I was surprised to discover that it was not until this Wednesday, October 20, when ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ began to be available on HBO Max in Spain. Let us remember that this is an original production of Warner which is part of the DC Extended Universe, but not for those. Another slab for a misunderstood film that unfairly failed in theaters.
Why is it worth getting back?
I remember that at the time ‘Wonder Woman’ was elevated so that later the criticism was much harsher with its sequel, something I do not share at all. It is true that his approach is simpler and more innocent, coming to seem like he recovers the idea that superhero stories were oriented at the time to the little ones in the house, but as such it works wonderfully as soon as one puts one’s part to let go.
It is true that there are some controversial script decisions – I am thinking above all of a detail related to the return of Chris Pine to the saga-, but what predominates here is the idea that the protagonist represents that almost idyllic hope that superhero movies have been putting aside in favor of more adult approaches. To the point where Wonder Woman is here closer to Superman than any recent Iron Man adventure has ever been.
That leads to Patty Jenkins give the story a countercurrent tone, very much in line with how colorful ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ is in the visual section. In return, she can come across as sloppy in some narrative aspects, but never lose the sense of wonder necessary for such a show to shine.
To this we must add that the action scenes have that impressive touch that one expects from this type of production, but here the story revolves more around the dangers of getting what you want and how that can end up turning against you. With an absurd point that can provoke rejection, especially due to the attitudes of the villains, but that in my opinion fits very well within the ecosystem that the film poses. Another thing is that it was simply expected to be more of the same with respect to ‘Wonder Woman’.
Unfortunately, ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ was an undisputed box office flop -it cost 200 million dollars and barely raised 169-, partly caused by its simultaneous premiere on HBO Max.
In Espinof: