2017’s Wonder Woman is in my top three of my favorite films in the DCEU. The acting from Gal Gadot, and the action and storytelling made that film stand out after the poor reception of the last few DCEU films at that point. I was looking forward to the sequel Wonder Woman 1984 especially since Patti Jenkins directed the first film. But my anticipation soon turned into disappointment.
Wonder Woman 1984 should have been a great movie. On paper, the idea of the film taking place during that year with a mix of 80’s cliches, comedy, and action with a good superhero story is great. But the execution is bad. The first twenty minutes made zero sense. Is there a point of showing us the younger version of Wonder Woman competing in the games for her to be screwed out of the game when it added nothing to the movie? I was puzzled by that and I thought about that for the entire movie.
Can we also talk about why Wonder Woman 1984 needed to take place that year? There was literally no plot-related reason for the movie to be set in the 80s at all. Terrorists? Oil Barrons? Snake Oil Scammer? Wishing stone? The entire movie could have been set in 2019 and it would have made no difference to the plot whatsoever. Talk about a wasted opportunity. X-Men did a better job with the 60s, 70s and 80s than WW84 did. And this is something I have to nitpick with every movie and television series that takes place in the 1980s and that is, not everyone was dressed like they were auditioning for an MTV music video.
There were a ton of plot holes that opened the floodgates of endless questions on Wonder Woman 1984. How does Steve Trevor know how to pilot that jet model? Where was Maxwell Lord when he found out about the stone? How does Maxwell talking into the camera gives him the ability to grant wishes worldwide? Along with some of the inconsistencies with some of the products that were in the film that were released after 1984? Sorry, but historical accuracy matters to me. These decisions will never be expanded on in the future.
Gal Gadot is perfect for the role as Wonder Woman. But on Wonder Woman 1984, I did not feel the aura and presence of the Wonder Woman character at all. I believe that is because she is much toned down and grounded on Wonder Woman 1984. But there are some good scenes that I did like including the big brawl at the White House.
Kristen Wiig as Cheetah/Barbara Minerva is a good casting choice. But just like Suicide Squad’s Joker, we did not get much out of the Cheetah character. The fight between Cheetah and Wonder Woman gave me flashbacks to the Daryl and Negan vs. Beta fight on The Walking Dead. It should have been a big climactic fight, but it ended up being over before it started with rope physics that are laughable compared to the physics on The Last of Us Part II. And there is something very off about the horrible CGI in most of the film. Wonder Woman 1984 was delayed a few times and they could not even make the CGI better in that time?
Maxwell Lord is a great character in the comics. But here, Maxwell is too cartoonish and not a believable threat. When he appeared on the television granting wishes, I wanted to wish that his character would be dead. In fact, I find it strange that nobody actually wished for that. However, I loved that they gave him a reason to be good again, like yes it’s hamfisted but it works so well. Everyone can relate to a guy who wants to be number one and give his son the world but he takes it to far and realizes it and fixes it. There are some things that I like about Maxwell, but as a villain, I could not buy into him.
Wonder Woman 1984’s final scene is at Christmas. Think about that for a second. The film started in the summer. Then it led to July 4th where the invisible jet could not be detected during the fireworks for some reason, and finished at December. Can I also add that Barbara told the homeless guy to stay warm in the hot summer night? Where are we? Could they not keep track of their own timespan? I have been to Washington, D.C at the summer weather and it is as hot as New York.
Wonder Woman 1984 is a massive disappointment and I did not need to be tied up to her lasso to tell that truth. What set the stone for a badass Wonder Woman on the first film, is not to be found anywhere on the sequel. I wanted to like Wonder Woman 1984, but the script, the awful pacing, and the bad CGI turned me away. Ladies and gentleman, Wonder Woman 1984 is “The Rise of Skywalker” of the DCEU films and I will stand by it.
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