'WandaVision' Review
- Details
- Category: New Series and Movie Reviews
- Published: Thursday, 14 January 2021 10:08
- Written by Lupe R Haas
WandaVision arrives to Disney+ January 15 with Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen reprising their roles as Vision and Wanda. It’s nothing like we’ve seen before from the MCU, and it’s a trippy road down memory lane that’s nostalgic but the gag gets old by episode two when no answers are provided.
Wanda and Vision are living out an idyllic suburban life in WandaVision straight out of a 50s sitcom in the first episode complete with laugh tracks, wholesome humor and commercials. By episode three, they switch it up to the 70s with a set straight out of The Brady Bunch. Press was only allowed to watch three episodes, but the trailers revealed the series will have different settings spanning across four decades of family sitcoms.
At first, watching Bettany and Olsen play out these wholesome characters is rather cute and sweet but by the second episode, you want answers as to what is happening. You can surmise that this whole scenario is being played out in Wanda’s mind, and there are clues something is amiss.
Bettany and Olsen obviously did their homework and nailed their performances as classic tv personalities. Olsen gives off Elizabeth Montgomery vibes from Bewitched, while Bettany brings that innocent quality of Vision to his role mixed in with some Dick Van Dyke.
Kathryn Hahn is always a joy to watch, and she fits right in playing the nosy neighbor. Teyonah Parris enters the picture as Monica Rambeau, the next Captain Marvel in the MCU films, but here she’s simply Wanda’s friend. You won’t get answers to why Monica is in WandaVision but she promises viewer will get answers which she revealed at a recent press conference.
Despite the nostalgic feelings you get from watching WandaVision, by episode three you’re clamoring for insight into Wanda’s reality. Why is she fantasizing about living happily ever after with Vision? Has she gone off the deep end and living with guilt for her part in not saving Vision from Thanos? The series will not be available to binge watch with new episodes premiering weekly. I doubt audiences will have patience with the slow pace of the show.
Pay close attention to the commercials. Kevin Feige revealed there are Hydra references within those short interstitials. Fans of the movies will understand the hidden references he stated recently, but the average watcher won’t.
It takes a little getting used to seeing a Marvel property so unlike anything they’ve produced. For the older crowd, they might get a kick out of reliving classic tv shows, but will the younger audience care to watch something so foreign?
That remains to be seen when the show premieres January 15 on Disney+.