FeedOnATreeFrog
(A Metal Gear reference)
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2012
- Messages
- 6,351
- Reaction score
- 587
- Points
- 73
Here are my scattered thoughts.
Similar to the first movie, I think the film has a lot of faults, from visuals to writing, but the heart at its core is so strong, something you rarely ever see in these blockbuster films, that I still kind of love it.
The joy of say...the fireworks scene, or Diana's flight, are worth the price of admission alone.
However, some of the execution of these emotional moments was kind of clunky, specifically with Lord and his kid at the end. Jenkins tries so hard to make that poignant, but it comes across a little bit laughable with the sad kid walking around, calling for daddy. I just didn't buy it for whatever reason. It's a shame, because I think the groundwork was solid. Just didn't quite buy it in the climax. I think some of the handling of Lord's character and his goals were a little muddled at times as well, though the overall wish fulfilment conceit was so unique and captivating.
Regarding Cheetah, I think it was quite enjoyable for the first half, but then once she breaks bad, and especially when she turns into the Cheetah itself, I realized that there hadn't been enough build up between her and Diana, and her story wasn't connected enough to Diana's story. At this point Diana was more pre-occupied with other things in the story (Trevor / Lord) that losing a brand new friend didn't seem to mean much. Similar problem to Harry's treatment in TASM2 honestly. So, I think they either should have made it more central to Diana's story (like if Cheetah was the result of Diana's selfish wish), or kept her downfall for the third film. Visually, I thought they did a good job, as did Wigg, so it's easy to give it props (especially considering a lot of people were doubting how cool Cheetah could be), but at the end of the day, the writing let the character down. And with the character changing back at the end, I feel like some potential was definitely lost.
Also, despite how cool Cheetah looked, IMO Jenkins doesn't always have the best visual eye. I get that some of the cheese is intentional, but some of those green-screen scenes of WW running to the camera are just corny, and not in a good way, and it makes WW seem lame sometimes. I think for superhero films, if kids don't come out of the theatre thinking the hero is cool, it's a bit of a failure on that basic level. It's the same problem say Superman Returns or Green Lantern had. There's a balance to be struck, and I think it just doesn't quite pull it off sometimes.
That being said, while I'm focusing on some of the faults, the film's many strengths go without saying, from everyone's performances, to Jenkins' reverence of the character. And Diana's story of letting go of Steve was just so strong, that it still brings the film up to like a 4/5 for me.
Her walking away from Steve, not even allowing us to see him disappear, and then Diana's wounds healing and then flying for the first time, was just one of the best WW moments ever.
Similar to the first movie, I think the film has a lot of faults, from visuals to writing, but the heart at its core is so strong, something you rarely ever see in these blockbuster films, that I still kind of love it.
The joy of say...the fireworks scene, or Diana's flight, are worth the price of admission alone.
However, some of the execution of these emotional moments was kind of clunky, specifically with Lord and his kid at the end. Jenkins tries so hard to make that poignant, but it comes across a little bit laughable with the sad kid walking around, calling for daddy. I just didn't buy it for whatever reason. It's a shame, because I think the groundwork was solid. Just didn't quite buy it in the climax. I think some of the handling of Lord's character and his goals were a little muddled at times as well, though the overall wish fulfilment conceit was so unique and captivating.
Regarding Cheetah, I think it was quite enjoyable for the first half, but then once she breaks bad, and especially when she turns into the Cheetah itself, I realized that there hadn't been enough build up between her and Diana, and her story wasn't connected enough to Diana's story. At this point Diana was more pre-occupied with other things in the story (Trevor / Lord) that losing a brand new friend didn't seem to mean much. Similar problem to Harry's treatment in TASM2 honestly. So, I think they either should have made it more central to Diana's story (like if Cheetah was the result of Diana's selfish wish), or kept her downfall for the third film. Visually, I thought they did a good job, as did Wigg, so it's easy to give it props (especially considering a lot of people were doubting how cool Cheetah could be), but at the end of the day, the writing let the character down. And with the character changing back at the end, I feel like some potential was definitely lost.
Also, despite how cool Cheetah looked, IMO Jenkins doesn't always have the best visual eye. I get that some of the cheese is intentional, but some of those green-screen scenes of WW running to the camera are just corny, and not in a good way, and it makes WW seem lame sometimes. I think for superhero films, if kids don't come out of the theatre thinking the hero is cool, it's a bit of a failure on that basic level. It's the same problem say Superman Returns or Green Lantern had. There's a balance to be struck, and I think it just doesn't quite pull it off sometimes.
That being said, while I'm focusing on some of the faults, the film's many strengths go without saying, from everyone's performances, to Jenkins' reverence of the character. And Diana's story of letting go of Steve was just so strong, that it still brings the film up to like a 4/5 for me.
Her walking away from Steve, not even allowing us to see him disappear, and then Diana's wounds healing and then flying for the first time, was just one of the best WW moments ever.
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