***This review contains minor spoilers***
Watch the SPOILER review on YouTube
The Marvel Studios’ era of streaming television begins with the experimental “WandaVision,” and while the concept is well executed, the show struggles to rise above its sitcom gimmick.
Initially, there isn’t really even a plot. The first three episodes, that while dropping plenty of hints that things aren’t what they seem, are just self-contained sitcoms with just the standard hijinks of any show from those time periods. Even though these episodes are only about a half an hour long, I don’t think a lot of viewers will have the patients to stick around until the show shifts gears and finally lets us see some idea what’s really going on. And even then, we still get another three episodes after that where half the time is spent in another sitcom. Eventually, all the pieces come together for a mostly-satisfying conclusion. The biggest issue is the story they were telling didn’t need to revolve around sitcoms, it seem more like they wanted a show that incorporated sitcoms and built their story around that.
The main characters here have almost all previously appeared in the big-screen Marvel films. Minor characters like Jimmy Woo from “Ant-Man and the Wasp” and Darcy Lewis from the “Thor” films have some nice moments, and we see early on how they have evolved since the last time we saw them. However, one of the best arcs comes from Monica Rambeau, who previously appeared as a child in “Captain Marvel.” Not only does she get some strong character stuff, the fact that Wanda and Vision are mostly playing more-stylized versions of themselves makes her the most relatable character early on. Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen not only do a fantastic job of playing variants of Vision and Wanda from different eras in television, but they really nail in when we get to see them drop the charade and reveal all their emotional baggage. Also, we get the new character of Agnes. While Kathryn Hahn has a lot of fun in the role and chews her share of scenery, her character ultimately fizzes out a bit in the end.
The special effects and production design are movie-caliber. Not only are there big-budget superhero effects, but they also used the same low budget techniques that would have been used on shows from the different eras where they took place. A lot of work was put into making things seem like they were produced decades ago, from the costumes and sets, to the dialog and the character mannerisms, and even to the lights and cameras. (The first episode even used a live studio audience.)
“WandVision” is an entertaining show, but the slow burn-reveals could’ve been speedup a bit, especially for viewers who didn’t realize they were watching a mystery and not a string of old-school sitcoms. Unfortunately, the show gets the audience asking a lot of questions, and a few nagging ones never get answered. But, overall the big reveals payoff, and things wrap up nicely and somewhat bittersweet.
*** out of *****