WONDER WOMAN 1984 : Tuesday 5th January 2021.

'WONDER WOMAN 1984' is the M Rated ninth instalment in the DCEU which finally arrived in Australian cinemas on 26th December 2020. This sequel to 2017's 'Wonder Woman' which grossed US$822M off the back of a production budget of about US$140M, is once again Directed by Patty Jenkins, and has been the subject of numerous delays to finally get us to this point. Originally announced for release on 13th December 2019, before being moved up to 1st November 2019, then it was delayed to 5th June 2020 and delayed again to 14th August 2020 while the world rode out the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2020, a further delay saw the film's release pushed to 2nd October 2020, before it was moved to this Christmas date. The film also streamed on HBO Max in the US and through Premium VoD in Canada from the same day as its theatrical release in those countries, while the rest of the world can enjoy the big screen cinematic release from anytime between Christmas 2020 and the end of January 2021. Costing US$200M to make the film is not expected to be profitable, needing to take US$500M to break even after marketing costs are factored in. That said, this sequel has generated mixed or average Reviews, and at the time of writing has grossed US$119M. A third film in the franchise was greenlit on 27th December 2020 set in the present day with Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot returning. 

The film opens up with the young child Diana Prince (Lilly Aspel) taking part against much older Amazon contestants in an athletic race on Themyscira. Looking on, but secretly not holding out much hope for her young daughter is the Queen of Themyscira, Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) and her sister Antiope (Robin Wright). After being knocked off her horse having led the race up to this point, Diana takes a short cut to make up for lost ground and to remount her horse which has run on ahead, riderless. However, just as Diana re-enters the stadium and is about to throw the final javelin through a target making her the winner, she is grabbed from behind by her Aunt, Antiope, and lectured that any goal must be achieved through honest effort and truth comes above everything else.   

We then fast forward to 1984 and Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot who also Co-Produces here) works at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. In between her routine work at the Institute she also saves and rescues people often from life threatening situations, wearing her WWI outfit. One such set piece comes in a busy shopping mall when a gang of four thieves rob a jewellery store of various ancient artefacts, but are quickly foiled by Wonder Woman. 

Following this Diana introduces herself to the hapless Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig) - a highly insecure geologist and gemologist recently started at the Institute, who most of her co-workers ignore because she is socially awkward, unassertive and just plain. Barbara befriends Diana whom she comes to admire and envy because she represents everything she isn't. The next day Barbara is asked by the FBI to identify several stolen and recovered artefacts from the robbery that Diana had foiled at the Shopping Mall. Barbara and Diana notice one artefact in particular which contains an inscription written in Latin claiming that anyone holding it will be granted one wish. Diana unknowingly uses the stone to wish her deceased lover Steve Trevor back to life, while separately having been saved by Diana from an attempted sexual assault, Barbara wishes upon the stone to become like Diana. 

Meanwhile failing businessman Maxwell 'Max Lord' Lorenzano (Pedro Pascal) visits the Smithsonian Institute under the guise of being a wealthy donor. He had previously arranged for the stolen artefact with the Latin inscription, known as the 'Dreamstone' to be delivered to him in the hope of using its power to save his struggling oil company, BlackGold Cooperative. Diana uncovers a connection between Max and the stone and attends a gala at the Smithsonian to investigate. There, she is reunited with Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), whose soul inhabits another man's body, but only Diana can see him as Steve. 

Attending the gala himself, Max seduces Barbara to gain access to her office and steal the Dreamstone. With the Dreamstone now securely in his possession he later that night uses the stone to 'become' the stone and gains its wish-granting powers, along with the ability to take whatever he desires from others in return. Max very quickly becomes a successful and powerful figure whose oil business takes off, and who is hell bent on assuming control of his competitors oil business, ultimately taking over half the world's oil production. In his wake however, he leaves a trail of destruction and chaos and his powers create instability on a global scale. 

With Barbara's help, Diana and Steve discover that the Dreamstone was created by Dolos, the God of lies, treachery, deception, and mischief and is referenced in various historical records down through the ages. The stone grants a user their wish but exacts a toll, and the only way to reverse the exchange is by renouncing the wish or destroying the stone. As the stone crumbled to dust when Max was granted his wish to become the human embodiment of the stone, there is no chance of now destroying it. Steve quickly comes to the realisation that his existence comes at the cost of Diana's power, while Barbara's newfound life has taken away her humanity. Neither woman is willing to renounce her wish.

With every wish that Max grants, so his new found powers begin taking a toll on him physically as his body slowly deteriorates. He bleeds form the nose, the ears and the eyes and his behaviour is becoming increasingly erratic and unhinged. He learns from the President of the United States (Stuart Milligan) of a satellite system that broadcasts communication signals globally, using a technology that touches every electrical communications device on the planet - telephones, computers, televisions. Max plans to use it to grant wishes to the entire world simultaneously to rid himself of his power and restore his health. Diana and Steve confront him at the White House, only for Barbara to joins forces with Max. She defeats Diana, allowing Max's escape. 

