Oh folks, it is a new year! Time for fresh starts and new plans. I don’t know about you, but I am psyched for 2021. Just do me a favor and keep that dang mask on. We cats can catch COVID-19 as well. We are WAAAY down on the vaccine priority list and I really want to see “No Time to Die” when it comes out … well, whenever the heck we can go back to movie theaters.
What do we have on deck for this month, you ask? Well, as a wrap up to 2020, we reviewed the highly anticipated sequel to a 2017 superhero hit and something a little different. I’m not sure if you would classify one of these as a “movie.” I mean, it is about 70 minutes long (so, short movie length), but it was also released on Amazon as “Episode 2” of a “season” so…eh, we’ll call it a movie. This wrap up wouldn’t fit last year if it wasn’t strange.
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) [PG-13]
“Wonder Woman 1984,” or “WW84,” is the sequel to the 2017 hit “Wonder Woman,” and it left me wishing for more. You’ll see why in a sec.
Gal Gadot returns once again as Diana Prince, a.k.a Wonder Woman, and this time around Pedro Pascal (“The Mandalorian”) plays Maxwell Lord, an oil tycoon who is losing all his money and resources. When he comes across the ability to grant a bunch of wishes, he begins to threaten the world. Meanwhile, Kristen Wiig (“Bridesmaids,” “SNL”) plays Barbara Minerva, a shy and awkward woman who wishes … to not be shy and awkward. And Chris Pine (“Star Trek”) is back as Steve Trevor, even though he *spoiler alert* died in the last film and the sequel takes place several decades later, so something strange is definitely going on.
I, like many others, loved the first “Wonder Woman,” which was also directed by Patty Jenkins. She brought a lot of heart and energy to that movie and, at the same time, it was action-packed and thrilling, something that had been missing from the DC Universe. I couldn’t wait to see what she did with the sequel. Unfortunately, I found the sequel to be a letdown and disappointing. Although there are some good things in the film, overall, it’s not very good.
“WW84” is at its entertaining best in the early sequences. The opening sequence is a flashback of young Diana in Themyscira training in an Olympic contest where she takes a shortcut to get ahead of the other contestants, but then is pulled out of the game because she cheated. I kept expecting this theme to appear again in the film, but it never really did. Or if it did, it did it in a cheap mediocre plot tactic that left me feeling nothing. But the sequence was thrilling, nonetheless.
Then we’re thrown immediately into 1984 and we see Wonder Woman stopping a heist at a mall. The sequence reminded me of those earlier superhero movies like the Superman films starring Christopher Reeve or “Spider-Man” directed by Sam Raimi. It was light, fun, and welcoming.
The first 20 minutes were fun, but then the film slows down. The pacing starts to drag, and new characters are introduced that are so ’80s cliché and cheesy. The plot line is pretty predictable, and it gets very messy and complex.
Some may enjoy this movie and I really wanted to, but I couldn’t. Patty Jenkins is a great director, the actors are great, but the script needed a lot more work.
5 paws out of 10
Lovers Rock [Small Axe Episode 2] (2020) [TV-MA]
“Lovers Rock” is the second episode of the Small Axe series from writer/director Steve McQueen (“Hunger,” “Shame,” and “12 Years a Slave”). To call “Small Axe” a TV show is weird because the episodes are all self-contained and are basically movies unto themselves. But we’ll go with it for now.
“Lovers Rock” tells the story of a new romance that blossoms at a house party in 1980s London. Now, maybe it is because, like you all, I’ve been stuck alone inside for the past nine months or so, but I did not realize how much I needed to see people being joyful together.
Not that “Lovers Rock” is all light and no darkness of course. It isn’t. But as hyperbolic as this may sound, it feels so warm and truthful because it was clearly made from love and experience. McQueen knows these people and this music. He has been to this party. And that common human experience is what “Lovers Rock” is really about. And it is something I don’t think can be denied.
The plot … I don’t really think it matters. The story is cute, and I did find myself rooting for those two on the poster there. But the lovers’ story is really just a way to put you in a place and a time. If you let him, McQueen will take you to the party. When his camera lingers on a dancing woman’s arms around her partners neck, you know what that feels like. When a character gets caught in an awkward conversation with someone trying to pick them up, you’ve been there. You’ve watched your friends dance and sing and fight and make up and at a time when we can’t really do those things together, “Lovers Rock” reminds me of what we have lost this past year and what I think we are all yearning to have again. Fun, togetherness, just a one night out where for a little while, we can forget about what is going on outside of these walls.
In the end, I don’t know if “Lovers Rock” is for everyone. I can easily see how folks might think it is slow. Or that the story doesn’t really go anywhere. Both of those things are true. But I still think it is fantastic. Brilliantly directed, superbly acted, full of vibrancy, joy, and truth. “Lovers Rock” is a treat and well worth an hour of your time.
9 paws out of 10