Review by Brad Balfour
Wonder Woman 1984
director: Patty Jenkins
cast: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen
Monster Hunter
director: Paul W. S. Anderson
cast: Milla Jovovich, Tony Jaa, Tip “T. I.” Harris, Meagan Good, Diego Boneta, Josh Helman, Jin Au-Yeung, Ron Perlman
When we think of actresses who have made a difference in cinema, big names such as Meryl Steep, Helen Mirren, and Julia Roberts got the attention and their start in more traditional female roles. However, back in the VHS era, action stars — the B-movie actresses — were the showstoppers.
Two recent films have beautiful leads who are valued in the roles, not so much for their looks but for their ability to kick ass and not worry whether they muss their hair. Milla Jovovich in “Monster Hunter” and Gal Gadot in “Wonder Woman 1984” are these two strong women — willful and powerful — who follow in the tradition of those tough B-stars, but they get to make their moves in more mainstream venues. Through a charming yet gorgeous screen presence, they make these movies both awesome and impactful.
In this video game-based sci-fi film, battle-hardened Lt. Artemis (Jovovich) is suddenly transported to world full of enormous arachnoids or battering ram armored Kaiju (Japanese word for monster) who rule their domain with deadly force. The unflappable soldier teams up with a mysterious man (Tony Jaa) who has found a way to fight back. In her desperate battle to survive against these enemies with seemingly unstoppable, terrifying powers, Artemis learns she can return to her world and can help overcome these creatures by joining forces with the humans on this alien world.
With incredible views of the Paradise Islands and Themyscira, Wonder Woman 1984 opens with a young Diana competing in a series of challenges against other Amazonian warriors. She pushes herself through an obstacle course but loses for taking a short cut. In learning to follow the course honestly, she learns a lesson that is applied to a world in chaos where a magic crystal is used by villian Max Lord to gain power dishonestly thus wreaking havoc on the world. Gadot plays Wonder Woman as powerful and confident but not arrogant.
In the case of both these women, they know what they can do, are willing to test their limits but, ultimately, know they don’t know everything. In this way, they project power but not foolish absolutism. Maybe it’s because both Gadot and Jovovich come from other countries — Israel and Ukraine, respectively — so that they have an internal mechanism which leads them to not make assumptions both as people and as actors; they can be open to learning without appearing weak.
Both films are hardly perfect, kicking off with some confusing misdirection. But, they eventually focus on the through-line and carry their respective stories on to their powerful conclusions. Of course, given the powerful characters that both Wonder Woman and Lt. Artemis are, the films end in such a way as to beg for sequels. And those are worth looking out for as soon as possible.