![]() ![]() I should know, since I was a mall-rat high schooler myself in those days. I’m sure there are minor anachronisms here and there, but the overall period is affectionately captured. Note: There is a delightful conceit in observing the past of 36 years ago as the “the future.” Like the Duffer Bros’ “Stranger Things,” WW84 revels in ’80s nostalgia- right down to the teased mullets, Miami Vice-fashions and t-shirt dresses (loved seeing a B. Put a kid or a puppy in danger and you instantly have an audience’s attention, right? Well, sometimes cliches are cliches because they work. Right off, there is an action sequence set in a big ’80s-looking mall, where Diana foils a hostage situation following a seemingly-botched robbery at a high-end jewelry outlet. With her costume colors tweaked to be a little brighter than we saw in the previous movie, the ageless Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) has settled into a life in Washington DC, working as a researcher at the Smithsonian…an immortal woman, hiding in plain sight. With scan-line opening titles suggesting a old cathode-ray TV set, and some wild color pop, we cut to the summer of 1984 the time of Reagan, MTV, big hair, the space shuttle, neon lighting, and a large indoor shopping mall in every city. Filled with filtered golden/green hued scenery, the opening sequence is set in a taller IMAX-friendly aspect ratio of 1.85:1, unlike the rest of the film, which is narrowed into a 2.39:1 image. Note: Once again, director Jenkins does a beautiful job of recapturing the mythic feel of Themyscira from the previous movie. This is the first of several simple lessons to be gleaned from the film–cheaters never win. During the competition, the ambitious young Diana takes a shortcut, causing her to forfeit her win, thus earning the scorn of both mother and mentor. With Diana’s mother Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) and mentor Antiope (Robin Wright) watching the games, the young woman feels tremendous pressure to best her competition at any cost. The film opens with a flashback to Themyscira, the secret island of mythical female warriors and a young demigoddess child named Diana (Lily Aspell), who is competing in a decathlon with adult warriors. Young demigoddess Diana chooses the quick and easy path–to failure. screen to approximate a theatrical experience safely from our home. Wonder Woman wants her MTV.įor full disclosure, I didn’t attend a theatrical screening of WW84 my wife and I streamed the film via HBOMax using a digital projector and collapsible 7 ft. The 2020 sequel, “Wonder Woman 1984” has loosened things up a bit, and the result, while somewhat less epic than the 2017 film, is entertaining enough, though in a very undemanding way. That’s not to say there weren’t moments of humor and lightness, but the grim World War 1 setting and epic battle of the gods that transpired made it clear that film wasn’t going to be invisible jets and camp. “Wonder Woman” (2017) made the concept viable for the 21st century.ĭirector Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman” (2017) had a similar mission statement to take its subject matter seriously. “You will believe a man can fly” was Superman’s tagline. The trick was for the audience to fully invest in the character, with no winks or camp. Back in 1978, director Richard Donner’s “Superman: The Movie” took a then-silly idea of a comic book hero in tights and made it viable for broad audience appeal.
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