Wonder Woman Out Dec 16th

[ccs]

Apparently based off of the Panavia Tornado from what I could find, but moved it to a side by side instead of tandem seating. Also, a weird choice because what is a plane doing at the Smithsonian fully fueled ready to go that has only been in service 4 years at that point? (the tornado came into service in 1980 and saw its high point during the first Gulf War).

Then again, in the video game scene there were video games not invented yet in 1984, and Steve (WWI pilot) wouldn't have any idea how to fly a modern jet, and it would be impossible to fly to Cairo, and MK19 grenade launchers apparently fire the entire cartridge in 1984,...and...and... You'd think with that budget, they could afford to at least talk to a military consultant first.

1) You.... realize that this is a comic book movie, not a documentary about 1984, right?
2) In 1984 the tech being used on the comics book pages could at best be described as "inspired by...."
3) It is an established fact that the DC film Universe is in fact a Multiverse. So maaaaybe, just maybe, the mundane stuff in the 1984 we're seeing on screen developed slightly differently/earlier than it did here on our own world.

 

[Sacrosanct]

1) You.... realize that this is a comic book movie, not a documentary about 1984, right?
2) In 1984 the tech being used on the comics book pages could at best be described as "inspired by...."
3) It is an established fact that the DC film Universe is in fact a Multiverse. So maaaaybe, just maybe, the mundane stuff in the 1984 we're seeing on screen developed slightly differently/earlier than it did here on our own world.

They developed things in a mirror universe where entire cartridges are fired out of barrels, and fighter jets can fly around the globe non stop, and someone from 1918 knows how to fire up a jet fighter? Yeah, OK. I’d sure like to know how they developed those things.

 

[ccs]

They developed things in a mirror universe where entire cartridges are fired out of barrels, and fighter jets can fly around the globe non stop, and someone from 1918 knows how to fire up a jet fighter? Yeah, OK. I’d sure like to know how they developed those things.

I'll assume you've never read a comic book in your life. I assure you that these are NOT the strangest things ever to grace the pages of the 4 color world. Nor are they even the strangest things to appear in superhero films/TV shows.
And a guy from 1918 stealing & firing up a jet? While poorly-not explained &/or a missed chance for some dialog, completely plausible in comic-world.

On the cartridges... Stop. Now your sounding like my friend Tom & his rants about the 1st Matrix movie..
Way back when The Matrix came out several of us went & saw it. We come out discussing how it was one of the best action movies we'd seen in quite a while. Tom chimes in that he thought it sucked. We just stare at him... He goes on to proclaim that the whole thing was ruined by the hallway scene where they're blowing the pillars apart during that shoot-out. Because the wrong cartridges are being ejected from the guns. That that Cal. would never fit, blah blah blah.... Whole movie ruined.
(Now Tom is very into guns. Ammo. Etc. The rest of us are not. So if he tells me those are the wrong cartridges? OK, fine, they're wrong. I don't need to waste my time fact checking him. And right or wrong my enjoyment of the film isn't affected)
Someone had to point out to him that that whole scene, indeed much of the movie, took place in the virtual world. Even if he's correct & those were the wrong cartridges? It didn't matter because the images don't HAVE to match reality.
To date Tom still hates the 1st Matrix movie.

So in an alternate universe, who cares why/how they developed GLs that fire the whole shell at you? Not a plot point.
The most obvious answer? Because that's just what the Effects team though looked cool for the scene.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I'll assume you've never read a comic book in your life. I assure you that these are NOT the strangest things ever to grace the pages of the 4 color world. Nor are they even the strangest things to appear in superhero films/TV shows.
And a guy from 1918 stealing & firing up a jet? While poorly-not explained &/or a missed chance for some dialog, completely plausible in comic-world.

On the cartridges... Stop. Now your sounding like my friend Tom & his rants about the 1st Matrix movie..
Way back when The Matrix came out several of us went & saw it. We come out discussing how it was one of the best action movies we'd seen in quite a while. Tom chimes in that he thought it sucked. We just stare at him... He goes on to proclaim that the whole thing was ruined by the hallway scene where they're blowing the pillars apart during that shoot-out. Because the wrong cartridges are being ejected from the guns. That that Cal. would never fit, blah blah blah.... Whole movie ruined.
(Now Tom is very into guns. Ammo. Etc. The rest of us are not. So if he tells me those are the wrong cartridges? OK, fine, they're wrong. I don't need to waste my time fact checking him. And right or wrong my enjoyment of the film isn't affected)
Someone had to point out to him that that whole scene, indeed much of the movie, took place in the virtual world. Even if he's correct & those were the wrong cartridges? It didn't matter because the images don't HAVE to match reality.
To date Tom still hates the 1st Matrix movie.

So in an alternate universe, who cares why/how they developed GLs that fire the whole shell at you? Not a plot point.
The most obvious answer? Because that's just what the Effects team though looked cool for the scene.

These aren’t issues that “well, it’s a different universe, so...”. These are issues because they didn’t have a clue about how things work and were too lazy to bother to find out. And it’s not using the wrong bullets in a gun, it’s shooting out the entire cartridge, including casing, from the barrel. That’s just one example of many. Like I said, one or two isn’t that big of a deal, but the whole movie is like that, and they add up.

