25 Dec Wonder Woman 1984 Analysis

WONDER WOMAN 1984

Bottom Line

Wonder Woman 1984 is a fun superhero movie, an inferior sequel to 2017’s Wonder Woman, and, despite its flaws, has a positive theme of the intrinsic value of earned greatness.

The Long Introduction

Christopher Nolan’s Inception is one my favorite films of all time, and there is a quote that occurred to me several times while watching WW84. While trying to create an effective strategy for planting a false idea in someone’s mind (a la inception), Leonardo DiCaprio states one ground rule for the process:

    “I think positive emotion trumps negative emotion every time. We all yearn for reconciliation, for catharsis.”

This quote applies to WW84 on multiple levels:

1. It is the underlying methodology for director Patty Jenkins emotional and tonal approach for the film–it’s great to have a hero that seeks out the positive, vice dwelling on the negative.
2. It is a rephrasing of the fundamental theme of the narrative, which is more clearly states by two characters (Robin Wright’s Antiope and Wonder Woman herself): Nothing good is born of lies. The converse is true, as stated most succinctly by St John, Chapter 8, verse 32: And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
3. It is the de facto fine line between those who find the film to be a heart-warming callback to Richard Donner’s Superman (1978), versus a cheesy, overbearing film out of touch with the time it of its release.

I will be referring back to these elements a few times, so I wanted to state them upfront for easy reference.

2017’s Wonder Woman was fantastic: it established Wonder Woman as the primary lead of DC’s film universe for many reasons, primarily by virtue of the fact that Gal Gadot’s titular character was the first superhero to be confident enough to look outward in helping others, as opposed to Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel and Batman v Superman, which established Superman and Batman as tormented by existential self-doubt, and anger because they are physically and emotionally cut off from the world around them. Wonder Woman not only salvaged the DCEU in many fans’ eyes (note: not mine…I think MoS and BvS are excellent films), but was a terrific period film, a solid origin story, and an all-around great superhero film with an emotional heart; all in the midst of Marvel’s incredible ramp-up to its Infinity Saga climax. These are all great accomplishments, and the only criticism that I ever agreed with was that the final fight between Wonder Woman and Ares was too heavy on CGI.

In the immediate aftermath, DC re-upped with Jenkins and Gadot, green-lit a sequel, and gave them more control over the entire process. And thus, WW84 began its journey to the big screen.

Except, it didn’t really. 2020 has been a dismal year for many individuals and businesses due to COVID-19. The particular characteristics of a viral pandemic stand in direct opposition to the entire film industry, particularly the ability to show films in theaters. If I’m not mistaken, WW84 was actually completed and could have been released in late 2019, but a schedule shift from Warner Brothers bumped it to April, not knowing that a novel coronavirus was about the ravage the Earth. And thus, WW84 joined virtually every movie scheduled for release post-February 2020 and got bumped, in some cases, multiple times. Warner Brothers tested the waters in September with TENET, which proved to be way too early to release a film in theaters, especially in the United States. WB lost a lot of money, and adjusted their business plans, largely at the behest of corporate overlord AT&T, and decided that, starting with WW84, all WB movies through the end of 2021 would be released simultaneously in whatever theaters could show them and on HBOMax, the new streaming service that AT&T is betting on to compete with Netflix, Disney+, and a few other major streaming services.

The end result of all of this chaos is that WW84 is being seen by some on the big screen, but most on HBOMax at home. And in my opinion, this has had a major effect on its reception. After seeing the movie in the theater myself, I watched several reviews on YouTube by people who had watched it at home on TVs and laptops. Their experience was a stark contrast to my own, and I think the viewing medium was the primary factor.

