As a sequel to Wonder Woman in 2017, director Patty Jenkin’s “Wonder Woman 1984” is undeniably ambitious. It seeks to spread the myth of Temiscri, the house of the Amazons; continue the story of Diana Prince as a continuation of her previous chronological adventure; and bypassing the larger background stories set in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) that follows in Justice League (2017).
For the most part, Jenkins and company keep the idea of how WW 1984 is incorporated into the above-mentioned framework, while creating something of their own.
This novelty will prove to be divisible among the general public, if the critical reception is a true omen, due to the fact that, as in the first solo release, the battles of 1984 are more abstract than the villainry itself. .
With Jenkins back at the helm and a reduced portion of his original cast, 1984 is less of an explosive superhero release and more of a mirror of an alternate past with direct links to our present.
Like Diana Prince, the Amazon warrior poet, the public is more than ready to face such an etheric enemy.
+ The inevitable continuation …
Coming to 2020, a year that seems more the result of a Machiavellian plan of a comic book villain and, leaving aside the discussions about the model for the premiere of the film, simultaneously in cinemas and on the streaming service HBO Max (in the United States), the inevitable continuation of the awards, repeating the advantages of the first film in front of and behind the cameras.
“Wonder Woman 1984” immediately promotes in the title a temporary change in relation to the action of the previous World War I of the previous film, assuming from the beginning eternal fascination for the 80s that so many fruits have recently given in titles like Stranger Things (TV) or Ready Player One .
It was in 1984 that Diana Prince, who had not aged a day for decades, had the opportunity to see her impossible desire fulfilled to reunite with Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), whose loss never really passed. .
However, as you discovered from the beginning, only the truth matters to be a true hero, and when the magician McGuffin falls into the wrong hands of Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig) and Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal), the alter ego Diana has to make him act.
From the colorful poster to the hilarious trailer, the 1980s scene promised nostalgia and humor, in a tendency to counter the black of the male counterpart universe in Wonder Woman.
However, the potential of this concept is ultimately wasted, except for the obvious use of Gordon Gekko’s philosophy that “Greed is a good thing” – For those who lack the reference, I recommend Oliver Stone’s 1987 film Discovery of Wall Street – and the superficial geopolitical framework of the Cold War, which seems more interested in commenting on the anxieties and concerns of current reality than undermining the context of the weather.
This is, in fact, one of Achilles’ heels of this sequel (inherited, it is true, from the first film): the need to preach in front of the viewer, assuming here shameful and almost literary proposals.
It is beneficial to use a cultural vehicle of this nature to comment on sexism, unbridled capitalism and the warrior spirit of human nature in general, instead promoting positive and inspiring values.
However, Wonder Woman 1984 executes her ideas with such a heavy hand that she cancels out her best intentions.
On the bright side, joining again the athletic Gal Gadot and the charismatic Chris Pine, Pedro Pascal and Kristen Wiig have fun composing an anthology of villains.
If the narrative is difficult to capture, with a long prologue and a first act too tangled in its plot (pun), when it captures it, it gives us some striking and well-executed action scenes, with the emotional involvement responsible for delivering interpreters. excellent.
If Pascal knows exactly what movie he’s in, having fun with Maxwell Lord, giving the scenes huge cracks, it’s a pleasure to see Wiig lending his modest charm to Barbara Minerva. gradually transmuting into a femme fatale with full control of self-esteem and, finally, in a villain at the height of the heroine, two characters inherited from the pages of comics.
If the poor writing that justifies Steve Trevor’s return (and on which the entire premise of the film is based) can be ignored, it’s easy to see the desire to bring Chris Pine back with Gadot.
Not only does the couple continue the chemistry we witnessed in the previous film, but there is an ease in the scenes in which Pine participates, crying only the mechanics of the narrative that leaves us wanting to have more time in his company.
+ Annotations
In short, the qualities of “Wonder Woman 1984” are annulled, not because of incompetence or technical failure, but because of the limitations of the genre to which it belongs, starting with the plot, written here with six hands by Patty Jenkins herself in collaboration with Geoff Johns and Dave Callaham.
A successful superhero movie, be it Marvel or DC Comics, can’t escape much of the formula that requires a complicated plot, full of recognized mythology and references to the pages of the comics that preceded it, preferably the escalation of personal conflicts. a global threat and a lot of action, which inevitably culminates in a frantic clash of chaotically pixelated songs by the inevitable Hans Zimmer or faithful disciple; In this case, despite his promises, he was a teacher again.
With these measures, it will be a blockbuster (or streaming views or illegal downloads).
Unfortunately, the cinema here turns out to be accidental. And, sincerely wanting to move to a level playing field, Wonder Woman 1984 is a clear demonstration that gender distinctions are meaningless because mediocrity, like genius, is available to anyone, regardless of chromosomes.