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.

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman         

                                                                                                      June 6, 2017

Gender is a focus of this movie. Undeniably this is a female movie; the female cast (with a few male exceptions), the director even the film projectionist is female. The revenue for this film has been stunning (opening week north of $200m worldwide in the first weekend). Sexual labels aside, is this a film worth seeing?  YES !

The opening scenes in Amazonia, I mean Themyscira, were prosaic, with a little willful Diana being a naughty demi god. Quickly battles ensue and the Amazon warriors are twirling in the air shooting three arrows at a time and making three kills. This is a very impressive marriage of stunt work and CG. Besides Wonder Woman’s many powers (alas I did not see her invisible jet) it is Gal Gadot performance that makes Wonder Woman a creditable super hero. She is heroic, fearless and the best fighter you will see in a leather mini skirt. Being an undocumented demi-god she is a bit naive in the land of men. Her naiveté sets up endearing plot points with her co-star Chris Pine, who plays Steve Trevor. They definably have scene chemistry or this movie would have crash and burned (a hell of a lot better than with Bruce Wayne). Pine plays the role a bit like Captain Kirk from Star Trek, cool, cocky, self-assured but vulnerable with Wonder Woman.

The action shifts from Themyscira to World War I Europe and Wonder Woman is fully engaged in the fighting. At one point, she is a one-woman dynamo advancing the morbid trench line by yards deflecting rounds of bullets and mortar shells just with her shield and bad attitude. Interestingly her posse is all male. There is Steve Trevor, the heart throb; Saïd Taghmaoui as Sameer; master of disguise;  Ewen Bremner as Charlie, the Scottish sharpshooter and Eugene Brave Rock as the Indian Chief. Their comradery is infectious and they use their skills to fight Germain solders. Their arch enemy is General Erich Ludendorff, who with the deadly talents of a deformed female Doctor Maru, is researching toxic gases that could change the course of the war. The obvious comparison of the hideously deformed face of Dr. Maru to Diana’s beauty is evil versus good.

The film gets a bit off the rails when Wonder Woman battles Ares, God of War and Diana’s half-brother. This is lethal sibling rivalry, but it was a good platform to show case Wonder Woman’s fighting skills. The action sequences are as impressive as any successful comic centric film. No punches were pulled.

The producers of Wonder Women are using the “f” word…franchise. They see this movie as a catalyst for other DC super hero films, especially after recent flops. Hollywood desperately wants to expand the audience base for comic/adventure movies to include young females and their pocket books.  Wonder Women sequels will propel this movement. Maybe we will see the invisible jet in the next film.

Hellor High Water

Hell or High Water

This film takes place in Texas; maybe West Texas, but who cares. The film features prosaic tenets of old TV westerns. There are two brothers robbing banks, the hated foreclosures bank, the fat slow moving Texas Ranger who is smarter than he looked. There was a zaftig floozy making the moves on Pine’s character but nothing happened.

The movie’s mood is sullen. The small towns are dusty and lonely. The brazen robberies are a juxtaposition to the towns phlegmatic existence. Aside from a busted nose to one gets killed during the robbery.

Chris Pine is the quite smart brother. He is the brains behind the robberies. This is a chance for Pine to break away the “Captain Kirk” persona and show more dramatic talent. He did good job, but honestly nothing was a stretch.  Ben Foster the other brother who is an ex con who is impulsive and reckless.  They rob numerous small local banks. They only take the draw money. There is a method to their madness of which becomes apparent as the movie unfolds.  It is not complicated.

Texas is land of the Second Amendment. When you pull a gun out in a bank there is a high probably lots of guns pointing back at you. This scene was one of the few funny scenes in the movie.

Jeff Bridges is the Texas Ranger pursuing the brothers. His performance nearly highjacks the movie. Not only was his character portrayal great, but he was hysterical.  He has a long suffering partner named Alberto, who is half Mexican and half Comanche. Bridges spews a continues stream of ethnic jabs, which Alberto takes in good nature. They are like an old married couple.  Bridges is the wise old cop a few months away from retirement. He is tuned into the bank robbers and they play a deadly cat and mouse game.

This movie has received high acclamation from the critics. This not a great movie?  It a good movie. If you can restrain yourself wait for On Demand.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Now that the Oscar nomination season is behind us we can enjoy films with mindless violence and gratuitous sex. Regrettably this was not one of those films. There was more action than mindless violence with the exception of the opening scene which gave false hope of mayhem. The only sexy thing in the movie was Kiara Knightly. She is very attractive, but a pole dancer she ain’t.

The plot is somewhat complex, but thankfully there are enough bullets and explosions that your grasp of high finance does not strain your brain. The arch Russian enemy is played by Kenneth Branagh (he also directed). He typically plays a sophisticated Englishman with a public school accent. He tries hard to look menacing but with his pudgy London tanned face, he is not convincing.

Chris Pine (Star Trek/Captain Kirk) is the prequel Jack Ryan. He sports his signature cockiness. As with the other Jack Ryans (Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck) he uses his analytic prowess to source out clues. The ladies will not be disappointed.

Kevin Costner is reviving his movie career. He is the CIA handler who recruits Jack Ryan.  Costner always plays his roles with his trade mark cool confidence and this works well for him here.  In this film he supplements his confidence with a sniper rifle and deadly aim. There is a sort father son relationship between Costner and Pine, but Costner early recognizes Ryan’s analytical skills.

Kiara Knightly is Ryan’s fiancé. Not to give away any spoiler details she gets into the mix because of plot necessity. She plays the strong wily female with a dash of moxie. She does a good job but this role was a cake walk for her.

The plot involves high finance so you have to pay attention in the beginning. Mercifully the rest of the movie racks up body counts and there is some impressive pyrotechnics. The movie has a pacing problem, between finding clues and action. The film is more of like a caffeine buzz rather than an adrenaline rush. The two main locations are Moscow and Manhattan (it is fun seeing some of the old buildings). This is a nice winter movie, but if it is too cold stay home and wait for Netflix in the mail.