Wonder Woman 1984

[addiesin]

There's also some Thor mixed in. Offspring of a god from an ancient polytheistic religion in a mythological paradise isolated from the real world is sent to Earth to be a fish out of water, fall in love quickly with a human who at first seemed quite disagreeable, find themselves embraced by their earthly friends, and fight a big CGI monster man with horns at the end, only to lose their human loved one (either through death or merely separation) in a way that was avoidable. Both start naive like children and seem to grow up, despite already being adults and both being hundreds of years old. Also both have to realize their real power is inside them, which is less about being motivated or heroic and more about literally controlling lightning.

(This description more or less works for all three Thor movies and more or less also Disney's Hercules, so the real conclusion is that it's just a bunch of tropes.)

 

[mnkykungfu]

I get what you're saying @"addiesin" , but some of that seems like a stretch to me.  Thor isn't "naive" for example, he just doesn't know what a horse is.  He's very aware of how ridiculous his whole world sounds to humans, and doesn't even try to explain it until he bonds with Jane later. He's not embraced by friends at first, either...they all say he seems crazy and dangerous and try to convince Jane to stay away. Loki isn't a "big CGI monster man", etc.  I think you're picking a few bits from 3 different Thor movies, whereas @"hbenthow" was showing direct parallels between the first Captain America film and the first Wonder Woman film.  I'm pointing out direct correlations between the two sequel films.

 

[addiesin]

I get what you're saying @"addiesin" , but some of that seems like a stretch to me.  Thor isn't "naive" for example, he just doesn't know what a horse is.  He's very aware of how ridiculous his whole world sounds to humans, and doesn't even try to explain it until he bonds with Jane later.

Naive isn't the first word I'd choose for Thor but I think it fits well enough. Thor 1 he thought he could just take his hammer from the government site and got himself locked up, in Thor 2 he trusted Loki and got his hand cut off (which, yes, turned out to be a ruse), in Thor 3 he dropped his guard on the trash planet and got enslaved.

He's not embraced by friends at first, either...they all say he seems crazy and dangerous and try to convince Jane to stay away. Loki isn't a "big CGI monster man", etc. 

Not at first obviously, it's the friends you meet along the way, they trust him by the end. Thor 2 less so, then it works with Valkyrie in Thor 3.

He didn't fight Loki in Thor 1, he fought The Destroyer robot. In Thor 2 it was the mutated elf guy (who might be practical and not cgi but I'm not sure), in Thor 3 it was Surtur (though this was played for laughs).

I think you're picking a few bits from 3 different Thor movies, whereas @"hbenthow" was showing direct parallels between the first Captain America film and the first Wonder Woman film.  I'm pointing out direct correlations between the two sequel films.

I actually wrote my whole post about Thor 1 but realized after that the others are structured really similarly.

 

[Canon Editor]

Stories and arcs are very similar since humanity ever started telling stories to one another. This goes beyond movies, and extends to literature, theatre and comic books too. In the end it's all a matter of which story is told the best. 

 

[mnkykungfu]

Yeah, no, not what I'm saying.  If you look at @"hbenthow" 's post, there are incredibly-specific details that match up at nearly the same time-markers in two specific films.  The endings to Captain America- The First Avenger and Wonder Woman have virtually the exact same story for both Steves, for example.  

I'm not going to try to convince anyone who doesn't see it, just clarifying that I'm not talking about tropes or typical action film plot structure.  I'm not someone who lumps lots of films together, superhero or not, and says "they're all the same".  The devil is in the details, and sometimes it seems that details are borrowed from films that work to be repurposed for other films, e.g. this new take on Steve Trevor.  Just my observation, if somebody doesn't see it, that's fine.

 

[addiesin]

Yeah, no, not what I'm saying.  If you look at @"hbenthow" 's post, there are incredibly-specific details that match up at nearly the same time-markers in two specific films.  The endings to Captain America- The First Avenger and Wonder Woman have virtually the exact same story for both Steves, for example.  

I'm not going to try to convince anyone who doesn't see it, just clarifying that I'm not talking about tropes or typical action film plot structure.  I'm not someone who lumps lots of films together, superhero or not, and says "they're all the same".  The devil is in the details, and sometimes it seems that details are borrowed from films that work to be repurposed for other films, e.g. this new take on Steve Trevor.  Just my observation, if somebody doesn't see it, that's fine.

I see what you're saying and agree, and was/am just trying to add to the conversation. Wonder Woman the movie has a lot of similarities to both Captain America and Thor's first movies.

Here's hoping her second solo outing more resembles Cap 2 than Thor 2.

 

[hbenthow]

Here's hoping her second solo outing more resembles Cap 2 than Thor 2.

I don't think that it's going to resemble either very much. The entire plot was leaked about 11 months ago by someone who had seen a test screening, and the trailers that came out later (especially the second trailer, which was released many months later) appear to confirm everything in the leak.

