MOVIESPOP CULTUREWonder Woman 1984: Aw, Good Enough

The first Wonder Woman film infuriated me. It’s a fine movie, it’s nothing special, and even for the time it doesn’t really do enough when it has other movies of its kind to go against. But it was a well enough made movie that has some pretty good character work. The reason the movie makes me want to throw my Blu Ray player is because it thematically shoots itself in the foot (spoilers for the...
Aaron Vaughn3 years ago66913 min
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The first Wonder Woman film infuriated me. It’s a fine movie, it’s nothing special, and even for the time it doesn’t really do enough when it has other movies of its kind to go against. But it was a well enough made movie that has some pretty good character work. The reason the movie makes me want to throw my Blu Ray player is because it thematically shoots itself in the foot (spoilers for the first film by the way). The entire movie is about how Diana Prince blames the faults of man on Ares, the god of war. By the end of the movie she learns that sometimes people are just bad but that it’s also up to the individual to rise above this and try to be better. This was a very mature way to handle the film’s themes and it helped the film rise above it’s competition. But then at the end the movie just decides to say: “Aw, fuck you. It’s Ares anyway. Let’s watch a dumb fight that is hard to distern whatever the fuck is happening.” Apparently this was not the decision of director Patty Jenkins but rather some Warner Bros. executive. Nonetheless this negatively affected my experience with the movie, turning it from a movie that I thought was alright to a movie that made me want to scream. 

Even with my distaste with the previous film I was still looking forward to Wonder Woman 1984. I’ve liked Patty Jenkins’ other works, I like the cast, and the overall look of the movie from the advertising was pretty appealing. In the end while the movie didn’t anger me like it’s predassassor and it has some pretty impressive moments the overall film is so incredibly flawed. 

I’ll keep things spoiler free because I do think the movie is still worth watching. The overall story has to do with Diana Prince getting her lost love back and how a stone is able to crumble reality. 

First, I love the color correction. The colors just pop and make the film very vibrant looking. Aditionally, Gal Gadot is still a good Wonder Woman and Chris Pine can still be quite charming as Steve Trevor. The main villain played by Pedro Pascal is fantastic, not only does he play off as a good threat but his story is quite compelling. I would often be upset when the film cut away from him. For me when the movie would fully embrace fantasy and ridiculousness is when I had the most fun. The art direction and style of the movie is visually appealing and there are some cool action scenes. Ultimately I found the film’s climax to be much more impactful than its predecessor with it being more about what is being said rather than the action taking place. 

Unfortunately there is so much wrong with the movie. The first thing that stood out to me was the opening scene which goes back to Diana’s homeland where she competes in an olympic kind of game as a child. This scene felt pointless even while watching it. It goes on for too long and it does nothing to kick off the plot, create attachment and it isn’t even very entertaining. It’s made worse that the following scene is an opening on its own. Next I was also confused on why they were committed to developing Kristen Wigg’s character to become friends with Diana because by the end of the movie it felt both undercooked and of little importance. Earlier I mentioned that I would get upset whenever it would cut away from Pedro Pascal’s character and that is probably more of a negative then it is a positive. The movie would often cut from the interesting and fun side story to the undercooked and uninteresting main story like with Kristen Wigg. The best way to put it is that Wonder Woman 1984 at times feels like playing a video game where the side quest is more interesting than the main quest. There are some scenes that also just don’t play off the way that the movie hopes they will.

Technical errors plagued the film, stuff like editing choices that have Wonder Woman falling in one shot and landing in the opposite direction in the next shot. Also there are stylistic choices that don’t work like when Wonder Woman is supposed to be running fast but her movement matches that of a regular run. Stuff like that is likely meant to pay homage to the way that movies looked at that time but it plays off as unintentionally hilarious because it doesn’t fit with the more modern way of filming. But the real reason that most scenes come off as strange because they are filmed in impressive ways and play out with lots of emotion but they don’t land because regarding the main storyline at best things are underdeveloped or at worst unnecessary. For example there is an impressive scene with Diana dealing with a sacrifice that she had to make in order to save the world but it doesn’t land because the stakes are very underwhelming. Also even the storyline with Pedro Pascal doesn’t end with the impact that it wants because it’s dependent on what Diana Prince experiences.

Most of these issues really just come down to the film’s script. While it never feels too long it feels like it horribly misuses its time. There were multiple times where I thought the movie was doing something interesting but then it cuts it short or goes a completely different direction with it. Like I thought Kristen Wigg’s character would originally admire Wonder Woman from a distance which I thought would’ve been an interesting angle because she is admiring who she wants to be while not actually knowing them. But then the movie decides that they should become friends but doesn’t really develop a friendship, rather it just says they got dinner and are friends now. Lastly, this isn’t the worst problem but it hit me the hardest at the moment, I hated Kristen Wigg’s final Cheetah design. What was before a vibrant and colorful movie introduces a boring and gray looking monster. Also the final fight with the character has a grey character fighting in a gray environment with a grey sky. It can be hard to tell what’s going on. 

Overall the movie is very flawed but there is a lot to like. I do think as time passes I will think less of the movie and I don’t know if I’m ever going to watch it again but I wouldn’t recommend against the movie.  Despite the film’s issues there were still moments where I was having fun. If you have friends and family that like the first movie I think you can watch it together and leave it thinking that it was good enough. That’s what happened for me. The issue is that for the future of Wonder Woman movies and the overall DC film universe is that good enough isn’t good enough. People need a reason to come back and Wonder Woman 1984 doesn’t encourage me to come back. 

 

Aaron Vaughn

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