I live in Utah, and Megaplex Theaters, owned by Larry H. Miller, have remained open for most of the year, showing any new movie possible, mixed with a healthy (spectacular?!) variety of classics, old and new. I’m extremely grateful, because this allowed me to see WW84 twice this weekend on IMAX screens. And as I read about people’s complaints regarding certain particular aspects of the film, they seem to be related to the fundamental difference between the theaters experience versus the home experience. For example, I heard multiple complaints online about people that thought the final fight between Wonder Woman and Cheetah was impossible to follow (too dark, muddled, etc.) Well, on IMAX, in the theater, I thought it was a relatively well-choreographed fight with solid cinematography, avoiding the quick-cut trash that many action movies have relied on in recent years. Yes, the fight occurs at night, almost undoubtedly to hide the CGI necessary for a fight between a human/cheetah hybrid and a gold-armored superhero. But come on…the alternative is either a complete trash-fest like Pacific Rim: Uprising (daylight CGI fight!) or a movie so expensive it, spoiler alert!, doesn’t get made.

The 2020 pandemic has reminded me that nothing can replace the theater experience. For my birthday this year, and partially in response to the pandemic and the dramatic increase in time-at-home, I bought a brand new 65-inch LG OLED TV and a new SONOS Arc surround sound system for my basement. I am blessed with a better home viewing experience than 99% of the world, and I make no qualms about the fact that watching movies in the theater is superior in terms of picture and sound.

All of this is to say that I think WW84 is a superior experience on the big screen, and I will forever take any review of a new film based on home streaming (especially if they admit to watching it on a laptop) with a huge grain of salt.

With all of that said (1000+ words already…sorry), I’ll jump into the review. There were a lot of things I loved, a few things I liked, and a couple important things that I think bear criticism.

What I LOVED

To start with, both actresses that played Wonder Woman was excellent, but a special shoutout to Lilly Aspell, who plays young Diana. The entire opening of the movie, showing a Themiscyran Olympic Games, was hands-down awesome. The games were thrilling, the competition fierce, and seeing then

11-year-old Aspell more than hold her own was inspiringly fantastic. It was great seeing Robin Wright’s badass Antiope again in flashback (her character having died in the first movie). Most importantly, Jenkins does a flawless job of establishing the overall theme of the movie for the audience while also showing the heartbreaking means by which Diana learns that there are no shortcuts to victory; nothing good is born of lies, and taking a shortcut is a form of lying (at least in a sporting competition–be sure to provide that caveat to Tony Stark).

One of the best parts of both of Jenkins’ Wonder Woman films is the clear theme, followed by a narrative that supports and strengthens the importance of this theme. In the 2017 film, the theme of goodness overcoming evil through sacrifice and bravery is cemented in the iconic No Mans’ Land scene. Here, the theme of nothing good is born of lies pervades the entire film but is most clearly spelled out through the opening scene of Diana’s participation in the Themiscyran Games. And Aspell is the cornerstone of this entire opening, and her heartbreaking realization that what she thought was a clever shortcut to make up for a tragic mistake comprised cheating was devastatingly effective.

It also called back to a racing lesson stated overtly in the great Chariots of Fire, when a character loses a race because he looks back to see how close the competition was to passing him. Young Diana pointedly looks back several times throughout the race, and when she looks back at just the wrong moment, her horse runs beneath a tree and a branch knocks her off. I distinctly recalled that particular lesson from Chariots of Fire. It was so fantastically setup by Jenkins and executed by Aspell…just terrific.

Equally marvelous is Gadot’s portrayal of Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. Gadot has truly grown into the role and it feels seamless as she portrays both parts of the character’s life: superhero and alter-ego. Some may find it off-putting that Wonder Woman takes a backseat to Diana Prince, a la Spider-Man in Spider-Man 2 and Batman in The Dark Knight Rises, but unlike those characters, the personality of Diana and Wonder Woman does not change; she is a kind, thoughtful, selfless person in both roles, and Gadot exudes these characteristics perfectly. Much of the success of superhero films lies in the casting, and Gadot’s Wonder Woman is, in my opinion, as strong as RDJ’s Tony Stark and Henry Cavill’s Superman: there seems to be more than a little crossover between the public persona of the actors and the characters they are so prominently known for playing. Gadot seems to be a genuinely wonderful person in real life, and that is conveyed so well in the movie; a credit to her acting, as well as her collaboration with Jenkins’ directing and story.

