Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kirsten Wiig, Pedro Pascal, Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen, Lilly Aspell, Amr Waked, Kristoffer Polaha, Lucian Perez, Stuart Milligan, Shane Attwooll, Lilly Aspell, Lynda Carter.
A wish is humanity’s way of avoiding the hard work it takes to make a dream come true; the immediate hit of gratification in problem solving or gaining advantage is there as a get out clause for the thought it takes to embrace the struggle and see the objective from all sides, to take every possible move into consideration.
We all would like to see our lives changed for the better, but by leaving it to the genie in the bottle we risk our wishes being corrupted, we risk losing all we had for the four-letter word that can stir up more drama, trouble, and ill-feeling than almost any other way possible available to human expression.
A wish, a powerful statement steeped in misunderstanding and a deeper vocal magic than we realise, and perhaps one that exemplifies the sequel to the enormously satisfying Wonder Woman film of 2017, for every fan must have wished for more, the perfect superhero film granted another life, and arguably one that was traded for the sake of continuality.
In Wonder Woman 1984, Patty Jenkins brings the Amazonian closer to the modern-day Diana Prince the audience encountered in the deeply divided Batman Vs Superman, and yet trades her in for the wish of pushing the hero into a realm that does not have the gravitas that was fully realised in Wonder Woman’s first solo outing on the big screen.
For many watching the film, the early 80s is as alien a concept as the harrowing era entrenched in World War One, and admittedly for a while it works, it has the humour sewn through it which sees D.C.’s rivals Marvel use without apology, it utilises the effects available with stunning effect, and the backstory of Diana’s young life still manages to bring humility to the proceedings; all this though soon dissipates as Pedro Pascal as Maxwell Lord is given greater prominence than Kirsten Wigg’s Barbara Minerva/Cheetah.
Where Lord is the epitome of greed in a period of time that disgustingly praised the base emotion, it is to Kirsten Wiig’s seething portrayal of primal jealousy which catches the narrative eye, and one that unfortunately is resolved without troubling consequence, aping the fate of Maxwell Lord in a way that brings the idea of gender stereotyping at its most basic level to the fore.
Every wish has its aftereffect, its aftermath, and if you cannot make your life work without reducing it down to instant fulfilment, then the karma visited is of greater significance. Wonder Woman 1984 is a good film, but it pales into the background by a huge margin of its superior predecessor. Fun – undoubtedly, graphically pleasing – absolutely, fulfilling… sadly the film is in the end one of slight regret; the wishes of millions of fans, exchanged for the instant hit.
Ian D. Hall