Pick of the Brown Bag
April 21, 2021
by
Ray Tate
Wonder Woman debuts in Zack Snyder's Batman vs. Superman. However, this appearance left Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins a problem to solve.
Diana in context leaves her Amazon homeland during World War I. Why has nobody heard of Wonder Woman by the time of Snyder's Man of Steel? Why does nobody compare Superman to already established hero Wonder Woman? Jenkins hints at the answer in the epilogue to Wonder Woman. Set in the present, the scene depicts Diana Prince living in modern times then answering a call for help as Wonder Woman.
Jenkins proposes that after World War I, Diana stays in "Man's World." Wonder Woman has always been with us and performs her deeds in secret. One shudders to think exactly how much worse history would have been without the presence of Wonder Woman.
After a superfluous prologue on Themyscira, Wonder Woman 84 truly begins with an innocent look at the candy-coated era.
A few personal disasters occur here and there that Wonder Woman averts. She saves lives in an eye-blink and Jenkins through this set-piece foreshadows a visual contrast when Diana later weakens in the film.
The dominoes lead to a pivotal robbery.
In the aftermath, people witness Wonder Woman. Few believe the tall tales. Others keep mum. Reporters keep trying to coax a story out of the increasing frequency of Wonder Woman sightings, to no avail. That's a lot of obtuseness from humanity. Through this consensus, Jenkins playfully mocks the impracticality of the solution to Wonder Woman's alleged absence, the only one left to her.
The mall theft smoothly sets the story into motion and introduces Barbara Minerva and Maxwell Lord, portrayed by Kristin Wiig and Pedro Pascal.
Barbara is a new hire at the Smithsonian. She's an expert on gems and mythology. Her hobby is cryptozoology. This subtle background frames her easy acceptance of the power she's granted later in the movie.
Maxwell Lord is, plain and simple, a get-rich-quick Ponzi schemer. Although, his secret desire is to earn dignity and make his son proud.
The world sees Lord as a man of wealth, but that's a sham. The facade nevertheless allows him to ingratiate himself to the Smithsonian. His donations leave him in the position to steal back something far more valuable than it appears. It's lack of apparent worth explains why only Diana Prince is up in arms about its disappearance.
Diana Prince is a professor of archaeology and a number of other fields at the Smithsonian.
That said. The wound left by Steve Trevor's death is still open, making Diana cautious to connections. Diana at first aloof to Barbara's overtures of friendship senses a need. Empathy motivates Diana. Wonder Woman is a being of love.
Over an early dinner Diana and Barbara discuss the objects from the mall theft that the FBI tasked Barbara to identify and value. One object gives Diana pause and it becomes not the McGuffin but the crux of plot.
This object transforms Wonder Woman 84 from a flowing, almost comic strip like narrative into a love story between seasoned partners. The love story fills the screen with chemistry, authenticity, and a charming sense of warmth and wonder. Pun not intended.
From the optimism of wide-eyed glee over the future, the movie slowly turns horrific. Events in the background escalate in proportion to those of the foreground and chillingly spread to the arena of global politics. The way these ramifications culminate mimic the unforgettable television movie The Day After. The presentation that convinced generations that nuclear war is death for all.
Naturally, the earth doesn't end in 1984, but Wonder Woman must demonstrate an intensity of courage in order to prevent nuclear genocide.
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Kristen Wiig also portrays the Cheetah. Her transformation evolves throughout Wonder Woman 84, and the final incarnation looks astoundingly similar to the character in the comic books. The original multiple personality paranoid and the more bestial modern version.
Some of the fight scenes between Wonder Woman and Cheetah are of course computer enhanced to create the illusion of preternatural speed. They're well done, but Jenkins also relies on shots where it's just Wiig in some face make-up and a Cheetah costume. In those moments, she looks as threatening as she should be and Wiig demonstrates her ability to be taken seriously with just one look.
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Christopher Pine guest-stars as Steve Trevor. It's fascinating how Jenkins and co-writer Geoff Johns brings Steve back using the object rationale. You can see echoes in the way the Powers That Were resurrected Steve during the Bronze Age of comics.
Pine and the creative team once again make Steve a man that's worthy of Diana. In every scene he's in, you understand their relationship and know the definition of soul mate. The very fact that he urges Diana to accept his death and find love again explains why she loves Steve so much.
Steve Trevor's involvement generates brilliant inclusions of Wonder Woman mythology as well as the single moment I felt that the creative minds behind the making of Wonder Woman 84 actually aim for skit-like comedy and succeed.
The rest of the movie is utterly terrifying. It demands Wonder Woman to save us all. She does so with a combination of her abilities. It takes the strength of Wonder Woman to overcome the deteriorating Maxwell Lord's forces. It takes her stamina to withstand the supernatural at work. It takes her personal belief in humanity and love to prevent nuclear damnation. Wonder Woman 84 is not to be missed.
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