There are two things that really stood out, endearing me even more to Gadot’s character. First, her initial interactions with Barbara Minerva were so kind and considerate. Barbara is a social outcast whose awkwardness is either subtly ignored or openly mocked by everyone around her. In Diana’s first encounter with Barbara, we get the predictable kindness in-the-moment, as Diana helps her pick up some papers she has dropped and chats with her briefly. However, shortly after, Diana takes the time to get to know Barbara, finding ways to compliment her, and bolster her confidence by highlighting her strengths in such a genuine way. Gadot’s performance is so complete, it is both inspiring and a reminder that we can all reach out to people around us to help them feel better about themselves. This is one way to show compassion and love that this film genuinely inspires, and I loved feeling like I was part of it. And again, it stands in such contrast to the gritty introspection and conflict of Snyder’s Superman and Batman, who I have to say are more heroic when they focus on helping people instead of dwelling on their own existential problems.

Which leads me to the second thing I loved about Gadot’s Wonder Woman: she saves people. A lot of people. Every chance she gets. If there was one thing that Man of Steel and BvS failed at showing, it was the day-to-day heroics of being a superhero. Yes, Kal-El saved the entire planet from being terraformed into Krypton 2.0, but as Lord of the Rings‘ Gimli states, “That still only counts as one!” Superheroes are inspiring in part because the audience suspends their disbelief just enough to think that maybe, just maybe, they might be saved in their own lives by the intervention of a superhero. WW84 follows up the excellent flashback scene of Diana’s childhood to a 10-15 minute introduction to 1984 that not only sets up the Dreamstone McGuffin of the film, but shows Wonder Woman joyfully saving a LOT of people in diverse situations. It recalled the tone of Donner’s Superman, but exceeded it on every level. It was genuinely thrilling to see Wonder Woman save men, women, and children from a variety of situations, both dire and mildly inconveniencing. And it makes it that much more believable and heartbreaking later in the movie when she states that she loves helping people and has never asked for anything.

All of this character and narrative work is on Gadot’s shoulders as she portrays Wonder Woman with the perfect mix of grace, compassion, power, and what I would call meekness: power born of humility and sacrifice. Jenkins and Gadot have truly reinvented Wonder Woman to be the equal of any iteration of Superman or Batman, and the greatest joy of WW84 was seeing THAT character work through the private and public conflicts faced in the movie.

There are other things I loved as well. Hans Zimmer (again) knocks it out of the park with the score for WW84, utilizing not only his Wonder Woman theme from BvS as the primary musical motif throughout the film, but also brought in his ‘Beautiful Lie’ scoring from BvS for the final emotional confrontation with main villain Max Lord, in which Wonder Woman challenges his offering to the entire world to grant any wish they desire, albeit at an unspecified (and often much worse) cursing upon the fulfillment of the wish. The music is not only fitting, but creates a powerful thematic connection to BvS, which featured the music in the opening poem read be Bruce Wayne as he contemplates the beautiful lie that was the promise of life with his loving parents in the moment they were murdered.

While this contrast defined Bruce’s lifelong dichotomy between Batman and Bruce Wayne, it stands as a singular representation of Wonder Woman’s successful overcoming of the great trial of her life, which was foreshadowed by the childhood competition in which she gave in to the temptation to cheat. The trial was fully realized as she overcame the consequences of the fulfillment of the one wish she had harbored in her heart for decades after the death of Steve Trevor. The musical score supported these moments and themes, and it was fantastic. I also really loved the incorporation of John Murphy’s ‘Adagio in D Minor’ from the film Sunshine, which was used after Diana tearfully renounces her wish and then, remembering Steve’s description of flying, learns to fly herself, and experiences a moment wonderfully similar Superman’s first flight in Man of Steel. Murphy’s ‘Adagio in D Minor’ is beautiful and works equally well in WW84 as it does in Sunshine. I would bet money they used it as a temp track, and Jenkins and Zimmer agreed that there was no need to reinvent the wheel when then music works so well.

