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Wonder Woman 1984
(Warner Bros. Pictures/DC)
By Lucas Allen
No matter how you feel about the DCEU, it’s agreeable that “Wonder Woman” is the guiding light among the darkness this film universe was mostly known for. The 2017 blockbuster made its own impact on the moviegoing public with a hero full of grace and wonder. Among the highly anticipated titles delayed due to the pandemic, “Wonder Woman 1984” is the one the audience were most hopeful enough to carry the same magic as the first film. Once again, Patty Jenkins brings a grand vision to this big scale superhero movie.
Though far away from the mystical island of Themyscira, brave Amazon warrior Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) is able to live in America as both herself and her alter-ego Diana Prince. Working at Washington’s Smithsonian in 1984, she’s introduced to bubbly Barbara (Kristen Wiig) looking for that same kind of success as Diana has. The two of them discover a mysterious rock recovered from a botched jewelry heist. Little did they realize that the stone has the power to grant wishes from anyone who holds it. Naturally, Diana wishes for love causing the resurrection of her lost lover Steve Trevor (Chris Pine).
However, the stone also grants the wish but not without paying a price. That’s what happens when Barbara wishes to be fiercer and ends up becoming Cheetah. Unfortunately, the stone also ends up in the hands of oil magnate Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) who used his wish for more power by merging with the stone. As Wonder Woman tries to save the world once more, she too has to pay the price for her wish.
Despite what the advertisements promise, this sequel’s story sadly doesn’t live up to the first film. While it has good action and funny moments, it gets too cluttered when it juggles its three subplots and two villains in the same script. Plus, the way the consequences suddenly happen in the third act makes the movie feel like 2020 rather than the colorful year in the title. It’s not a good thing when you’re hoping for something uplifting as the first “Wonder Woman” and end up with the equivalent of “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.”
As disappointing as the story is, there’s no denying some really good filmmaking in spite of the overlong runtime. The action scenes including the opening games sequence and the Cairo chase reminiscent of Raiders of the Lost Ark were some great highlights. There’s also some wonderful humor with Trevor this time living out a time of atrocious fashion-sense and revolutionary technology. While this film’s climax is not as big and brass as the previous film’s last act, it does end on a pretty satisfying note after going through all that trouble. With that said, the sequel works in parts rather than whole.
Gadot gives a more refined performance in her signature role than in previous films with likability, beauty, and emotion. Pine is more hilarious here than the first film and his scenes with Gadot contain some great chemistry. Wiig simply plays off one of her SNL characters at first, but she gets a lot better as her character’s metamorphosis goes on. Pascal relishes in his over-the-top villainous performance as an exaggerated version of Biff Tannen from Back to the Future.
“Wonder Woman 1984” can be seen as the DCEU’s equivalent to the MCU’s “Iron Man 2.” It’s a somewhat entertaining sequel that doesn’t measure up to the original’s success. It’s also one of those love-it-or-hate-it blockbusters that’ll be debated on its merits for years to come. If you do see it in theaters or on HBO Max, your enjoyment of this action-packed sequel depends on how you feel about the plot and how it plays out. Plus, stay tuned for a mid-credits surprise that’ll surely delight any fan of the character.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: PG-13 (for sequences of action and violence)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3 Stars (Out of Four)