Steve convinces Diana to renounce her wish and to let him go, restoring her strength and discovering an ability to fly. Diana returns to her apartment and dons the gold winged protective suit of armour of legendary Amazon warrior Asteria. She then heads to the satellite headquarters and confronts Barbara, who has mutated into a cheetah-like creature after wishing to become an 'apex predator'. After defeating Barbara in a closely fought battle, Diana confronts Max and uses her Lasso of Truth to communicate with the world through him, convincing everyone to renounce their wishes. She also shows Max visions - first of his own unhappy childhood, then as a teenager at College and then of his young son, Alistair (Lucian Perez), wandering the streets crying for his father amid the chaos he has created. Max renounces his wish and reunites with Alistair, promising to be a better father, and one day to make his son proud. 

Some months later, in a street market at Christmas time, amidst a light flurry of snowfall, Diana encounters the man whose body Steve possessed, providing her with some closure and a determination to continue safeguarding humanity. Meanwhile, in a mid-credits sequence Asteria (Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman in the 1970's television series) is revealed to be secretly living among humans, having saved a young child from a falling power pole, and saying to the startled but grateful mother that it's only weight displacement and she has years of experience.

'Wonder Woman 1984' suffers from sequel-itis as it fails to live up to the expectations set so handsomely in the 2017 first instalment. Sure many of the usual characters are there for the purposes of continuity and familiarity, and they all perform their respective roles with aplomb as do the two baddies in the piece played by Wiig and Pascal who both add weight to the storyline which at times falls into cheesy territory. The action set pieces are well choreographed, the look and feel of 1984 is reasonably well recreated, but I was left wanting to see more action from this woman of wonder and less corn (after all she learns she can fly in this sequel - a la the man of steel, and, render inanimate objects - as large as a jet fighter - invisible just by rubbing her hands together!!) 'WW84' is entertaining enough even if it does plod along in places labouring in at an elongated 151 minutes run time, and it has enough emotional heft and escapism to be engaging, but the storyline leaves much to be desired and we have seen it played out many times before in both the DCEU and MCU when nefarious ne'er do well megalomaniacs try to take over the world and eventually succumb to our trusty superhero/ine who is on hand to save the day beyond the eleventh hour and restore some semblance of status quo.  

'Wonder Woman 1984' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard out of a possible five claps.       

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Odeon's closed, productions halted, movies delayed : the impact of the coronavirus!

Usually on a Wednesday I would report on the latest release new movies coming to an Odeon near you in Australia during the week commencing tomorrow. But as cinemas all around the country and elsewhere are temporarily closed, this week and for the foreseeable future this is not to be. So, as the world remains in lockdown, self isolation is the new de rigueur, and all but twenty of the worlds countries are suffering from the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak that has seen large social gatherings forbidden, stores and businesses shut their doors indefinitely, millions of people now working from home or stood down, the global economy on an ever descending downward spiral, borders closed, airlines grounded, and all but essential services and retailers still operating. And, as at the time of writing, there is no end in sight! All that we know is that this global pandemic will pass . . . eventually, but who knows when, and who knows what the world will look like on the other side?

In Australia, movie theatres across the land closed their doors some three weeks ago now, as they did in many other countries around the world. At around about the same time television and film productions were halted indefinitely or cancelled altogether and the Studios who had their movies slated for imminent release have moved back those scheduled release dates to later in the year, or next year, or to some future unspecified date.

So, in case you were wondering what the status is of the big movies originally scheduled for release during the coming months, here is what we know of them so far :-

* 'THE HUNT' - this Blumhouse produced horror thriller is Directed by Craig Zobel and stars Betty Gilpin, Amy Madigan, Hilary Swank, Emma Roberts, Ethan Suplee, and Ike Barinholtz and was released Stateside on 13th March. One week later it was pulled from any further theatrical releases and it was then made available on digital streaming services.

* 'A QUIET PLACE : PART II' - the follow up film to John Krasinski's hugely successful 2018 horror  thriller film is Directed and Written once again by John Krasinski, and stars his wife Emily Blunt with Cillian Murphy, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds, Djimon Hounsou and Krasinski in newly film flash backs. The film was scheduled for an 19th March release, and has since been delayed until 4th September 2020.

* 'PETER RABBIT 2 : THE RUNAWAY' - this live action computer animated comedy film is based on the characters created by Beatrix Potter over one hundred years ago, and is the sequel to 2018's 'Peter Rabbit'. Directed by Will Gluck and starring in live action roles are Domhnall Gleeson, Rose Byrne and David Oyelowo with voices provided by James Cordon, Margot Robbie, Elizabeth Debicki, Lennie James, Sam Neill, Ewen Leslie and Damon Herriman. This film was also scheduled for a 19th March release and has since been put back until 15th January 2021.

* THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD' - this comedy drama offering based on the original story by Charles Dickens was released in the UK in late January, and is Directed, Co-Produced, and Co-Written for the screen by Armando Iannucci, and stars Dev Patel, Tilda Swinton, Peter Capaldi, Hugh Laurie, Ben Whishaw, Paul Whitehouse, Benedict Wong, Aneurin Barnard, Gwendoline Christie, and Morfydd Clark. The film was scheduled for a release in Australia on 26th March. Earlier that month the film was pulled from its further release schedule, and a re-release date has yet to be confirmed. This Reviewer saw an early screening of the film however, back in February at Sydney's Open Air Cinema, so you can check out my Review, to see what you missed.

* 'MULAN' - this Disney live action remake of their 1998 animated feature film was initially scheduled for a 26th March release, but that has now been pushed back to an unspecified future date. Directed by Niki Caro and starring Liu Yifei, Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Jet Li, and Tzi Ma.

* 'THE NEW MUTANTS' - this Superhero horror film intended to be an instalment of the 'X-Men' franchise has been plagued by release date delays, but the most recently publicised date was for an 3rd April release time frame which has now been pushed back to an unspecified date, although expected to be some time in later 2020. Directed by Josh Boone and starring Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Blu Hunt and Henry Zaga as the five new young mutants.

* 'ARTEMIS FOWL' - this Sci-Fi adventure offering is a Disney film based on the 2001 book of the same name by Eoin Colfer, Directed by Kenneth Branagh and stars Ferdia Shaw in the title role with Josh Gad, Colin Farrell and Judy Dench. Scheduled for a 3rd April release, this film has been pulled from its cinematic release and will instead air on Disney+ at an as yet undisclosed date.

* 'NO TIME TO DIE' - the 25th instalment in the James Bond franchise is Directed by Cary Fukunaga and starring Daniel Craig for the final time as Bond with Christoph Waltz, Rami Malek, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Lea Seydoux, Naomi Harris, Ana de Armas, and Rory Kinnear. Originally slated for a 9th April release this latest instalment has been pushed back officially to 12th November 2020.

* 'ANTLERS' - this supernatural horror offering with Guillermo del Toro and David S. Goyer both taking Co-Producer credits was due for a release on 16th April, but has subsequently been pushed back to some future undisclosed date in 2020. Directed by Scott Cooper and starring Keri Russell, Jesse Plemmons, Amy Madigan, Graham Greene and Jeremy T. Thomas.

* 'PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN' - is a black comedy drama offering Directed, Co-Produced and Written by Emerald Fennell and starring Carey Mulligan, Alison Brie, Clancy Brown, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Alfred Molina. Originally set for a 16th April release, this film is still publicised for this date, but that seems highly unlikely at this stage, pending advice from the distributor.

* 'ANTEBELLUM' - is an American horror drama film that was slated for release on 24th April, but a new date for its release has yet to be announced. Directed by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz and starring Janelle Monae, Jena Malone, Jack Huston and Gabourey Sibide.

* 'BLACK WIDOW' - this MCU Superhero gets her own standalone film despite being killed off in 'Avengers : Endgame'. With Scarlett Johannson as Black Widow, with Florence Pugh, David Harbour, William Hurt, Ray Winstone, Rachel Weisz and Robert Downey Jnr as Iron Man/Tony Stark. Directed by Cate Shortland this is the 24th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and launches the MCU Phase Four and is set after the events of 'Captain America : Civil War'. Originally set for a 1st May release, this film has been pushed back with as yet, no date specified.

* 'SPIRAL' (aka 'SPIRAL : FROM THE BOOK OF SAW') - is a horror film that is the ninth instalment in the 'Saw' franchise and is Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, Written by Chris Rock and also starring him too alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Max Minghella. It was due for release on 15th May, but has since been pushed back indefinitely.

* 'THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW' - this psychological thriller is Directed by Joe Wright, and written for the screen by Tracy Letts who also stars together with Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Anthony Mackie, Bryan Tyree Henry, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Julianne Moore. Originally scheduled for a 15th May release, but has been pushed back to an as yet undisclosed date.

* 'F9' (aka 'FAST & FURIOUS 9') - this ninth instalment in the hugely successful and popular action franchise is this time around Directed by Justin Lin and reunites Vin Diesel with Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, Charlize Theron, Helen Mirren amongst others and introduces John Cena as the bad guy. Due for a 22nd May release, but this has now be delayed until 2nd April 2021.

