Review Tuesday: Wonder Woman 1984

 

Wonder Woman

1984

Wonder Woman resurfaces to fight an ancient destroyer of civilizations.

I was surprised to learn, fairly recently, that Mrs Bax0jayz happens to be a fan of Wonder Woman. So when she asked about seeing the most recent film, I couldn't resist! 

 

In 1984, nearly 70 years after the events of Wonder Woman, Dianna Prince (Gal Gadot) is an anthropologist who works for The Smithsonian. And lives a lonely existence because she still misses Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) enormously. When the FBI drops off an antiquity to be analyzed by gemologist Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig) the wheals are set in motion for disaster. It appears to be a cursed item from an ancient god that has caused the fall of multiple civilizations over the millennia. Unfortunately, before they figure this out, con-man Max Lord (Pedro Pascal) uses the full power of the relic for his scheme. 

 

From that point on, it's up to Wonder Woman to put a stop to Lord's plan before the world is destroyed. 

 

I had heard some pretty bad reviews about this movie, mostly that it's too woke, so I went into this with pretty low expectations. Also, I generally don't care for the DC Universe, so that normally keeps me grounded when I watch these. Surprisingly, I found it entertaining. I didn't find the woke issues that others had complained about. The movie is called WONDER WOMAN and the star will be WONDER WOMAN. Her super villain nemesis in the movie is Barbara Minerva who becomes Cheetah because of the powers of the relic. So it would be an all female super battle. Actually, a couple of them. And while everyone already knows that Gal Gadot is distractingly sexy on screen, Kristen Wiig holds her own as well. The other aspect that held my attention was Max Lord's storyline. First, it's really interesting to see him out of the Mandalorian armor, which is the role I know him for best. Plus his emotive range is really impressive, as well as the difference in his speech for this role. I am not sure what the real Pedro sounds like, but this guy is clearly a great actor. His descent into near-madness as he tries to become the most powerful man in the world is brilliant. 

 

So, yeah, I liked it. I told my wife (who fell asleep a couple times while we watched this movie, which could be another indicator) that I wasn't entirely sure if the movie held my attention because it was worth watching, or because Gal Gadot was so radiantly stunning on the screen, even when she was injured or roughed up. The movie is over two and a half hours, so it is a significant investment of time, but I felt it was fun and worth it. 

 

 

Some things to consider. Why the 1984 story-line? In order for this to fit into the Justice League story-line, her exploits needed to have been off the radar, and going back a couple decades was a good way to deal with that. Also, be sure to see the end credits scene with Lynda Carter as Asteria, who was the Amazonian warrior who originally wore the gold armor and sacrificed herself to save the world.     

Watch it on AMAZON