With its hybrid Christmas release in the US Wonder Woman 1984 became a game-changer with its magnificent heartfelt story and a message of hope in the dark times.
Wonder Woman 1984 is here with its message of hope and joy! Gal Gadot and director Patty Jenkins weave a magical world in 80’s setting and delivers a story apt for a vintage Wonder Woman. WW84 draws inspiration from classic comics and brings in not one but two antagonists Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) and Cheetah (Kristen Will). And also, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) who is alive in Wonder Woman 1984. The initial movie reviews are all praise and hopeful. As NYT reviews, “The sequel to the 2017 hit finds Diana Prince, a.k.a. Wonder Woman, pining for love and saddled with a movie unworthy of her.”
Wonder woman has been a symbol of hope and empowerment for men, women and children across the world. The character first debut in 1941 in All Star comics, however, the first live-action version saw the light of the day in 2017. Wonder Woman aka Diana Prince is part of DC’s trinity standing alongside Batman and Superman nonetheless the character took forever to come on the big screen in a contrast the first live-action Batman came in 1943 starring Lewis Wilson and first Superman movie came after it in 1951 Superman and the Mole Men, starring George Reeves.
Watch: Wonder Woman 1984 | Opening Scene | HBO Max
Nonetheless, the first Wonder Woman movie in 2017 became the biggest blockbuster and grossed $821 million worldwide. It was a proud moment for fandom as the first female lead superhero film was received so well around the globe. Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins’ became household names overnight! Soon the pre-production for Wonder Woman 1984 began in December same year. WW84 started production in 2018 and finished by the end of the year. However, Director Patty Jenkins wanted to give more tome to the post-production and movie found a release date in June 2020 against the initial date of December 2019. Nonetheless, we have a movie now and it’s brilliant.
In all its delay induced excitement Wonder Woman 1984 ended up changing Hollywood history for quiet a few reasons here are 10.
1/10
First Big Budget Movie To Get A Hybrid Release
WW84’s release not only brought Christmas joy to many but also brought a paradigm shift in Hollywood via its release model. It is Warner Bros’ first hybrid release meaning in the US the movie is released simultaneously on HBO Max and theatres. WB invented the new release model based on the ongoing pandemic. With theatres around the world closed the movie was released in 32 countries on its opening weekend followed by a US hybrid opening.
By providing the movie for a month with no additional cost WB has definitely got the audience hooked. While, this goes against the future of theatre businesses in the US it’ll be interesting to see how WB manages theirs once its safe to go to theatres again. The AT&T holding is focusing much on its streaming service HBO Max and will release its entire DC slate in the same hybrid model.
2/10
The Christmas Zeal
Wonder Woman 1984 can easily be the most delayed movie in Hollywood (5 times). Its competition can be found in Fox’s New Mutants which was first shelved due to the Disney-Fox merger, the case for WW84 was quite unique. While the outbreak of the pandemic delayed all the big-budget movies this year either due to the lockdown or production constraints, WW84 was sitting on the shelf finished for quite some time. It got delayed first time around in 2019 to finish the post-production however since then it moved from June to August to October to Christmas. The delays only added hype around the superhero flick. On the other hand, Marvel’s Black Widow another female-centric big-budget movie is now waiting for its theatrical release in May 2020 – a whole year since its initial release date.
3/10
The IMAX Cinematography
What truly stands out about Wonder Woman 1984 is dedication of director Patty Jenkins’ towards the theatrical experience! For long time Jenkins had been the strong voice asking only for a theatrical release of the movie. Whilst we can enjoy the movie on our TV’s it can truly be appreciated in theatres only. The simple reason being Jenkins’ shot some sequences of the movie on IMAX camera.
Wonder Woman and Justice League were released in IMAX ratio but they were only conversion jobs whereas Wonder Woman 1984 is real deal shot on IMAX camera. The fist featurette released by WB shed more light on the process. The footage you get back from it is stunning,” Jenkins explained in the video.
4/10
Minimum Use of CGI Technology
In times when the superhero genre is heavily relying on the CGI technology to give larger than life experience to the audience and relief to its stars Jenkins’ has a different point of view. She made sure minimum CGI is used in the movie and most of the work is done by the actors or the stunt doubles. Gal Gadot revealed in a recent interview, “Patty really made a point about wanting to have a minimum amount of CGI, so most of the stuff that you’re going to see is real people doing the real thing. Whether it’s us or the stunt people, it’s real people”.
5/10
Patty Jenkins Nailed The 80’s Look
Jenkins’ vision for the movie is so grand that she brought 80’s to life. From the neon theme of the film posters to the 80’s setting – Patty Jenkins’ nailed it! From Dr Minerva’s (Wiig) science to Maxwell Lord (Pascal) selling the big American dream to Wonder Woman’s mythology the movie easily feels like something that was released in the era. “We wanted to make a movie that if you went to the theaters back in the 80’s, our movie would be right there and super relevant,” Gadot told MTV News.
Watch: Gal Gadot on ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ | MTV News – YouTube
6/10
The Fierce Outfits
And what is a period film without the right costumes! Lindy Hemming, the Academy award-winning costume designer returns for WW84 and delivers us some AhMAZING costumes. From Diana’s cheetah printed heels to, Kristen Wiig’s nervous nerdy vibes, to Steve Trevor’s parachute pants and fanny pack – Hemming has gone out of her way to create the costumes for this movie. Most importantly she created a fluid armour for Gal Gadot to wear. Taking her inspiration from DC’s Kingdom Come’s Golden Armour that Wonder Women wore Hemming designed the most brilliant piece of costume in Hollywood history. The armour has its part to play in the movie as well.
7/10
The 80s Sick Music
One thing that is going to in WW84 is the music. With 80’s theme the trailer riffs on New Order’s “Blue Monday,” pop anthem released by the English trio in 1983. Hans Zimmer has created an impeccable background score for the movie inspired by the moody chord progressions and bass line.
8/10
How Chris Pine Is Alive In Wonder Woman 1984
Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) was dead at the end of Wonder Woman, however ‘how is he alive’ is the highlight of the sequel set in 1984. From the trailers it is clear that Diana and Steve have had a role reversal while Steve introduced Diana to a different world in the first go, she is returning the favour this time around. Nonetheless, it’s a secret how he returns and the answer can only be found once you’ve seen the movie.
9/10
Very Many Secrets Of Wonder Woman
And that’s not the only secret that Wonder Woman 1984 holds. There are many things the fans need an answer to like, How did Wonder Woman lose her powers? Is Steve back for good? Will Cheetah stay on in DCEU? Is the Dreamstone involved? Yes, the movie tells it all to the fans and critics alike.
10/10
It’s Continuation of the DCEU
The release of Wonder Woman 2017 saved WB’s lost cause. After the epic failure of Justice League, the same year WW’s box office success brought a huge relief to the studio. In 2020 when new and exciting things are happening in the DC universe Wonder Woman serves as the part of the larger universe. The official WB website asks us to watch out for the Easter eggs. Zack Snyder working as the Executive Producer on the movie is further proof of it. Recently, reports surfaced as to Jenkins working closely with Snyder to bring out the character arch in his Justice League cut. So in a nutshell WW84 is the link between the DCEU and Snyder’s new universe giving fans a continuation of the universes.
