Wonder Woman 1984
Director: Patty Jenkins
Runtime: 155 minutes
2017’s Wonder Woman was a surprisingly-pure origin story for the iconic DC Comics heroine. Many were concerned the character (created in 1941) would be too camp for a live-action film treatment in an era where audiences demand a sense of realism in their superhero movies. Thankfully, director Patty Jenkins and star Gal Gadot pushed the warrior goddess to impressive depths, bringing a believable and dangerous edge to the Justice League’s most nurturing and kind-hearted member without needing her to be surrounded by the Justice League. Now that everyone is on board for this Wonder Woman in this era, is it possible for Jenkins to defy expectations again with Wonder Woman 1984?
Set decades after the first film, Diana works as an anthropologist at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. She continues to fight crime as Wonder Woman while maintaining a level of animosity. When a mysterious ancient stone arrives at the Smithsonian, Diana examines it with the help of the institute’s shy geologist Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig). Both women unknowingly use the stone’s hidden powers to fulfil their desires: Diana’s deceased lover Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) returns to the world; and Barbara, frustrated of being ignored at work, wishes for Diana’s strength and beauty. However, the stone’s curse becomes more dangerous when a con-artist businessman Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) acquires the stone and uses it to trade wishes for power.
WW84 is a very polished and high-octane sequel. If ever a letdown, it’s only because its predecessor was so good. The movie is blessed with an ensemble of fine actors and fun action set-pieces, even when the plot at times feels overbusy and mechanical. At 2 hours and 35 minutes, Jenkins’ does run the risk of losing the audience’s interest, but despite its shortcoming, WW84 is a helluva time.
A Themiscyra prologue and Wonder Woman busting a mall heist is an early highpoint in the film, but it is followed by a talky first hour that builds on setting up characters and their personal dilemmas. While these are major turning points, the amount of exposition and plotlines does interfere with the pacing slightly. I can picture fanboys growing impatient by the lack of action or asking themselves, “Where is Wonder Woman?”.
It helps that Jenkins has some much-improved special effects at her disposal. She and cinematographer Matthew Jensen have traded the first movie’s sombre World War I tone with vibrant colours and buoyant direction (perhaps influenced by 80’s blockbusters). The first act’s slowness is redeemed by a high-voltage truck chase sequence in Cairo. While not as emotionally-impactful as the No Man’s Land battle in the first movie, it is nevertheless chill-inducing (I never knew Wonder Woman can bleed). Those who are familiar with the Wonder Woman lore will be delighted to see iconic elements from the comics re-introduced in this movie. We may be getting closer to the vintage Wonder Woman in future instalments.
While she is kept out of the iconic armour for a significant amount of time, Gal Gadot continues to be unstoppably likeable and Diana. As was the case in the first movie, she is the perfect package of beauty, strength and nurturing. I think my biggest issue with WW84 is it does little to advance the character of Diana (which is often the case for sequels that follow the origin story).
One area where WW84 is a clear improvement over its predecessor is the villain, and WW84 gives our hero two foes. Pedro Pascal steals the movie as Maxwell Lord, the unabashedly-greedy entrepreneur who embodies the “me first” mentality of the mid-80s (think Gordon Gekko, Patrick Bateman or Donald Trump). Never have I seen the Games of Thrones/The Mandalorian actor in such a theatrical light, with his pristine blonde locks, megawatt smirks and fetching suits. Then there’s Kristen Wiig. At first, it feels like Wiig is slipping back into her niche comedy as the meek Barbara with the nervous laughs. Once the character undergoes her mutant transformation, Wiig does a fine job selling the character’s dark desire for power without feeling like a copycat of Edward Nigma from Batman Forever.
WW84 isn’t quite as elegantly handled as the first film, but it has great action sequences, an intriguing personal dilemma for its heroine and two compelling villains. The fact that Jenkins was able to squeeze multiple storylines and characters into two-and-a-half hours without going off the rails is an impressive feat. As far as comic book sequels go, this is a cut above them.
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