The story (presuming it's still the same as the version that was described in the leak) is bonkers, albeit an interesting morality tale/fable. Imagine an episode of "The Twilight Zone" with a touch of "The Wolf of Wall Street" mixed in, but with more romance, humor, and action (including a "Raiders of the Lost Ark" homage) all slathered in a rich coating of 1980s glitz. Whether all that works well on screen is yet to be seen.

There's finally a definitive release date. It's going to be released on HBO Max on December 25, with a limited theatrical run starting the same day.

'Wonder Woman 1984' Heading to HBO Max, Theaters Dec. 25 - The Hollywood Reporter

Also, here are some short marketing/product placement featurettes that reveal a little footage not shown in the trailers:

 

[hbenthow]

Featurette:

Bloopers:

Opening scene:

 

[TM2YC]

WW84 is on at my local cinema tomorrow starting from 1pm.  Cool to have movies back for at least a while.  I'm doing something else tomorrow but I'll definitely be watching this in the next couple of days.

 

[hbenthow]

WW84 is on at my local cinema tomorrow starting from 1pm.  Cool to have movies back for at least a while.  I'm doing something else tomorrow but I'll definitely be watching this in the next couple of days.

Tomorrow? I thought it wasn't getting released anywhere until the 25th?

Will you give us a review?

 

[TM2YC]

WW84 is on at my local cinema tomorrow starting from 1pm.  Cool to have movies back for at least a while.  I'm doing something else tomorrow but I'll definitely be watching this in the next couple of days.

Tomorrow? I thought it wasn't getting released anywhere until the 25th?

Will you give us a review?

It's tomorrow in the UK. We don't have HBOmax, so different rules apply I guess. Hopefully I'll do a positive review.

 

[Malthus]

It's tomorrow in the UK. We don't have HBOmax, so different rules apply I guess. Hopefully I'll do a positive review.

As much as I wish to see this in the cinema I live in a tier 3 area so it's off the cards for now.

 

[stferguson78]

We’re booked to see this on the big screen on Saturday night at least as long as the cinemas don’t get closed down again before that! Early non spoiler reviews seem reasonably positive so I’m optimistic, though the CgI cheetah in the trailer make doomsday look like the T-Rex from Jurassic Park!

 

[TM2YC]

I've tried to avoid spoilers but I'm not claiming this review is totally spoiler free...

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Maybe it's partly because I haven't watched a superhero movie at all since April 2019's 'Endgame' and this was only the second new blockbuster I'd had the chance to see on a big cinema setup in 2020 but I absolutely loved 'Wonder Woman 1984'!!! 

Reveal message

It's got a few clunky bits of exposition and the main child actor is wooden but my only real complaint would be that I got face ache from smiling for 2.5 hours straight .   Hans Zimmer's score is the first thing that hit me, he's done this wonderful joy filled reworking of the Wonder Woman action theme (check out his opening 'Themyscira' track).  Without his triumphant music, that grand opening sequence might be a bit indulgent to simply setup the theme of the movie "winning by cheating isn't winning".  I'd realised from the first trailer who the movie's antagonist was going to be based on but where a lesser film would've been content with having a pop at him, Patty Jenkins digs deeper into the secret pain that would cause a charlatan to have such a self-deluded, avaricious personality.  There's this scene in a lift where he's left all alone, with no media spotlight, where he looks so sad and pathetic, it's almost enough to make you feel sorry for the real guy (almost).  The secondary antagonist is also fully rounded and has understandable motives.

Chris Pine and Gal Gadot have great chemistry again and although the method for bringing him back is indeed just magic, it's actually done with a really clever idea that's deeply rooted in the plotting.  Pine's fish-out-of-water stuff was hilarious but the tube train sequence was a total f**k up.  If the writers had bothered to do their research they'd have known that London, where Pine's character was living before he died, had tube trains since the mid 19th century and had escalators widely installed at the time of WWI.  The 35mm/70mm visuals looked fab and the CGI was mostly top notch (hey 'Cats', this is how you do it).  If the movie was indeed 100% finished at least a year ago, then wow is it prescient and perfect for it's eventual December 2020 release.  The theme of accepting defeat, all the material about sexual harassment, the ecstatic 4th of July fireworks and the warm fuzzy Christmas ending are so well judged.  By the way, definitely wait for the fun mid-credits sequence.

It lives up to last years brilliant 'Blue Monday' trailer:

I'm going to be listening to this track a lot:

EDIT: Added spoiler tags just to be on the safe side.

EDIT: Looks like this has a mode-average rating of 4/5 stars on Letterboxd.  I've gone for 4.5/5.

 

[Malthus]

I've tried to avoid spoilers but I'm not claiming this review is totally spoiler free...

