Kristen Wiig IS Cheetah

[jmc]

My gut is starting to tell me the majority of Wonder Woman v Cheetah is going to be a CGI fest shot in the dark to purposely hide the effects. The overall character design I'm not fond of either, but I could live with it if the imagery was clearer.

 

[Aurakles]

I'm glad it seems they are keeping the full transformation to the end, gives Wiig a bit more freedom to act.

 

[powerman33]

I suspect that she’ll be the initial villain and then she’ll face off with Max Lord, that’ll cost her Steve. I just hope in WW3 they’ll go full God of War with her and her rogues gallery. Maybe even introduce a protege in Donna Troy

 

[Micromind]

Looks like Kristen Wiig's Barbara Minerva is based on DC- Rebirth comics

 

[SiegePerilous]

She also seems too reminiscent of Electro from Amazing Spider-man and Riddler from Batman Forever, with a nerdy fan of the hero becoming the enemy when they feel slighted and ignored by the hero.

Feeling slighted by Wonder Woman and lashing out at her due to her own insecurities has been at the core of the Cheetah's motivations since she debuted in the 40s and has been re-worked into her motivation in the modern comics as well. The film seems to be going for a composite character between Priscilla Rich and Barbara Minerva. In spirit, this is true to the character whereas it was just out of nowhere for the Riddler and Electro.

Feeling slighted or threatened by Wonder Woman's perceived superiority and seeking to tear her down seems present, but that's a good thing since it's the problem she's always represented. Judging by the leaks, "ignored' doesn't seem to be an issue though.

 

[Micromind]

I like the fact that the film is about wanting more... and man's never ending need to acquire something, at what point does one think he's (/she's) got enough and stops ?

 

[CowCommando]

Kristen Wiig smashed it! And to think people wanted Sophia Boutella smh

 

[terry78]

You need somebody that can characterize both sides of the cheetah.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Was really impressed with Wiig here, she showed all sides of Barbara perfectly, showed great physicality in the action scenes and looked great doing it all to boot.

 

[TheScarecrow]

Having duly considered it, I think Wiig has given the best DCEU villain performance to date.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Having duly considered it, I think Wiig has given the best DCEU villain performance to date.

Not sure about the best but she was certainly great here.

 

[SiegePerilous]

I'm glad Wiig is getting praise for her performance here, even if there are criticisms for the execution of the writing and final fight scene, or that she's underutilized.

Perhaps not what I wanted for the first cinematic confrontation between Wonder Woman and Cheetah (and God I hope it's not the last), but since EisenLex and Leto Joker lost the room as soon as they opened their mouths, it is kind of refreshing for once that the Cheetah is the best regarded of the "Dark Trinity." Even if it's not without flaws or an easy bar to clear in this case.

 

[TheComicbookKid]

I appreciate Barbara actually stayed on Diana’s side until their goals became in conflict.

I know this was basically Barbara with a splash of Priscilla thrown in but I think they should have held Cheetah for the sequel.

 

[Primal Slayer]

I appreciate Barbara actually stayed on Diana’s side until their goals became in conflict.

I know this was basically Barbara with a splash of Priscilla thrown in but I think they should have held Cheetah for the sequel.

If we get a sequel (we better get a sequel), I could see her showing up again.

 

[Schlosser85]

I thought Wiig was good and I liked how human and kind of sympathetic/pitiable Barbara was. You understand where she's coming from and why she makes the decisions she makes, even if she goes overboard obviously.

 

[KaijuDude1992]

I was very impressed with Wiig here aswell. She was pretty great overall and probably the main stand out performance in the movie. I just wish we got more of actual Cheetah in the movie since I love that character so much, but as Barbara Minerva she was very sympathetic and compelling enough on her own.

