WandaVision is an American sitcom superhero web television series created by Jac Schaeffer. It stars Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Debra Jo Rupp, Fred Melamed, Kathryn Hahn, Teyonah Parris, Randall Park, Kat Dennings, and Evan Peters. The first season has 9 episodes and was premiered on 15th January 2021 on Disney+ Hotstar.
In the first two episodes, set in the 1950s, we saw Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany), moved into Westview, New Jersey, and are trying to live a normal life by not using their superpowers. But there is something Wanda is insecure about. The helicopter toy, the man from the manhole...nothing really adds up. Wanda gets pregnant and gives birth to twins, Tommy and Billy with the help of Geraldine (Teyonah Parris). Slowly things get ugly and dark when things start to alter when Wanda threw Geraldine out of Westview and sees herself surrounded by SWORD agents. So what is Wanda hiding? Is Westview real? Is Vision really alive? Will he ever get to know about what is happening?
Created by Jac Schaeffer and directed by Matt Shakman, WandaVision started as a sitcom showing the two superheroes trying to live a regular life, getting married, making friends, and giving birth to twins. From the third episode, it starts to make sense what is really going on. Apart from the absurd aspect ratio, the changing of black and white to color and slowly you get the idea that now the series has got something bigger to show.
The daughter of Maria Rambeau, Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), the little girl in Captain Marvel, now has returned as the agent of SWORD along with the FBI agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park), who makes his entry with the trick Ant-Man taught him. They are both trying to figure out a missing town - Westview. Wanda has guarded the town with a hexagonal static CMBR field, no one can move in or out as they please, hence the authorities are getting reports of missing persons. Then there's Director Tyler Hayward (Josh Stamberg) who wants to eliminate Wanda at any cost.
This is what forms the main storyline, people inside the Westview are trapped by Wanda, they are suffering, seeing the horrors of Wanda in their dream whereas Vision feels skeptical about his life, whether he's real or not, what he was before Westview. That's when he gets to know that Wanda is making this all up for herself. The setup from the outside of Westview appears like Annihilation starring Natalie Portman, there was a shimmer here is Hex. The disappearance of half of the population, thanks to Thanos, and then suddenly appearing after so many years, leading to chaos, and Monica was one of them...
She comes back and starts to find her mother, but she learns that she died of cancer five years ago. And maybe so she connects and feels why Wanda did this. She knows her grief, as Wanda has lost Vision and her brother Pietro. The show is standing on sadness and death and grief and most of the Marvel characters are dealing with the same. Wanda love the sitcoms, The Dick Van Dyce Show, she was watching it when her house was attacked with a missile of Stark Industries, killing her parents and later joins the anti-freedom terrorist organization and that's where she got the powers when she faced an infinity stone that amplified something in her while otherl dies. But finally, Wanda Maximoff becomes the Scarlett Witch with powers surpassing that of the Sorcerer Supreme. And getting such a mind-blowing climax was not expected, as it started as a sitcom with light-hearted and hilarious scenes which become larger and darker with every episode. And it's been Agatha all along!!
Elizabeth Olsen gets the big window to show her range of acting skills. Be it the 50s sitcoms, or as a vulnerable mother, or as Scarlett Witch, she's is impeccable and breathtaking. Paul Bettany also impresses with his restrained performance and bringing a delicacy and an amazing wit (first 3 episodes) to his characters. "I've been a voice with no body. A body, but not human. And now...a memory made real. Who knows what I might be next?" - A beautiful journey described with beautiful lines. Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness shines throughout with her energetic performance, be it as a nosy neighbor or as a witch. Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, Randall Park as Jimmy Woo, Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, Evan Peters as Ralph Bohner, and others have lent good support.
The cinematography by Jess Hall is spectacular. The CGI-loaded action sequences or the normal comic scenes, everything has been captured well, keeping the era in the mind. The production design by Mark Worthington is great and appropriate. The theme music by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez goes well with the tone of the show. The editing is just perfect.
Overall, WandaVision is the superhero show we deserve. It has everything Marvel is known for, its humor and light tone, great VFX, and top-notch fight sequences, it has it. Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany are amazing, putting up a solid performance and bringing a likeliness to their characters. There's no way to skip this, Marvel is in its perfect form, doing experiments, and ruling the world with their superhero films, but truly it was remarkable to see how Wanda and Vision were presented in front of us in this show, it's intense and pure...an epic love story of two superhumans. Now I can't wait for 19th March when Falcon and the Winter Soldier will finally air.
Rating:- 4/5
Now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
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