Fab! Really glad it was good. Sadly all my local cinemas are unable to open but I'm going to skip the VOD in January in favour of seeing it on the big screen.

 

[TM2YC]

I've tried to avoid spoilers but I'm not claiming this review is totally spoiler free...

Fab! Really glad it was good. Sadly all my local cinemas are unable to open but I'm going to skip the VOD in January in favour of seeing it on the big screen.

Yeah this is one that's worth seeing on the big screen IMO but that's gonna be hard in a lot of places. I'm kinda expecting the cinemas in the UK to rapidly close down again (the ones that weren't already closed).

 

[stferguson78]

I've tried to avoid spoilers but I'm not claiming this review is totally spoiler free...

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Maybe it's partly because I haven't watched a superhero movie at all since April 2019's 'Endgame' and this was only the second new blockbuster I'd had the chance to see on a big cinema setup in 2020 but I absolutely loved 'Wonder Woman 1984'!!! 

Reveal message

It's got a few clunky bits of exposition and the main child actor is wooden but my only real complaint would be that I got face ache from smiling for 2.5 hours straight .   Hans Zimmer's score is the first thing that hit me, he's done this wonderful joy filled reworking of the Wonder Woman action theme (check out his opening 'Themyscira' track).  Without his triumphant music, that grand opening sequence might be a bit indulgent to simply setup the theme of the movie "winning by cheating isn't winning".  I'd realised from the first trailer who the movie's antagonist was going to be based on but where a lesser film would've been content with having a pop at him, Patty Jenkins digs deeper into the secret pain that would cause a charlatan to have such a self-deluded, avaricious personality.  There's this scene in a lift where he's left all alone, with no media spotlight, where he looks so sad and pathetic, it's almost enough to make you feel sorry for the real guy (almost).  The secondary antagonist is also fully rounded and has understandable motives.

Chris Pine and Gal Gadot have great chemistry again and although the method for bringing him back is indeed just magic, it's actually done with a really clever idea that's deeply rooted in the plotting.  Pine's fish-out-of-water stuff was hilarious but the tube train sequence was a total f**k up.  If the writers had bothered to do their research they'd have known that London, where Pine's character was living before he died, had tube trains since the mid 19th century and had escalators widely installed at the time of WWI.  The 35mm/70mm visuals looked fab and the CGI was mostly top notch (hey 'Cats', this is how you do it).  If the movie was indeed 100% finished at least a year ago, then wow is it prescient and perfect for it's eventual December 2020 release.  The theme of accepting defeat, all the material about sexual harassment, the ecstatic 4th of July fireworks and the warm fuzzy Christmas ending are so well judged.  By the way, definitely wait for the fun mid-credits sequence.

It lives up to last years brilliant 'Blue Monday' trailer:

I'm going to be listening to this track a lot:

EDIT: Added spoiler tags just to be on the safe side.

EDIT: Looks like this has a mode-average rating of 4/5 stars on Letterboxd.  I've gone for 4.5/5.

On the whole I would agreed with all of TM2YC’s thoughts, just glad I got to see it when I did as our cinemas are now closing on the 26th for six weeks!

 

[Zarius]

You shillin' people.

This movie sucked.

Reveal message

WW 84 is a film badly in need of a reason to even exist. Very dissapointed. Nothing is learned, nothing is gained.

Diana just looks pretty pathetic throughout the picture, demeaned at childhood and diminished as an adult, Steve doesn't even get to see her back at full strength after he convinces her to renounce their wish. Gadot barely emotes and only does so when she has her last moments with Steve. The Cheetah fight is very brief and most of it is in the trailers. Pascal chews up the scenery in a highly camp Trump impersonation for Max Lord. There is a lazy rehash of a score from Batman v Superman towards the end.

Some of the action sequences are good, nothing rises to quite the heights of the flashback to Diana competing in the big race at the start though, would love to see more of that.

This film really didn't need to exist. There were no stakes whatsoever. Everyone lives. Max learns his lesson, complete with an annoying child tacked on to his backstory. It's also indicated Diana doesn't truly 'move on' from Steve, she just wishes the guy who's body he possessed a happy holiday but you never quite see her actively seek out another partner, and by Justice League, she's still pining for him, she she never respected his final wishes at all. It's also revealed at the end to be a Christmas movie...and that blatantly tells you right there that there was a reshoot knowing the film would be released at that point this year

Lines up more with Joss Whedon's JL in tone, humour, and presentation. Even without the pandemic, this would have struggled.

Time will not be kind to this. Rightfully deserves to be underperforming the way it is.

 

[wilhelm scream]

Why did they bother setting this in the 80's, when their's barley any 80's music in their?

 

[Zarius]

Why did they bother setting this in the 80's, when their's barley any 80's music in their?

I know, right?

A challenge would be to editors here to remove any reference to the year. We live in a very nostalgia-driven society. Every year is 1984 these days.