* 'WONDER WOMAN 1984' - this sequel to 2017's successful 'Wonder Woman' film and the ninth film in the DCEU, is Directed as before by Patty Jenkins and stars Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman/ Diana Prince with Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, Robin Wright and Connie Nielsen. Slated for a 5th June release but has now been pushed back to 14th August 2020.

* 'GREYHOUND' - this WWII American war film was written for the screen by Tom Hanks and also stars him too in the lead role as Commander Ernest Krause in this story of The Battle of the Atlantic which took place in early 1942 - only a few months after the US entered WWII. Directed by Aaron Schneider and also starring Stephen Graham, Elisabeth Shue, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and Rob Morgan. Initially scheduled for a 11th June release, this film has been pushed back indefinitely with no date as yet publicised.

* 'CANDYMAN' - is a supernatural slasher film Directed by Nia DaCosta and Co-Written by Jordan Peele, and is a direct sequel to the 1992 film of the same name and the fourth film in the 'Candyman' franchise, based on the short story 'The Forbidden' by Clive Barker. Initially slated for an 11th June release, the film has since been put back to 25th September 2020.

* 'TOP GUN : MAVERICK' - this follow up to 1986's 'Top Gun' film with Tom Cruise as Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell sees the intrepid Navy pilot return in this sequel that was originally scheduled for a 24th June release that has since been delayed until 23rd December 2020. Directed by Jospeh Kosinski and also starring Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, Ed Harris, Val Kilmer and Jennifer Connelly.

* 'FREE GUY' - this Sci-Fi action comedy film is Directed by Shawn Levy and stars Ryan Reynolds (who also Co-Produces) and Taika Waititi, Joe Keery and Lil Rel Howery. Slated for a 3rd July release, this has now been pushed back until 11th December 2020.

* 'GHOSTBUSTERS : AFTERLIFE' - this supernatural comedy offering is a direct sequel to 'Ghostbusters' from 1984 and 'Ghostbusters II' from 1989, and the fourth film in the franchise. Directed by Jason Reitman and starring Mackenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, Bokeem Woodbine, Tracy Letts, and reprising their roles from the first films Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Sigourney Weaver. Set for a release date of 10th July, this has now been pushed back to 5th March 2021.

* 'MORBIUS' - based on the Marvel Comics Superhero character of the same name this is the third film in Sony's Marvel Universe that was intended for a July release date, but this has now been put back until 19th March 2021. Directed by Daniel Espinosa and starring Jared Leto as Michael Morbius with Matt Smith, Jared Harris, Tyrese Gibson and Michael Keaton.

* 'TENET' - this action thriller film is Directed, Co-Produced and Written by Christopher Nolan with an all star cast taking in John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Clemence Poesy, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. It remains at this time still scheduled for a 17th July release - being the fifth Nolan film to be released in the third weekend of July, which has been hailed as his 'lucky date ' as his prior four projects went on to achieve strong box office returns. This of course remains to be seen, or if indeed 'Tenet' will also get pushed back.

* 'THE FRENCH DISPATCH' - is a comedy drama film Directed and Co-Written by Wes Anderson with an all star ensemble cast including Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Elisabeth Moss, Frances McDormand, Lea Seydoux, Edward Norton, Willem Dafoe, Christoph Waltz, Owen Wilson, Jeffrey Wright, Timothee Chalamet and Saoirse Ronan. The film was originally scheduled for a July 24th release, but has since been postponed until 16th October 2020.

* 'JUNGLE CRUISE' -  is an action adventure film based on the Disney theme park attraction of the same name. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and starring Dwayne Johnson (who also Co-Produces), Emily Blunt, Edgar Ramirez, and Jesse Plemmons this film was scheduled for a 24th July release date which has since been pushed back to 30th July 2021.

* 'MALIGNANT' - this horror film is Directed, Co-Produced, and Co-Written by James Wan and stars Annabelle Wallis, Jacqueline McKenzie and Mckenna Grace, and was slated for an 14th August release, which has now been pushed back indefinitely.

* 'ETERNALS' - this Superhero film exists in the MCU and is Marvel's 25th entry into their cinematic universe, Directed by Chloe Zhao and starring Richard Madden, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Barry Keoghan, Angelina Jolie and Kit Harrington as some of the 'Eternals' amongst others - an immortal alien race created by the 'Celestials' who have secretly lived on Earth for over 7000 years, and who reunite to protect humanity from their evil counterparts, the 'Deviants'. Originally scheduled for a 6th November release, and subsequently moved back to 12th February 2021.

And so this just about brings you up to date with many of the movie postponements that have so far been announced, doubtless with more to follow depending on how long this pesky virus thing continues to hang around for. Next week, we'll report on the movie productions that have been halted in their tracks for the imminent future and what this means for their planned release schedule. Stay tuned, keep it here and remain safe . . . indoors!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-