can hardly be considered an attempt to look at the heroine differently. Rather, it's just a growing up phase.

On the other hand, in this case, you can just remember the saying “You don’t need to fix what works”. The actress is still as good as Wonder Woman, and there is a real chemistry between her character and Chris Pine, who plays Trevor.

First of all, the antagonists became more interesting in the sequel. In Wonder Woman 2017, Ares is seen as the most boring incarnation of evil: he starts wars because he is the god of war. Maxwell Lord and Barbara Minerva are much more lively and believable, their motivation is much easier to believe.

The first one is obsessed with power, and he has a reason for it. This notorious loser, who smiles broadly from the TV screen, is actually most afraid of losing his son's love. And Pedro Pascal once again proves how different he can look in the frame. His nervous Lord with always interfering bangs, who so wants to please people, makes you instantly forget about "Game of Thrones" and "Triple Border", and about other roles of the actor.

Comedian Kristen Wiig, as Minerva, embodies jealousy and repressed complexes. Moreover, "Wonder Woman: 1984" literally turns the common cliché inside out. The famous Steve Rogers and Carol Danvers at Marvel also grew out of the downtrodden "gray mice" who received superpowers. But if Captain America and Captain Marvel because of this become the main defenders of good, then Barbara turns into a villain, directing her revenge on everyone.

And even ironic that with two notorious people who want to be loved, Wonder Woman is fighting - an omnipotent demigod and an ageless beauty. A sort of American dream on the contrary.

But they just did not have time to reveal

As in the case of the action game, it remains only to be surprised how illogically the plot arcs are distributed in the film. For two and a half hours, they simply do not have time to tell about many of the heroes. First of all, this concerns all the same Minerva.

Gal Gadot and Kristen Wiig in Wonder Woman 1984

In order to better feel her rebirth, it was necessary to show her previous life in more detail and clearly. But a short introduction, where she constantly only flickers in the background, does not allow her to feel either her loneliness or life in the eternal shadow of others. It may feel like things have changed just after a visit to the store.

Moreover, this does not require too much timing. You can turn on Tim Burton's Batman Returns and watch him reveal Catwoman. Famous: “Honey, I'm home. Ah, I forgot that I was not married,”- is remembered better than all the long arguments of Minerva.

And even an attempt to further clarify the Lord's motivation - a finely chopped flashback filled with suffering - was added to the picture as if at the last moment to close a logical hole.

But most importantly, as you watch it, you won't be able to get rid of the thought that Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman 1984 is unnecessary. It's really nice to watch his relationship with Diana. But in the first film, he was one of the main driving forces of the plot. In the sequel, it turned into just a function that adds indecision to the heroine.

As a result, Wonder Woman 1984 leaves a very blurry impression. This is again a film in which there is literally nothing to catch on: the characters have become more interesting, but they are not allowed to reveal themselves, and some exciting action scenes are drowned in a stream of banal phrases and not too emotional drawn-out scenes.

Of course, for those who miss the big superhero movie, the picture will become a real outlet in the much thinner box office. But still, one should not expect much from her, otherwise there is a chance to be disappointed. This is just a beautiful Christmas tree toy: bright, shiny, bringing joy - and empty inside.