WONDER WOMAN 1984: AN ENJOYABLE FILM THAT’S TRAPPED IN THE PAST
It always felt like there would be a lot riding on Wonder Woman 1984. The first Wonder Woman felt like a big win for DC and WB when it hit in 2017, garnering rave reviews from critics and audiences after the mostly mixed or negative responses to Man of Steel, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Suicide Squad. A follow-up to Wonder Woman seemed inevitable after it performed well at the box office in addition to its positive reception. Living up to expectations set by a well-received first film is always a tall order, but then WB announced that after several delays, Wonder Woman 1984 would be streaming on HBO Max simultaneously with the theatrical release, with the rest of their 2021 slate to follow. Now it seems that all eyes are on the sequel to see if this new distribution strategy will indeed be the way of the future or just a failed experiment.
One motif that seems to be repeating itself with DC film adaptations is that the director gets more creative freedom the second time around. After the success of Batman in 1989, Tim Burton only agreed to return for a sequel if he was given total creative freedom, and the result was Batman Returns. While generally well-liked today, Batman Returns received mixed reviews upon initial release, and WB declined to bring back Burton for a third film. Flash forward to 2005, where Batman Begins is released to positive reviews and moderate box office success, and director Christopher Nolan is given more creative freedom with the sequel, The Dark Knight, which paid off when the film broke box office records. This formula gets somewhat altered after the mixed reviews of Man of Steel, where it seems that director Zack Snyder was seemingly allowed to do whatever he wanted for the next film as long as it had Batman in it and built up to the Justice League movie, resulting in Batman V. Superman being even more divisive than it’s predecessor.
That happens once again with Wonder Woman 1984, with director Patty Jenkins being given much more creative freedom, and creates a film that feels tonally distinct and much more of her own film than the first one. Like Tim Burton’s second Batman film, this film seems to be garnering mixed reactions from both critics and audiences who were maybe expecting something much more in line with the trailblazing first film.
Wonder Woman 1984 follows a superhero sequel formula originated in Superman II where the hero decides to make a selfish decision by giving up their powers to be with the person they love. Much like Clark Kent deciding to give up his powers to be with Lois Lane, Diana Prince wishes upon a magical stone to bring her dead love, Steve Trevor, back to life, severely weakening her own powers as a result.
Meanwhile, failed oil tycoon Maxwell Lord also uses the same magical stone to further his own ambitions, plunging the world into chaos as a result. Both Gal Gadot and Chris Pine are excellent in this film, with Pine playing the fish out of water this time as opposed to the first film. Gadot once again shines as the title character, showing why her portrayal of Wonder Woman has become as iconic as Christopher Reeve as Superman or Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man. The chemistry between the two leads is part of the reason why the first film worked so well, so I can see why Jenkins would want to bring Chris Pine back for a second go-round. Props must also go to Kristen Wiig as Barbara Minerva/Cheetah and Pedro Pascal as Maxwell Lord, who both bring depth and humanity to their villainous characters.
As much as I enjoyed seeing Pine and Gadot together again in this movie, it’s also why this film doesn’t quite work. Jenkins tries to recapture the magic of the first film by focusing once again on the romance between Steve Trevor and Diana Prince, but it all feels a bit too familiar. Capturing lightning in a bottle is hard, and it’s even more difficult to do it a second time, and trying to recapture the spark that the two leads had in the first film means that this movie doesn’t really tread new ground. I also feel like Jenkins was a little too reverent to the classic Superman films, as I mentioned before with Diana having the same arc as Clark Kent in Superman II, which we’ve also seen shades of in Spider-Man 2 and The Dark Knight. Barbara Minerva’s journey feels familiar as well because we’ve seen the “envious nerd that becomes a villain” arc done in Batman Forever, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Iron Man 3. By taking elements of previous comic book sequels before it as well as emulating the first film, Wonder Woman 1984 feels like it lacks an identity of its own.
The decision to set this film in the 80s ultimately works against it as well. Thematically, I see why Jenkins wanted to set this film in the 80s, a time of peak capitalism and greed, but those aren’t concepts that are exclusive to that time period. One of my inherent problems with prequels is that they lack stakes because we ultimately know how they’re going to end, and Wonder Woman 1984 can’t escape that problem. Since Batman V. Superman, Justice League, and every other DCEU movie takes place after this film, we already know that somehow Wonder Woman is going to save the day and make it out in one piece.
Despite all of these issues, I still enjoyed Wonder Woman 1984 for being an earnest film that wears its heart on its sleeve. The excellent cast is the clear highlight of this film, with every actor absolutely committing 100% to their roles. While it tries to reach for the same highs as the first film, Wonder Woman 1984 feels like it went big and ambitious as far as scope but played things safe and familiar story-wise. It’s ironic that this film is being used to potentially usher in a new era of film distribution since it’s so mired in the past. Perhaps time will be kind to this film and show that Patty Jenkins just wanted to make a fun and earnest film like the superhero films that inspired her before it, but unreasonable expectations, culture shifts, and a new release strategy have placed a lot of baggage on a film that doesn’t seem concerned with treading new ground.
James Reinhardt