Under the lens takes a deep look at films by focusing in on one or two particular areas of the picture that helped to define it for better or for worse. Spoilers will be included in this review.
Wonder Woman 1984 is a 2020 comic-book superhero picture directed by Patty Jenkins and stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, and Pedro Pascal. It rewinds to the 1980s as Wonder Woman’s next big-screen adventure finds her facing two all-new foes: Max Lord and The Cheetah in the hope to stop the world from collapsing.
Under The Lens: Exposition and Characters
Exposition: Wonder Woman 1984 was co-written by Geoff Johns who is a well-known comic-book writer, in the world of comics and graphic novels the rule is “Shown not tell.” When one looks at this motion picture it is very clear this method was used in the script, as there is a stunning lack of exposition for the plot. Indeed the entire reasoning the story happens is explained in a 30-second exposition dump that would be missed with a single trip to the restroom. Now the idea of “show not tell” is not always bad, but in the case of Wonder Woman 1984 the story is very complex and the rules of the “Wishing Stone” are never fully explained and seemingly change as the picture goes along. For example, in the third act, Maxwell Lord explains he can grant more than one wish (even though it was said that only one could be granted), but we never know how this happens, and have to piece together images and previous scenes to figure out that he has changed the rules of the stone.
The first Wonder Woman, was a simple story, and that is why it shined so bright, Wonder Woman 1984 does too much with not enough explanation for why the events happen.
Characters: The characters are at once the picture’s strength and weakness, Gal Gadot’s Diana Prince is wonderful and is written with a lot of heart and compassion. Kristen Wiig was a stand-out as Barbara Minerva and we see a nice little arc from warm-hearted geek to a cold-hearted predator, it’s just a shame that the picture gives her almost nothing to do. Maxwell Lord is a mystery, as he is given almost as much screentime as Wonder Woman yet never grows. He starts his villain’s journey as a conman jerk and ends it that way, we also never find out his motivations for wanting to grant everyone all their wishes. Lastly, Steve Trevor feels very different from the first picture, gone is the confident pilot and soldier, and this time he is a jumpy and fashion-obsessed man. In the end, while all the actors did their best, they all only could do so much with what they had to work with.
Highlights
Cheeta in her final form is daunting to say the least and I could only wish she had been the primary villain.
Gal Godot’s acting is very good in this picture and her improvment is very evident.
The jet flight through the fireworks was visually beautiful
Quotable Quote
Maxwell Lord: I’ve never been one for rules … The answer is always more”
Something to think about
What would you wish for if you could have anything in the world? Would getting your wish cost you anything?
Conclusion
Overall Wonder Woman 1984 is a missed opportunity, it has a great cast of actors and iconic characters in the sandbox of the ultra colorful 1980s. The picture sadly squanders all of this for a convoluted story and sidelining of characters who should have been in the forefront. This begs the question of why this particular story was chosen? We have some fantastic storylines from the comics involving Maxwell Lord and Cheeta and I am at a loss as to why one of those stories was not adapted? What saves Wonder Woman 1984 from being a total disaster, is the heartfelt performance by Gal Gadot who brings 100% to the role, and the pictures great visuals, any number of which could be clipped to make a comic book cover out of.
Wonder Woman 1984 is a messy but at times fun romp that suffers from a bloated runtime, not enough exposition, and a wasting of characters, that being said if you are a fan of the character and enjoyed the first picture, Wonder Woman 1984 is worth checking out, just don’t expect to feel that same feeling of Wonder as before.
