In the immediate aftermath of watching it, I knew the sequel wasn't as good as the first Wonder Woman movie... but I really didn't think it was that much worse. Just another example of the internet being extreme and hysterical, right? For perspective, I seemed to be one of the few people who thought that the original Wonder Woman was basically "fine" and not the soaring triumph most everyone else judged it to be. So basically, my reaction to the two movies was kinda-sorta the same as everyone else's, just in a much narrower range.
I do mean in the immediate aftermath of watching the sequel, though. Because about three seconds after the mid-credits scene ended (a scene which decidedly did not "change everything," no matter what the again-histrionic internet claimed), my husband asked of me: "wow, that was terrible, wasn't it?" Terrible? Really? "Yeah, like, worse than Aquaman terrible." Ha! No, it wasn't that bad.
Except... every time I've found myself thinking more about the movie in the days since I watched it, I find myself thinking less of it. I'd somehow managed to mostly turn my brain off and not care about the little things (and some big things) while watching it, but each new moment of reflection after the fact just reveals more flaws.
Without spoiling anything, I can point to general weaknesses. There's a 15-minute prologue that has only a gossamer thematic connection to the rest of the movie, serving mostly as an excuse to bring back a few actors from the previous film. (And yet, action-wise, the prologue might just be the best material in the movie?) There are strange creative choices that seem to be trying to have things both ways without actually making a bold narrative stand. There's expansion into wilder parts of the Wonder Woman mythos that for a "layperson" like me, the first movie was much wiser to just omit.
If I am spoiling things, then the dominoes really start to fall. (Meet me at the next paragraph, if you're avoiding spoilers.) The mechanics of the "monkey's paw" wishing are a completely muddled mess. How does Max Lord know he'll be in control of the "price paid?" Why does Barbara Minerva get two wishes -- even after Max tried earlier in the film to grant someone's wish twice, only to specifically show us that doesn't work? What kind of weak-sauce monkey's paw curse just lets you renounce your wish? What's the point of bringing back Steve Trevor in another guy's body if you're not going to do anything with that, plot-wise ---- if it's magic anyway, just bring him back!
There are a lot of fairly dopey moments surrounding Wonder Woman's superpowers, that sort of remind me of the weird moment in Superman II where he's somehow able to rip an expanding cellophane "S" off of his chest to throw at the bad guys. What we see in this movie may have more actual grounding in the comics than that goofy Supes moment, but I felt it provoked a similar reaction.
Gal Gadot is still just as charismatic in the lead role as she's been before. There's lots of fun scenery chewing by new stars Kristen Wiig and Pedro Pascal. The music by Hans Zimmer is strong again -- it remains one of his most effective compositional choices since the Inception BWAAAANG! to give Wonder Woman a highly unusual theme in 7/8 time (rather than a typical 4/4 superhero march).
But the thing is, when you think back to Wonder Woman 1984 after watching it, you're simply not going to think about that handful of decent elements. You're going to find another plot hole, decide that one action sequence really wasn't as good as you thought, realize your disbelief wasn't nearly as suspended as you thought, or some such. This thing evaporates like cotton candy.
Right now, in this moment, I find myself thinking the movie is probably about a C-. By this time tomorrow, who knows how low my opinion may have sunk? Or maybe, after having now put down my thoughts, I'll simply stop thinking about it, which just seems better.
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