Anthony's Film Review - WandaVision (TV Miniseries, 2021)

This Marvel Studios streaming television miniseries presents one of the most creative stories in the Marvel Cinematic Universe...

In any artistic medium, one cannot be truly creative only by following conventions. There has to be an effort to introduce something new, with either new elements or a new combination of existing elements. The more unconventional it is compared to what's been done before, the more creative it is and the more likely people will find it refreshing. That being said, the most mindblowingly creative works of art are those where the artist really thinks outside the box. It has to involve major steps into a new frontier or ideas that no one in the audience has ever expected. If the artist can do that, then the only thing left is to deliver the finished work in a masterful way. A nice piece of familiar art is one thing. A nice piece of art that no one has ever seen is another.

Let's apply this to Marvel Studios and its Marvel Cinematic Universe. So far, the MCU has many examples of superhero stories set within the contexts of other types of stories. There's the superhero World War II movie (Captain America), the superhero space opera (Guardians of the Galaxy), the superhero Norse fantasy (Thor), the superhero Asian martial arts fantasy (Shang-Chi), the superhero spy thriller (Black Widow), and the superhero high school story (Spider-Man). Then you have the Avengers movies that are essentially multi-genre superhero movies. Now let's really stretch the idea. How about WandaVision, a superhero television sitcom? Yes, it sounds unusual on the surface, but it meets the criteria of thinking outside the box. And I'm happy to say that the artists behind this idea have delivered an ingenious piece of work.

WandaVision is a nine-episode television miniseries streaming on Disney+. The first episode presents a black-and-white 1950s-style television sitcom featuring two familiar MCU characters: Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany). The two are a loving couple who live in a lovely house in the town of Westview. The scenes depict their private lives at home, Vision going to work, and the couple having neighbors over for dinner. As with any 1950s sitcom, there is a laugh track accompanying the humorous moments, especially those where the nonhuman powers of Wanda and Vision are involved. The cast and crew of WandaVision have done an incredibly amazing job with recreating the look and feel of a 1950s TV sitcom.

This is also true for subsequent episodes of WandaVision, depicting other styles of American television over the decades. The second episode is a 1960s-style sitcom episode in black and white. This is where Wanda's hairdo is the kind that was popular for women of that decade and where Vision is trying to do magic at a talent show. Interestingly, it's the same town of Westview, just in a different decade. The wonderful attention to detail for the 1950s sitcom homage in the first episode is done here, too, along with episodes of WandaVision set in each decade from the 1970s to the 2000s. Watching each WandaVision television episode is equivalent to sampling real-life television sitcoms like I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, The Munsters, The Brady Bunch, Family Ties, Full House, and Malcolm in the Middle.

But don't be fooled. WandaVision, the Disney+ series, is an official part of the MCU like any other MCU entry. There has to be a superhero story told. This is initially hinted at by certain weird moments in the first few episodes, particularly those involving the presence of the color red in a black-and-white show. Then, we in the audience get a change in perspective. In the middle of the series, we are given the opportunity to witness events outside the WandaVision television episodes in order to understand what may really be going on with Wanda and Vision. Suddenly, the central conflict is presented and we are now much more intrigued. We are dying to know what happens next, kind of like how certain episodes of TV shows end on a "To Be Continued" cliffhanger that leaves us wanting more.

What we really have here is a nine-episode series presented as a three-act story. The first three episodes mainly focus on Wanda and Vision as television sitcom characters. The fourth, fifth, and sixth episodes of WandaVision present an equal mix of the WandaVision sitcoms and the MCU storyline. The last three episodes are presented as the conclusion of the MCU story, in the familiar style of MCU movies. There is plenty of good MCU-style action in WandaVision. Even so, most of my admiration with WandaVision is with the storytelling that brilliantly juggles and smoothly interweaves two seemingly unrelated plotlines.

On that note, I want to comment on the brilliance of the title's multiple meanings. It combines the names of two MCU characters, Wanda and Vision, and it refers to television featuring those two characters. I even noticed that the title can sort to refer to Wanda's perspective, her vision, of the reality she's in. Then there's the interesting observation that WandaVision is the name of each fictional show within this Disney+ show, no matter the decade and style of sitcom we're seeing, and that the story between Wanda and Vision is continuous across the episodes of different WandaVision shows. In fact, the same supporting actors play similar supporting characters in the different WandaVision episodes, and you will realize that they are more important than you may initially assume.

Lastly, it's not just the story of WandaVision that is brilliant. It's also the title characters and their relationship. Wanda wants nothing more than a joyous life, but if things get in the way, she will likely get upset and take matters into her own hands. Vision has a kind personality and is even funny in the context of the various sitcoms. At the same time, he eventually has deep questions about himself and the world he is in now. All of this will come to an emotional heartfelt conclusion that may leave some in the audience crying. As usual, the writers have done an amazing job with developing characters we ultimately care about.

WandaVision is a very good television series, a lot better than I had expected. It's so original and unconventional that it deserves a high score on my rating scale. Based on my level of admiration and emotional experience, it's a solid 9 stars out of 10. It shows that Marvel Studios can excel in television just as much as in movies and can seamlessly jump back and forth between the two forms of media. In addition, there is no limit to what kind of unconventional superhero story the Marvel Cinematic Universe will present. If Marvel can do an amazing take on sitcoms, what's the next thing they'll combine superheroes with? Whatever it will be, they could probably nail it with brilliant results.

(Note: Just like many MCU films, WandaVision has a few mid- and post-credit scenes, particularly with the final episode. Thankfully, if you are streaming this show on a computer, you can look for those scenes by hovering the mouse cursor across the video's progress bar and looking at the little scene preview popping up.)

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about WandaVision, visit the Internet Movie Database.