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Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Could have been worse - could also have been a lot better
Will start by saying that I didn't connect that much with the first Wonder Woman - I found it sweet, but that's it.
Now, off to that one... When I saw the notes (5.7/10 for users and 59/100 for critics as I'm writing this review) I got a bit worried, not gonna lie. Now that I watched it, eh, I do think it's a bit harsh, but not underserved.
First act (up to Steve's resurrection) was good, even though the mall scene was a bit campy. I also enjoyed the last thirty minutes, and found the morale of the movie to be rather sweet and hopeful - in line with what one might expect from a Wonder Woman movie. I liked the music too, and especially enjoyed the call-back to Batman v Superman's soundtrack (Beautiful Lie especially) . Kudos on Hans Zimmer for that, it fit the scene really well.
The rest of the movie, though... Chris Pine is a saving grace, and so is the relation between Diana and Steve. I liked how they showed her more closed-off to humankind, still bearing the loss of Steve, and focused on her duty/role as an Amazon in her "adoptive" world. Otherwise, it's a mess, plain and simple. Diana feels like a supporting/secondary character in her own movie and that is so wrong! Pedro Pascal stole the show as Max Lord and his last scene with his son was really sweet, but between him and Barbara/Cheetah, the show was quite crowded and Diana really didn't get too shine. The main reproach I can make is that the main part of the movie didn't gripe me at all. To be frank, I was bored, and to be bored in front of a pure entertainment movie is a big no from me. The script would have benefited very much from tighter writing and less plot lines, with more focus on Diana.
Overall, there were some good elements (Diana's childhood, Steve and his relationship with Diana, Diana's gravitas due to her grief and her role as amazon, the ending, the soundtrack, also Gal is a very beautiful woman, no matter her outfit) but they pale in comparison to the messy writing and editing. Lots of unfulfilled potential in the end, and this is quite sad.
I'm curious to see what Patty Jenkins will come up with for the third instalment.
The Musketeers (2014)
Decent entertainment
I wasn't expecting much of what I thought to be another American adaption of this monster of French Literature (and realizing it was from the BBC didn't change much) but it's decent entertainment on itself. I think it's better to watch it without expecting to find the adventures written by Dumas but rather to consider it as a (silly) action/adventure period drama.
It is true the first episode wasn't very good (quite... stiff, I would say, in terms of characters and plot) but it gets better with the second episode and more with the third episode so I am expecting it to be quite decent in the end. There's humor in this show, the costumes are pretty, the acting goes from correct (d'Artagnan) to very good (Capaldi obviously) and the Musketeers' specific story lines are quite entertaining (especially the back-story we got in the third episode). Ah, and female characters with their own motives (Milday! what a good!), so that's a (welcome and great) plus. (Along with the fact that this is a diverse cast, it's always good. And there would have been people of color in France at this time, though perhaps not at these positions, I'm not very well versed on this topic.)
On the other hand, I'm less sold on the portrayals of the French court, especially the King, the Queen, their relationship together (or lack of therefore) and overall the palace. I have to say this is rather disappointing. The other sets are correct, I appreciate the effort for the streets and the houses of the common people (as well as the unused mansion, even though it wouldn't have looked exactly like that. Ah well, silly period drama, not historical documentary.). My main (and silly) regret is the pronunciation of Athos: sorry, but I like the French version better.
Overall, it's decent entertainment (what we call in French a TV-show "de capes et d'épées") with action and adventure and humor and shifty political manipulations all in historical setting not too badly done. Honestly worth watching if you can go past the first episode.