Every year on Christmas Day, this Chinese-American woman makes plans with her Jewish friends to watch a movie together and go out for Chinese food after the movie, a tradition that started when I was a little kid with my brother and cousins. Even with social distancing, we wanted to see a move together on Christmas Day, so we decided to hit play on “WW84” at the same time and comment on group chat together – something we would NOT have been able to do in the theater.
I sipped coffee from my Wonder Woman mug while nibbling on homemade lemon sugar cookies in the shape of the Wonder Woman emblems. I had prepared all week for screening this movie. Like the first movie, the audience is treated to epic views of Themyscira and Diana’s nostalgia for simpler times from the start. Those opening scenes convey a message that reminds me of an often misquoted Teddy Roosevelt quotable: “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty . . .” This sets the mood for the rest of the movie. In every main character in the movie, one can find multiple flaws and enviable qualities as well. I do not remember the ‘80s brimming with giant ‘staches (influenced by Magnum PI?), but perms, definitely. The characters are portrayed as whole humans. The villains are not evil just to be evil, and the heroes are not perfect. Instead of fighting the darkness with killing and perpetuating senseless violence, Wonder Woman’s unwavering dedication to love shines through again, just like in the first movie. Don’t get me wrong. There are still elegantly choreographed fight scenes and innovative, breathtaking new moves, but this sequel still manages to give the audience all the feels. Because of so many delays in its release, I had been cautiously prepared for the possibility that the movie would succumb to the sophomore slump. I was very glad to be wrong.
“The world is not ready for all that you can do . . ” struck a chord with me. Instead of focusing on making Diana, or any little girl for that matter, feel small, she had permission to discover more of her abilities and to use them to make the world a better place. This line made the world feel small and narrow, ill-prepared for everything that she would be capable of offering. To me, it felt like something I would have liked to hear growing up. The world needed to be capable of change and acceptance. “WW84” repeated this message, a message that the first movie communicated and bears repeating. The villains probably needed to hear this message growing up, too. Among the heroes and villains, their interactions in the movie reminded me of the rest of the Teddy Roosevelt quotable “ . . . I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” And. just like in the first movie, the resolution comes from a place of love instead of complete annihilation, elevating everyone around Wonder Woman.
So, when is the third installment coming out?
SPOILER ALERT!
- Wonder Woman’s invisible jet: I really enjoyed the origin story of Wonder Woman’s invisible jet in the movie. It is connected to her powers, not just detritus collected on Themyscira.
- Wonder Woman’s flying ability: Instead of just a power that appears out of nowhere in the comics, there is a beautiful story and connection behind her discovery of flight. In the comics, it seemed like she was allowed one or the other, but not both the invisible jet and the ability to fly.
- Wonder Woman losing her powers: During the Bronze Age of Comic Books (1970 – 1984), writers stripped Wonder Woman of her powers in what felt like an incendiary, negative overreaction to the Women’s Liberation movement of the time. Wonder Woman was an icon of female empowerment, and the writers of the time wanted nothing to do with that message. I much preferred her loss of powers as a consequence of her own decisions, not because she had become far too powerful.