I also really loved other performances in the film. Kristin Wiig in particular was awesome, as she transitioned from the awkward Barbara Minerva to the apex-predator Cheetah, mirroring Wiig’s own professional transformation on-screen from what seems to be a slightly muted version of any awkward character she played on SNL to being a legit dramatic actress. She literally transitions from being mild-mannered to incredibly threatening during the film, even before she actually takes on the Cheetah persona and appearance. It is amazing, and a solid reminder that many comedic actors have it within themselves to transition to dramatic work in powerfully effective roles. It was solid work, and fun to watch. Wiig is the real deal…a genuinely great actor with incredible range.

I’m also going to throw in Pedro Pascal, who does a great job as Max Lord in light of what he had to work with. He goes all in with the almost completely charming Lord; the shortcoming is a definite choice by Pascal to show that the reason Lord cannot achieve greatness is not a lack of ambition, dedication, or hard work; but a by-product of a childhood so abusive that he cannot shake the unstoppable need to be more powerful, so he never suffers again as he did under his father’s abusive rule. He really is a man that wants power to escape a bad situation, but never learned the skill necessary to recognize that he had everything he needed to be successful, except a finite understanding of what that success entailed. That said, I’m leaving Pedro Pascal here because he’s a great actor, but I’m shifting Max Lord to a later section…

Chris Pine also returns as Steve Trevor and does exactly what he always does: is ridiculously charming, good-looking, and exudes a confidence and certainty in doing the right thing that is only exceeded by Wonder Woman herself. Though again, I loved Chris Pine’s acting, but I’m dropping Steve Trevor to a different section.

The action and direction by Jenkins are also fantastic, as this movie shows that she has successfully made the transition from smaller films into giant blockbuster action films with what is almost certainly not ease but appears to be ease. I cannot imagine how challenging this process is, and not every director makes it through successfully. Jenkins clearly has everything she needs to succeed and will continue to have an awesome career–I can’t wait for her newly announced Star Wars Rogue Squadron film. In particular, her ability to present characters with clear emotional motivations is a great boon to her films, and something that filmmakers like Nolan could probably learn to emulate to their own benefit.

I want to finish this section with one more thing I loved: the thematic clarity of the film: Nothing good is ever born of lies. Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy had three underlying themes for each entry (Fear, Chaos, and Pain, respectively), while Jenkins seems to be setting up her Wonder Woman films with themes that explore aspects of what it means to be genuinely good. Wonder Woman showed that doing the right thing required sacrifice in the face of indifference and difficulty; that goodness was born of compassion for others besides yourself. Wonder Woman 1984 takes on the challenging flip side of goodness by presenting a cautionary tale that there are no shortcuts to genuine greatness. WW84 takes this theme and ensures that it is represented both in Diana’s personal conflict, as well as being the backbone of villain Max Lord’s world-ending plot. Diana’s wish to have Steve Trevor comes at a shocking cost, both overtly and by implication: she begins losing her powers, and Steve’s return is accomplished by…questionable means that I’ll address below. Similarly, the Dreamstone (both as a stone and as Max Lord) grants wishes that are a shortcut to getting what one desires above all else, but the cost is both unpredictable and unacceptably high. And yet, when one gets their greatest desire, does the cost matter anymore? This is the central conflict of the film, and it is explored both broadly and intimately through Max Lord and Diana Prince. Very, very well done…

What I LIKED

I really liked seeing Themescyra again, as well as Hippolyta and Antiope–I just wish there was more. I hope that Wonder Woman 3 involves more of all three, because crafting a mythology so complete and compelling deserves a bigger canvas. It was great in WW84, I just wanted a LOT more.

I really liked the setting of WW84. I was alive for the 80s, and any movie set in that decade has a certain expectation of both accurate and caricatured representation of the fashion, music, etc. While I liked the setting, I wish it had more 80s music (a common complaint). It was better than X-Men: Apocalypse (what isn’t better than that dumpster fire?!), but still underutilized the magnificent 1980s.

