Wonder Woman 1984 (Review)
Wonder Woman 1984 Proves that Not Even Amazonians Can Defeat the Dreaded Cinematic Superhero Sophomore Slump
2020 has been a hell of a year for us all, and one that I’ve been more than excited to leave behind due to how much it turned the movie industry upside down and the long-term effects it might have on my ability to remain a critic. Thankfully, the year is ending, and Warner Bros left a gift under my tree in the form of Wonder Woman 1984 being available to stream the same day it hit theaters. Now, the first Wonder Woman is still sitting pretty in the number one spot in my rankings of the DCEU films, but 84 is a startling fall from grace for the big-screen heroine. That’s not uncommon for superhero sequels, but given how well the DCEU has been doing recently with Aquaman, Shazam!, and Birds of Prey, I expected it to avoid a sophomore slump.
The last time we saw Diana Prince AKA Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), at least chronologically, she was bidding farewell to her one true love, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), as he saved the world at the cost of his life back in World War I. Flash forward to the 80s and she’s keeping a low profile at her day job in the Smithsonian while stopping criminals on the side as a mysterious heroine. All in all, things are pretty slow for the Amazonian Princess who came to save the world of man. Well, anyone familiar with Greek mythology knows that makes her all too tempting a target for the Gods to mess with. While she doesn’t have to worry about the likes of Ares gunning for her, she faces a new threat in the form of Uber-capitalist Max Lord (Pedro Pascal) who subscribes to the Gordon Gekko philosophy of “greed is good.” That greed leads him to a mythical artifact that poseses not only the power to make all his dreams come true, but also threatens the world as we know it. Good thing Wonder Woman knows a thing or two when it comes to dealing with the mythological, and she will not sit by and let a businessman destroy everything she’s sworn to protect.
Wonder Woman 1984 isn’t a terrible movie, especially compared to a few of the other entries in the DCEU. Director Patty Jenkins has returned along with cinematographer Matthew Jensen and composer Hans Zimmerman from the first film. Together they manage to capture some of the magic of the original film while updating it to reflect the peppy, vibrant vibe of the 80s without succumbing to the nostalgia of the decade. However, the 80s are a far cry from the grunge and grit of the first World War and there isn’t much that Diana manages to bring with her after all those years. Fortunately, Wonder Woman 84 finds a way to bring back Chris Pine’s Steve Trevor (magic and all that), which proves to be both good and bad in the grand scheme of things. Good, because he is the primary source of comedy in Wonder Woman 1984 with his man-out-of-time gimmick. Bad, because he makes me doubt if Gal Gadot was the heart of the first film, and if not, what does that mean for Wonder Woman’s future?
Along with the returning powerhouses from the first film, a number of new faces pop up in Wonder Woman 1984. Of course, the superheroine needs some new baddies to do battle with, and comic fans will recognize the names Max Lord and Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig). Wiig’s Minerva probably has the most dramatic character arc in Wonder Woman 1984, but as she gives in to the dark side, it’s hard not to notice how unintimidating she is as a villain. I was hoping she might be another one of those comedians who shocks audiences with an intense performance (see Robin Williams in Insomnia), but Wiig never manages to sink her teeth into the role (that’ll be funny once you see it). On the other hand, Pascal brings that special something that he brings to all his roles. However, the cinematic version of Max Lord proves not to be all that… Cinematic. Despite the lack of creativity put into the presentation of his special abilities, Pascal is still at the top of his game and pours himself into the character, and temporarily diverted my attention from the bad aspects of Wonder Woman 1984, which are numerous.
Unfortunately, Wonder Woman 1984 suffers from an unacceptable level of short-sightedness and a script riddled with plot holes. I can’t imagine why Warner Bros traded Allan Heinberg for Dave Callaham, but it proves to be a huge mistake. Callaham’s story is shallow and shoddily crafted from start to finish. The sheer number and size of the plot holes and nonsensical choices are so distracting that they constantly pulled me out of the moment, leaving me more annoyed than entertained. There isn’t a single aspect of Wonder Woman 1984 that feels completely thought out. This is especially the case with the underlying themes which are presented with the sort of obtuse fashion that stinks of the kind of hypocrisy and ignorance that is usually preceded with a condescending “when I was your age…” The blame isn’t solely on Callaham though (despite his eye-rolling dialogue), because it was Jenkins who was responsible for presenting the best of Wonder Woman, and this time around the action sequences lack the same sense of grace and creativity that filled audiences with awe previously. There’s more that I could rant and rave about, but that would involve spoilers and I’m just not that kind of critic.
As depressing as it is to admit, Wonder Woman 1984 is an underwhelming follow up that threatens to undermine my confidence in the progress the DCEU has made recently. At the beginning of 2020 Wonder Woman 1984 was one of the movies I was looking forward to the most and after the year it’s been, well it would not have been hard to end it on a “high note” with a fun holiday superhero flick. As I said, Wonder Woman 1984 isn’t a terrible film, and it does offer a few fun moments, but it also is far from great due to the sheer carelessness of the story and the painful realization that Gal Gadot’s talents lie in being a statuesque beauty rather than portraying emotion. Here’s hoping Warner Bros learns from its mistakes and rectifies them for the inevitable third entry in the Wonder Woman series.
