Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Patty Jenkins
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, Robin Wright, Connie
Nielsen
The theatrical cut of Richard Donner's 1978 classic
Superman: The Movie
runs for two hours and 23 minutes, and it packs a hell of a lot into that
runtime. We see the destruction of the planet Krypton; a young Kal-El
discovered by the Kents and raised in the MidWest hamlet of Smallville; an
adult Clark Kent travelling to the Arctic where he learns of his past before
moving to the bustling city of Metropolis and taking a reporting job at The
Daily Planet; Kent falling for fellow reporter Lois Lane, who only has eyes
for his Superman alter ego; criminal Lex Luthor developing a nefarious
scheme to destroy the land west of the San Andreas fault; Superman foiling
said plot; and of course lots of time is devoted to the bread and butter of
life as Superman, as we watch him thwart various criminals while even
finding the time to rescue a cat from a tree.
Wonder Woman 1984 is eight minutes longer than Donner's film,
yet I'm struggling to recall just how it managed to stretch its threadbare
plot out to such a length. In Hollywood at least, effective, economical
storytelling appears to be a lost art. The numerous events depicted in
Superman: The Movie would likely require an entire trilogy if
it were made now, as today's blockbuster screenwriters seem to need three
scenes to convey an idea that should only require one.
This latest instalment of the DCEU franchise finds Diana Prince aka Wonder
Woman (Gal Gadot) living in 1984 Washington DC, where she works at a
museum while fighting crime on the side. The movie's highlight comes early
as Wondie foils some thieves stealing artefacts hidden in a mall's jewellery
store. With our hero winking at wide-eyed children, it's a sequence designed
to evoke the Superman movies of the era it's set in, and while it's
certainly nothing new, it's a refreshingly fun aside in a sub-genre that
usually takes itself far too seriously.
WW84 breaks out that most '80s trope of the fish out of
water, with Chris Pine's Steve Trevor brought back to life through
the magic powers of a macguffin rock that allows its owner one wish. Steve
is beguiled by the advances in technology and enamoured by the polyester
fashion. If you've seen movies like Time After Time and
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, this will all be very familiar, but Pine and Gadot share such a goofy
chemistry that you'll overlook the lack of originality.
As is often the case with these movies, WW84 suffers from a
lack of interesting villains. Pedro Pascal's Max Lord is a JR Ewing
wannabe who gets his hands on the macguffin rock and uses it to become the
most powerful man in the world. His arc is awkwardly written, his rise to
power taking up what feels like an age as he relies on coercing other
powerful figures into making wishes that benefit him. With so many people
having their wishes granted, the world soon turns to bedlam, and the film
itself similarly becomes anarchic as it loses sight of what should be a
simple premise.
One villain never seems to be enough in these things, and so here we get
Kristen Wiig as Richard Pryor from Superman III. Sorry, I mean as Barbara Minerva, a put upon archaeologist whose wish is
granted and so becomes the super-villain Cheetah, who is essentially a cheap
knockoff of Catwoman, but with the PVC catsuit replaced by CG fur that makes
her look like a refugee from
Cats. Wiig is a fun presence initially, but once she transforms (largely
through the old cliché of a woman being revealed as attractive simply by
removing her glasses) the film can't find anything interesting for her to do
apart from throw stuff around.
What's most interesting, and perhaps commendable about
WW84 is how surprisingly anti-nostalgic it is. Aside from a
blast of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, the soundtrack is curiously bereft of
'80s bangers. Instead the movie focusses on the negative legacy of the
decade, the rise of rampant consumerism and the obsession with greed. It's a
remarkably misanthropic film, with the world plunged into chaos by the
narcissistic wishes of its population. At the same time, there's something
elitist about all this, a sort of old money versus new money dynamic between
the nobility born with power and the plebs who suddenly have it foisted upon
them.
That bit of subversion aside, WW84 is as generic as any other
superhero movie. In the US it's controversially being released to stream on
HBO Max, making it arguably the biggest ever straight to video release. For
those across the pond who choose to watch it in their living rooms - or
heaven forbid, on their phones - they won't be losing out on much, as it's a
film devoid of big screen spectacle, one that resembles an expensive TV show
rather than a tentpole blockbuster. Combine its lack of visual storytelling
with its needlessly complicated plotting and you have a Wonder Woman movie
that offers much to wonder about but little to wonder at.
