Wonder Woman 1984 Review

The latest game news from IGN - one of my fave channels ever - check it out Among a library of uneven peers, director Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman is one of the more critically successful of the new era of DC superhero movies. But for its many triumphs, the Amazonian Princess’ first film is burdened with an overly effects-driven final act that tarnishes its success. It’s the kind of movie that makes you wish for a sequel that builds upon its strengths and avoids repeating past mistakes – and Wonder Woman 1984 fulfills those exact desires. This colourful, heartfelt second chapter in Diana Prince’s story effortlessly takes the spotlight as DC’s most enjoyable modern movie, successfully trading bombastic grit for golden era-style superheroics. Much like Netflix’s Stranger Things, Wonder Woman 1984 embraces the decade of big hair, big clothes, and big ambitions. After a heart-pounding prologue set on the mystical island of Themyscira, we’re transported to Washington D.C. in ‘84. The transition brings with it a change in directorial and cinematography style; edges soften, the colour palette shifts, and the camera frames shots akin to movies from four decades prior. Performances from extras are exaggerated, and Hans Zimmer’s score takes on an excitable, John Williams-like vibe. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=wonder-woman-1984-exclusive-character-posters&captions=true"] As Wonder Woman swings into action for the first time with a montage of rescue shots that look purposely low fidelity, it becomes clear that Jenkins is emulating the Christopher Reeve era of superhero cinema. While this style of direction eventually fades into something more contemporary, the homage to that period -- particularly 1981’s Superman 2 -- continues throughout, permeating many of its ideas and cementing it as a joyful celebration of DC’s film roots. While the central storyline is a love letter to those older superhero movies, wider plot devices also pull from 1980s staples; elements of body-swap comedy and nerd-to-cool evolutions are gleefully toyed with, albeit sometimes only for a fleeting moment. The use of these older tropes means the plot treads a more traditional path than that of the rest of DC’s Extended Universe movies, which makes for a film that’s deeply classical in structure and lacking in any fresh innovation for the genre. However, this old-school approach does neatly help avoid the CGI-drenched smashdown that left such a sour taste at the end of the previous Wonder Woman. That’s swapped for something admirably low-key for a modern superhero flick, driven by a morality message that neatly calls back to the mythological cautionary tales that superhero comics owe such a debt to. That’s not to say that Jenkins doesn’t pull out all the action stops when she needs to, though. For my money, this is the best Diana Prince has ever looked in action. Be it swinging from literal lightning bolts or sliding through the corridors of the White House, Gal Gadot’s physical embodiment of Wonder Woman is in top form. Much like with the Russo brothers’ treatment of Captain America, the choreography team working with Gadot understands how to apply a physical language to all of Wonder Woman’s movements, ensuring every slide, whip, and strike are wholly unique to the character. Many moments from the action sequences could be freeze-framed and turned into a perfect comic book cover, largely thanks to the clarity and colour provided by the daytime lighting and clear angles opted for by cinematographer Matthew Jensen. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/07/wonder-woman-1984-ccxp-trailer"] But it is Gadot’s emotional performance that cements WW84 as the quintessential Wonder Woman film. Love and compassion are her driving force, layered on top of the morality and duty we’ve seen in characters like Clark Kent and Steve Rogers, and that lends an authenticity to her world-saving antics. That was, of course, the fabric of Jenkins’ previous film, and so Wonder Woman 1984 builds upon that by examining the loneliness Diana endures due to her supernaturally long life. Her solitary existence is painful and is beautifully conveyed by Gadot in both intense moments of tears and fleeting, simpler acts. As with so many invulnerable heroes, it takes this exposing of her fears and exploitation of her spirit to truly damage her. This is all explored relatively simply, but the difficult moment that concludes this arc is a powerful payoff. WW84 is careful to apply similar humanity to almost all of its subjects. Kristen Wiig’s transformation from Barbara Ann Minerva to classic Wonder Woman archenemy Cheetah comes via a lens that’s frustrated with misogyny and the everyday abuse of women. For much of the runtime, Barbara is a highly likable character with a misguided ambition to match the glamour of Diana, which is a role that Wiig effortlessly takes on. Evil Wiig isn’t quite the all-out delight that you’d hope for, but her measured metamorphosis ensures she’s only transformed into a CGI boss fight when it’s truly necessary. Delaying her transition to a visual effects character allows Wiig’s humanity to shine, even through the layers of fur-print clothing she accumulates. Similarly, Pedro Pascal’s Maxwell Lord is a man tormented by the towering shadow of classic male demands; he should be successful, wealthy, powerful, and all at the expense of his requirements as a father. There are shades of Lex Luthor from Superman 2 here, which further crystallizes that nostalgia for a more classic type of storytelling. But it’s impossible to ignore its contemporary critique: the chief antagonist is a bad businessman and popular television personality with desperation for power above his station, going as far as the presidency itself. With populist methods that lead to worldwide tensions, it’s not difficult to see Lord as a reflection of America’s outgoing leader. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=maxwell-lord-and-his-connection-to-wonder-woman-explained&captions=true"] Less well-served is Chris Pine’s returning Steve Trevor, who is… just fine. While he’s a continual presence through the story and fulfills everything he needs to, he does feel more like a plot complication for Diana rather than a true character in his own right. There’s the occasional man-out-of-time joke that lands well enough, and he does get to drive the best nostalgic throwback moment, but he’s so lacking in scene presence that it’s easy to forget he’s even around. Pine can obviously do charisma -- it's there in buckets in the Star Trek series, and it’s used to great amusement in Into The Woods -- so I wish the script had made better use of him. Ultimately, and perhaps aptly for WW84's direction, he feels a bit like a love interest from the 1980s; the cute plot device that’s there solely for the protagonist's growth. For all its constant callbacks to the ‘80s, Wonder Woman 1984 remains distinctly contemporary in runtime; like so many modern comic book flicks, it runs past the two-and-a-half-hour mark. While this doesn't feel egregiously long, it also doesn’t feel warranted, and the opening hour certainly isn’t going anywhere in a hurry. It’s not that it wastes time on needless sequences, but a more ruthless editor’s hand could have brought it closer to 120 minutes and helped make the ride a touch snappier without losing the important character-focused scenes that the initial half spends much of its time exploring.  

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