WW1984

WW1984 (HBO  Max)

I am having a bit of trouble writing this review. This movie has been widely anticipated but parts it are disappointing. The first Wonder Woman film in 2017 (for the rest of the review the shorthand will be WW2017) was a success on several fronts. It introduced a new superhero into the DC franchise and also  made a big push for the coveted female audience. Patty Jenkins received high praise for directing a mega hit which garnished  93% from Rotten Tomatoes and a box office of $882m (budget $140m).

WW1984 has some problems, mainly with the script and casting. The script for WW2017 had a continuous arch, the story was focused on WW I. Even when it expanded into mythology , when Diana battled Ares (God of war) the story remained coherent.

In WW1984 the script is all over the place and is over ambitious. It starts with the schemes of a lowly Ponzi con man, played by Pedro Pascal, and escalates  into an apocalyptic crisis. The premise  of the story is  based a combination of Aladdin and Midas myths. This approach is taken to absurd  levels. Even comics have to be somewhat rational.

Gal Gadot is beautiful and an effective superhero. Her character is basically a continuation of  WW2017. Aside from showing some new childhood experiences with the Amazons, Jenkins does not take this opportunity to further develop Diana’s character. How has she handled the last 66 years? It would make her character more interesting.

 Pedro Pascal is one of the villains. His performance is absolutely awful. He over acts, his mannerisms are exaggerated even his speech is annoying. He needed better directing .The other villain, villainess, is played by Kristen Wiig.  She is best known as a  comedian who played in  Bridesmaids and was a former member of SNL. She is miscast in this role. She first appears as a dorky gemologist and is transformed in to an uber villain. It just does not work. Her evil persona is forced and not convincing.

As you may recall in WW2017, Steve Treavor (Diana’s lover), played by Chris Pine, died while piloting a German aircraft filled with poison gas  and crashed  into the ocean.  As part of the WW1984 plot he is  brought back to life. His resurrection is lame. The writers lacked imagination or were just looking for an easy way out to bring Trevor back.

The film does have a lot of action although the main fighting scenes come  in the latter parts. I am not sure why they picked 1984. Some of the  outfits were hideous. Chris Pine wears the ubiquitous  Men’s Club jacket of the 80’s. Gadot looks stunning in anything. Part of Kristen Wiig’s transformation into the dark side is wearing  tacky outfits.

China is a big market for superhero movies. The producers anticipated a box office of $58m, but only realized $18m (Covid was not big factor). With most movie theaters closed in America current  box office is not a measure of success. WW84 was released on HBO Max for free. One explanation for doing this  was the producers wanted to keep the fan base in tack. WW2017 had a Rotten Tomato score of 93%, WW1984 scored 66%. There is word of WW III.