 

[Imaculata]

So lazy writing is because its a mirror universe now? Ah, gotcha. In that case Batman & Robin was an interesting alternate universe as well: a universe with George Clooney as a terrible batman, Dr Freeze uttering nothing but cringy ice puns, and Uma being more cheesy than Swiss cheese.

While me and my gf were watching Wonder Woman 1984, even my gf looked at me in disbelief, and asked me if there were any jets that could fly straight from NY to Cairo. That sort of thing would normally not take her out of a movie. But this was just such a silly and sloppy mistake. It is jarring.

It's not just very sloppy writing. I think it is indicative of a greater problem with the film. For a large chunk it just fails to draw the viewer in, and so the viewer cannot suspend their disbelief, and starts analyzing all these mistakes. Pedro Pascal is so cheesy, that every single time he showed up, it took me out of the movie. Plus his look in this is just weird and off putting. I don't believe him in this role.

The pacing of the film is also just off. After the initial flashback scene with its muddled moral message, it has a lot of trouble getting started. It drags and drags. I kept wondering when it was going to get going, only to realize all of a sudden that perhaps it had, I just hadn't noticed. The introduction of the MacGuffin does not seem to carry much weight, and when Chris Pine shows up, it feels weirdly edited.

During the action scene at the mall, my gf asked me if this was the same director, because the tone felt very different from the first movie. She was right. Despite this being the same director, tonally the film felt very off. Something felt wrong right out of the gate.

 

[Imaculata]

It...what? There are movies from the 80’s that feel less like they’re set in the 80’s.

Look, this movie has 1984 in the title. It is literally the premise of the movie. I was born in 1981. I think I know what the 80's were like. This aint it. That is a pretty big flaw.

I don't know exactly where it is that the movie bungles its time period. Nitpicking aside about jetplanes and what videogames were released in what year, something feels off. I don't know if it is the clothes or the general production design. But everything about this movie screams like it is a movie that was shot in 2019/2020, with a few 80's cars and home devices thrown into the background. Right after the flashback, everything just doesn't feel like the 80's at all.

Ah, so it’s just that it’s not especially nostalgic about the 80s?

Thank god. I mean, a missed opportunity to what? Do what every other of a thousand nostalgia pieces set in the 80s do, and glamorize a decade that wasn’t actually that great? That would have been a wasted opportunity, and has been in a thousand other works. The opportunity to actually bother to say literally anything at all about the 80s other than “lol look at the famous thing you all remember from back then.”

There have been quite a few shows and movies lately that were set in the 80's. "Stranger Things" and the recent adaption of "It" come to mind. And while those also get minor details wrong, they do manage to feel like the 80's. I don't think it is just a matter of nostalgia exploitation that makes the difference. Wonder Woman 1984 got it wrong. It doesn't seem to nail the look, nor the mood or the political climate. It feels like they just didn't do their homework on the time period. It is surprising, because the 80's are not that long ago. There are plenty of people who remember the 80's.

 

[Zardnaar]

Look, this movie has 1984 in the title. It is literally the premise of the movie. I was born in 1981. I think I know what the 80's were like. This aint it. That is a pretty big flaw.

I don't know exactly where it is that the movie bungles its time period. Nitpicking aside about jetplanes and what videogames were released in what year, something feels off. I don't know if it is the clothes or the general production design. But everything about this movie screams like it is a movie that was shot in 2019/2020, with a few 80's cars and home devices thrown into the background. Right after the flashback, everything just doesn't feel like the 80's at all.



There have been quite a few shows and movies lately that were set in the 80's. "Stranger Things" and the recent adaption of "It" come to mind. And while those also get minor details wrong, they do manage to feel like the 80's. I don't think it is just a matter of nostalgia exploitation that makes the difference. Wonder Woman 1984 got it wrong. It doesn't seem to nail the look, nor the mood or the political climate. It feels like they just didn't do their homework on the time period. It is surprising, because the 80's are not that long ago. There are plenty of people who remember the 80's.

Captain Marvel got the 90s vibe.

WW84 at the start sorta pulled it off but failed 80s vibe.

 

[Imaculata]

Captain Marvel got the 90s vibe.

WW84 at the start sorta pulled it off but failed 80s vibe.

I have not seen Captain Marvel yet, but the 90's should be easy to get right.
I personally felt WW84 never got the 80's right, not even at the start. In fact, I'd say especially not at the start. It is the first thing that took me out of the movie, along with the floaty action and the fighting with very little punch to it.

 

[Eltab]

Were the writers old enough to remember the 1980s? If not, did they talk to somebody who is? I think we might be seeing the effects from some (relatively) young folks whose US History classes never made it past WWII trying to 'fake it til you make' it for an era they know little about (and have equal care about).

There was this TV show called 'Wonder Woman' in the late 70s / early 80s; I was hoping Linda Carter (played the title character) would be invited onto the movie for a cameo appearance "Diana ... I think I know you..." and a few words of good advice.

 

[Imaculata]

There was this TV show called 'Wonder Woman' in the late 70s / early 80s; I was hoping Linda Carter (played the title character) would be invited onto the movie for a cameo appearance "Diana ... I think I know you..." and a few words of good advice.

I doubt that would have saved the movie, but the writers could have done the bare minimum of research. Talking to someone from the 80's would have been a start. It feels like they didn't consult anyone.