Wonder Woman continues to be the hero Warner Bros relies on to carry the DCEU franchise.
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*Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers.
Gal Gadot returns as the Amazon warrior princess Wonder Woman for the fourth time in Patty Jenkins helmed Wonder Woman 1984, the highly-anticipated non-sequel to the pair’s successful first outing.
The movie starts off with an empowering prologue in Themiscyra, the homeland of the Amazons. We see a young Diana competing with women much older than her in what can only be perceived as a women’s-only Triwizard Tournament meets the Hunger Games. In this sequence, one important message is shared by none other than fan favourite Antiope played to perfection by Robin Wright and that is “No true hero is born from lies.”
While it may seem the whole sequence was birthed as an excuse to bring Wright back, Jenkins and Geoff Johns (who co-wrote the script together) manage to seamlessly incorporate it into their very 80s stylised movie.
Wonder Woman aka Diana Prince, now living in 1984, is fittingly working as an anthropologist at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. Here is where she meets one of the movie’s two antagonists - Kristen Wiig’s quirkily charming and vulnerable Barbara Minerva - and learn of the Dreamstone, an ancient citrine artifact with magic powers that can grant the wish of anyone who touches it. But much like the Monkey’s Paw, the stone grants a wish with a catch - it drains the wisher of something of their own. Important message to learn #2: Everything comes with a price.
Then there’s Maxwell Lord - the movie’s other antagonist - a fake oil tycoon who’s been researching the Dreamstone and plotting to get his hands on the ancient artifact for his own gain. When he does, he absorbs its mystical properties, granting wishes to anyone he comes across and robbing them of their own precious gifts and treasures in return. This of course causes a chain reaction of devastation across the globe.
Diana - Amazon princess, style icon and beautiful goddess - has all but one thing she will ever wish and hope for - to have the love of her life Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) with her again. Like Wright, Pine's return never feels forced and even gave the movie a bout of unexpected comedic flair.
Unfortunately, having him back means losing her superhero abilities so of course Wonder Woman does what every superhero would do - put the world and everyone else before themselves - and renounces her wish to gain back her powers to save mankind once again, even if it means losing her lover.
Hans Zimmer returns to score another superhero movie after announcing his retirement when he finished on Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice back in 2016 (he also did X-Men: Dark Phoenix but the less we acknowledge the existence of that movie, the better). Whether you’re a fan of his work or not, you’ll be sure to recognise the composer’s orchestral work in a heartbeat if you’ve seen enough movies that feature his work.
There is a momentous scene where Wonder Woman “learns to fly” as she recalls a sentiment her dead boyfriend wistfully said about flying. The score reaches peak Zimmer in this vulnerable moment but Jenkins kept it going for a minute too long that it almost becomes too much, especially after it cuts to a scene that doesn’t share the same high. Maybe if you viewed it as an 80s movie would this scene be refered to as iconic but we can't forget that it is now the 21st century and Warner Bros really needs to step up their CGI game.
As good as the movie was in its first hour, it begins to transcend into a chaotic mess, echoing the sentiments of its content. Wiig’s Minerva finally gets her Cheetah spots but it’s less satisfying than expected and her final face-off with Wonder Woman felt like an opportuned moment for Diana to don her shiny MacGuffin of a gold armour that did no significant damage.
Wonder Woman 1984 is by no means perfect but it’s definitely a good escape for anyone longing for a Hollywood action-packed blockbuster to entertain them in these pandemic times, even if it’s just for a couple of hours.
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