I also really liked the action scenes in the movie, but I admit that they were…not well paced throughout the movie. This isn’t a serious complaint because I think that having action scenes evenly dispersed throughout a movie is studio note, not a narrative requirement or even recommendation. That said, there were noticeably long periods of time that were devoted to storytelling and devoid of action, but the story was not compelling enough to entirely take my mind of the singular thought of “I want to see Wonder Woman doing more awesome action stuff”. In a way, I wonder if either the film needed a few more scenes to strengthen the narrative, or some judicious editing to cut some slack; it seems to dwell somewhere in the valley between the two peaks. Again, I really liked the action, I just would have preferred more…

What CONCERNED Me

There were two things that concerned me about WW84: the villains, and the unaddressed narrative implications of the movie.

First, the villains. Many superhero films are defined by the villain, a conundrum that essentially pushes the balance between the hero and villain into the limelight and creates a very thin line between amazing and disappointing, with little grey area.

WW84 features two villains: Max Lord and Cheetah. To be honest, I am not familiar with Wonder Woman’s rogue’s gallery, the phrase that describes the collection of villains that a hero typically squares off against in their comic book origins. It is generally accepted that Batman has the greatest rogue’s gallery, in part because his complex backstory creates many facets from which villains can be juxtaposed to present various kinds of challenges (mental, physical, etc.) Most Batman movies feature a triple-A villain as well as a secondary villain; think The Joker and Two-Face from The Dark Knight. The thing about Batman is that even his secondary villains can be incredibly realized iterations of well-known villains with their own backstory. The problem with Wonder Woman is that her rogues gallery is both unknown and, thus far, somewhat uninspiring, which leads me to believe that this is the real challenge with bringing the character to the screen.

Max Lord was played very well by Pedro Pascal, but in the grand scheme of things, he is merely a patsy in WW84, as the Dreamstone itself is given the briefest, most cursory explanation as being an object created by one of the gods that channels the primary character trait of that god into its method if interaction with humanity. Diana contrasts the Dreamstone with her Lasso of Truth, which not only compels the truth, but can show it as well (also, it can do a shload of other things now, but that’s another story…) Unfortunately, we never get any insight into who created the Dreamstone, and because that ancient Greek god is the real villain, it was unfortunate that Lord’s story is wrapped up in a somewhat anticlimactic way: after Wonder Woman talks to him (and the world) into renouncing their wishes, he just…runs out of the room and disappears. I suppose this might be the son’s wish being fulfilled (he wanted his dad back), but it felt…small. Not a supervillain at all, just a misguided man-child who badly needed therapy and a genuine hug.

Which is why Cheetah was undoubtedly brought in: Wonder Woman needs a physical challenge, because this is a superhero movie, and the hero needs to fight someone. But despite being an apex-predator (per Barbara’s wish), Cheetah has her ass handed to her by Wonder Woman. Yes, there was an earlier fight when Barbara beat Wonder Woman down, and that was a pretty great scene, but the climax of the movie was the lesser fight between the two…it was the obligatory hero beating a villain’s ass.

Both Cheetah and Max Lord felt like second-tier villains, especially after the first film, when Wonder Woman beat Ares, the God of War. I will readily admit that the villains fit the theme and narrative, but as X-Men: Dark Phoenix showed, ramping down the scale of a superhero franchise is tough-to-impossible; to my knowledge, only Logan managed to take an action-heavy franchise and make a superior (like, FAR superior) sequel that was significantly scaled down in scope.

I hope that a third entry in the series finds a way to bring back Cheetah (Kristin Wiig’s performance was great) but brings in a primary villain more worthy of Wonder Woman’s true capacity as a superhero. This dovetails with my desire to bring back more Themiscyra, as well, since that would open the door to Wonder Woman facing another Greek god-like villain that is a more formidable threat, both physically and existentially.

