Wonder Woman 1984, the villain is like Trump

"Be careful what you want because you might get it." An aphorism that could also work as a slogan for Wonder Woman 1984, the second chapter directed by Patty Jenkins, of the adventures of the superheroine DC Comics played by Gal Gadot, available with Warner Bros from February 12 for purchase and premium rental on Amazon Prime Video , Apple TV, Youtube, Google Play, TIMVISION, Chili, Rakuten TV, PlayStation Store, Microsoft Film & TV and for premium rental on Sky Primafila and Infinity. The sequel, predictable after the triumph of critics and audiences obtained by Wonder Woman (2017), with 820 million dollars grossed in the world, debuts in Italy directly on the platforms, given the prolonged closure of the theaters. A decision that follows the 'hybrid' distribution in the USA with a parallel debut both in the few open cinemas and on Hbo Max. While the first adventure of the character, created in 1941 by psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston, was set during the first war World, this time we jump to the 80s, to immerse ourselves in a vintage triumph of colors, consumerism, nuclear power, aerobics, breakdance, perms, and men dressed in the Don Johnson style in Miami Vice style. For Diana Prince (aka Wonder woman) cultural anthropologist and archaeologist at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, this time the adversaries, potential destroyers of the world, to face, are two, united by the obsession to change their lives. On the one hand, Max Lord (Pedro Pascal, also protagonist of The Mandalorian), a businessman with a look, backcombed hair and a Donald Trump tan, a scam and on the verge of bankruptcy, who 'sells' his great opportunities to get rich on television, and the scientist, Diana's colleague, Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig) geologist, gemologist and crypto zoologist, as prepared as she is insecure and shy. The discovery of an apparently insignificant citrine quartz, but in reality the legendary and feral Stone of Dreams, created by the God of deception Dolos, becomes a Pandora's box for Max whose hunger for power and revenge takes on apocalyptic dimensions (including the White House) but also for Barbara, whose desire to become a fulfilled, confident and loved woman like Diana, leads her to transform into the nemesis of the superheroine, the powerful, predatory and vengeful Cheetah. However, the stone also ends up influencing Wonder Woman's choices, when it allows her to find, in an undiscovered way, her soulmate, pilot Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). While the first 'foundation' film had shaped an effective world of visuals and values ​​(evoked here in the beautiful opening scene, with Diana as a child played by Lilly Aspell) Wonder Woman 1984, it is more of a character study (especially interesting when it is centered on the 'villain', whose vulnerabilities are highlighted), in which we often lose sight of a plot that is not very fluid. Defects that led the film to have much less favorable reviews from critics in the US than in the first chapter. The red thread of irony impressed by Patty Jenkins (who will be the first female director to direct a film in the Star Wars saga, "Rogue Squadron" coming in 2023) continues to work, accompanied by a continuous game of quotes: from the most predictable, the TV series about the superheroine played by Lynda Carter (with a gift) to Raiders of the Lost Ark and the homage to a classic of the genre such as Superman by Richard Donner. "In Wonder Woman 'Diana was learning what it was like to live among humans for the first time," explained Gal Gadot. Here we find her again when she learned to experience the same sensations as the rest of humanity "in the sense that she wants something she doesn't have and is ready to do anything to get it". Patty Jenkins has already in preparation, with the Israeli actress, Wonder Woman 3, which should close the narrative arc on the character (participation in choral adventures aside). The director is also thinking of a spin-off, The Amazons, a film about the warriors of the island of Themyscira, Diana's homeland. (HANDLE).