Review: If ‘The Wonder’ doesn’t quite live up its title, it remains something to behold.
A couple of weeks ago we were alerted to the film’s existence by news blog, The Daily Blimp. Now, a film called ‘The Wonder’ was the object of much attention earlier in the year; with its release date only recently confirmed, the news blog, with a few helpful facts, has created buzz and interest in said film, and the fact that the film’s writer and director, Steve James, is known to have an interest in horror and gothic horror in particular.
There are two main characters in the film: The Wonder, played by a very young and very adorable Charlie Hunnam, who in the film is the titular character, and his partner, Jack. And while he is a ‘goth,’ there is no attempt to make him into a Goth; he is just an awkward and naïve young man who has problems with his girlfriend, Liz (also played by a very young and very adorable Charlie Hunnam).
The Wonder is the star of the film; he is a brilliant computer hacker who gets very frustrated by the fact that Liz is unwilling to accept his love and, therefore, breaks her heart. He is a very good friend of Jack, who himself is a brilliant hacker, but for some reason these two are best enemies to each other. The two of them have been working together for years, and the film begins with a scene of them sitting in an apartment, working on a computer virus and going on a tirade against each other. This seems to have been written as an allegory for their relationship, but I don’t think it necessarily is; however, the film does feature this strange allegory about this relationship happening within the film itself.
The film begins and ends with a scene of the two characters sitting at a laptop, talking to a computer; however, the film seems to be in a constant state of change. The film takes place in different time periods and with varying characters and incidents. This makes it very difficult to describe the film as a straight thriller; in fact, I personally feel that this would be the film’s biggest flaw. There are several instances of the film featuring scenes that are either very suspenseful, or just funny