I also had a major problem with the unaddressed implications of the plot. For example, Steve Trevor is brought back by possessing the body of some random dude who kinda sorta looks like Chris Pine. For the benefit of the audience, Diana throws out a line of dialogue, like “All I see is the Steve I know”, and BAM!…for the rest of the movie, Chris Pine plays Steve Trevor, who is BACK, BABY! Except, he’s not. Even though the audience sees Chris Pine, it is made clear that Diana and every other character in the film sees random dude who is possessed by Steve Trevor’s spirit/ghost/essence. The implications of this are, to say the least, disturbing. Did random dude give any consent? Does Diana contemplate this issue of consent, since she is sleeping with a random dude’s body as possessed by Steve? Absolutely none of these moral/ethical implications is even acknowledged, much less addressed directly. And it seems even more creepy when Diana runs into random dude at the end of the movie. Shouldn’t a hero make at least some passive acknowledgment of the situation? Since she never showed any regret, her only motivation for renouncing her wish was devoid of any acknowledgment that as long as Steve was around, random dude was essentially suppressed into metaphysical slavery. What kind of disruption did his possession by Trevor entail to random dude’s life, family, friends, job, etc.? None of this is addressed at all. This is a stark contrast to how the Marvel films dealt with the implications of Thanos’ snap; at least two movies have directly addressed it so far.

And the problem scales up from there. Lord’s granted wishes quickly cause complete and utter global chaos, and when the wishes are renounced, everybody remembers what happened! Imagine the social and political implications of every country in the world acquiring and then actually using nuclear weapons; or millions of people suddenly becoming mega-wealthy; or even how wishes from two people might be in direct contrast to each other. There are some MASSIVE implications that come with the core conceit of the film, and all of that is completely ignored.

Now, there is an argument that addressing them would have been impossible from the perspective of runtime, effort, and narrative payoff it would provide; and it’s better to just “leave it to the audience’s imagination” or (as was chosen) just completely unaddressed. Plot holes are not uncommon in movies, but they are easily ignored in good movies, while they are unforgettable in not-good movies. I would argue that a plot hole this big is too big, especially at least some of the damage could be avoided. For example, why not just have Steve Trevor appear out of nowhere? Why go through the trouble of leaning into the fraught implications on non-consensual possession? Why not have everyone’s memory erased as the magic of the Dreamstone is nullified by Lord’s renunciation? I mean, it’s almost impossible to believe that a few months after Lord’s renunciation, it’s Christmastime and everything is back to completely normal with no sign that the world was literally second away from annihilation. The cognitive dissonance was too great, and THAT is why it is important to consider the implications of the actions of characters in a movie.

Conclusion

So, what do I think of WW84? Well, I did really enjoy it for what it is, and the best description of it is that it felt like a mediocre episode of a great TV show. It ends almost exactly as it started (without earning it, I might add), and the only change is that Diana has some measure of emotional closure related to Steve’s death many, many decades prior. That is really good for her, but there is a narrative isolation from the rest of the DCEU that feels like a missed opportunity. I really appreciated the bookends of the first movie that tied it into Affleck’s Batman character. WW84 has (from what I could tell) no ties to the DCEU at all. I am sure this is a consequence of where DC Films was at when the film was being made, but it means that WW84 was left to its own devices entirely, and there was not quite enough to be a satisfying stand-alone film.

But there is more than enough to enjoy, and I think that during the year of the global pandemic, a film that proudly shows that compassion and goodness can overcome the temptation to take shortcuts can be valuable and inspiring, but in a very stoic way; and that might not be a satisfying message for people that are 11 months into the pandemic and struggling to get by emotionally. Everyone’s mileage will vary because how we have endured 2020 is completely subjective. I found WW84 to be thematically relevant, powerful, and inspiring; I would not criticize anyone that feels that it is just the wrong message at the wrong time, I think that a more honest take on the implications of the events of the movie might have tempered the message, but when this movie was being written and filmed, nobody had any idea what 2020 would actually bring.

To circle back to the Inception quote, people are drawn to the character of Wonder Woman because they innately crave positive emotion, and it is more readily embraced than negative emotion. Wonder Woman 1984 builds on positive emotion, bringing catharsis and reconciliation to Diana, and also to an audience that is ready to accept the challenge that there are no shortcuts to true greatness.

I definitely recommend a theater if one is available and you feel safe but catching this on HBOMax is certainly worthwhile.

Analysis by Jim Washburn