 

[GREEN =w= DAY]

Kristen nailed it. Her performance was a pleasant surprise. Hopefully we see more from her in future Wonder Woman/DCEU films

 

[The Caped Knight]

Firstly right off the bat, I thought Kristen Wiigs as Barbara Ann Minerva aka Cheetah was spot on brilliant.
Her character arc was just right with humor and awkward clumsiness as Barbara. Clearly Director Patty Jenkins choose to rely on Kristen naturally acting abilities as a comedic performer to tap into her strengths and it shows.

The dynamic relationship between Diana and Barbara was good to watch and I kinda wished it was fleshed out further so that her betrayal was more bittersweet in the tragedy breakdown that follows between Wonder Woman and Cheetah clash. In the comics Cheetah is considered to be the arch-nemesis and their throw downs are always a delightful treat to watch in animated features and tv series. The fight sequences in this film are a vast improvement over the third act of the first film against Ares.

That being said, I was disappointed by the sort of lightswitched transformation of Cheetah and that it was abrupt rather than a gradual decent into the apex predator. The visual appearance of Cheetah's look was actually pretty good it looked like a combination of practical effects with costume makeup on her face, plus cgi.

I wonder if Kristen wore leopard skintight jumpsuit on set or if it was just motion capture

I liked Hans Zimmer theme for Cheetah it's got an animalistic feeling of the predator and the prey reflecting the hunter aspect of the jungle.

The chemistry between Pedro Pascal and Kristen Wiigs was entertaining and you could see the actual attractions between them on screen. Even if they both are manipulating each other.

All in all solid performance by Wiigs and I'd love for her to return as Cheetah.

 

[SiegePerilous]

Well, according to Jenkins on the last time we see Barbara

Spoiler

She filmed it to be ambigious, and may have plans to bring Barbara back:
Wonder Woman 1984: Ending Explained | Den of Geek

Though it's anyone's guess if Jenkins will stay on board for a WW3. I hope this subplot isn't dropped if Jenkins leaves, because if this is a one and done it seems a sad waste of Wiig and the character

 

[Deck Rickard]

This might have been the first time where I REALLY didn’t want the inevitable villain character to become a villain because I enjoyed her friendship (and possibly more?) with Diana. Obviously I knew where it was going but I was rooting for Barbara throughout until the end.

 

[SiegePerilous]

This might have been the first time where I REALLY didn’t want the inevitable villain character to become a villain because I enjoyed her friendship (and possibly more?) with Diana. Obviously I knew where it was going but I was rooting for Barbara throughout until the end.

It is kind of weird how that one scene halfway through the film was meant to indicate how ominous she was becoming, but I was still totally rooting for her against that creep.

 

[ComicChick]

This might have been the first time where I REALLY didn’t want the inevitable villain character to become a villain because I enjoyed her friendship (and possibly more?) with Diana. Obviously I knew where it was going but I was rooting for Barbara throughout until the end.

i agree. it is nice to see that the two of them grew to become very good friends in real life, so i think that's why their friendship felt more geniune

 

[Deck Rickard]

It is kind of weird how that one scene halfway through the film was meant to indicate how ominous she was becoming, but I was still totally rooting for her against that creep.

Yeah for sure. She was totally justified there. I wanted her to kill that dude so badly.

i agree. it is nice to see that the two of them grew to become very good friends in real life, so i think that's why their friendship felt more geniune

Yeah it comes off very genuine.

 

[Schlosser85]

This might have been the first time where I REALLY didn’t want the inevitable villain character to become a villain because I enjoyed her friendship (and possibly more?) with Diana. Obviously I knew where it was going but I was rooting for Barbara throughout until the end.

I kind of felt that way about Erik/Magneto in X-Men: First Class. To me at least Fassbender made him such a compelling anti-hero that I wanted him to choose the better path and work with Charles even knowing he wasn’t going to.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I kind of felt that way about Erik/Magneto in X-Men: First Class. To me at least Fassbender made him such a compelling anti-hero that I wanted him to choose the better path and work with Charles even knowing he wasn’t going to.

Ah yeah that’s definitely a good one. I always felt McKellan’s Erik was kind of loathesome but Fass really humanized him.