Wonder Woman 1984 Review
This Wonder Woman 1984 review contains spoilers.
Wonder Woman 84 is a love letter to the 80s, with well intent messages that are scattered over its underwhelming execution. The movie is a shining example that actors by themselves cannot save a movie, especially one that has below mediocre screenplay.
Wonder Woman 1984 became the first movie to have a simultaneous release on HBO Max and theatres. As of this writing, the movie has passed the $118 million mark in the box office. Which is a decent number, considering the pandemic and the hybrid release on the streaming platform.
Gal Gadot plays Diana Prince / Wonder Woman with Chris Pine returning as Steve Trevor. The character of Barbara Minerva / Cheetah was played by Kristen Wiig. Pedro Pascal, who is well known for the Narcos franchise, played Maxwell Lord.
The entire premise of the movie is based on accepting the truth and taking no shortcuts, but it’s disappointing to see the film indulge in this very behaviour time and time again.
Take for example the scene where Diana and Steve show up at the White House to stop Maxwell from obtaining more power. Barbara appears out of nowhere to protect Maxwell, which gave us an eye-rolling moment since there is no possible explanation of how she knew that the characters were currently in the White House.
It doesn’t matter, because the film demands a mandatory fight between Wonder Woman and Cheetah before their final battle.
The effects in the film look wonky and sometimes are downright embarrassing, considering the usual brilliant effects that superhero films are known for. The final act of the film is just utter chaos. Jenkins spent so much time in exposition that the climax was squeezed into a few rushed minutes of screen time.
Pedro Pascal was fantastic in this movie, but his character of Maxwell Lord was far from it. The movie basically makes him a real-life genie that can grant wishes, which he trades for more power. The wishes and the rate at which he gains power was comedically unbelievable, even for a superhero movie.
Some of the character’s actions seemed uncharacteristic, which was fueled by a very lacklustre back story. Moreover, the final fight scene between Cheetah and Wonder Woman was extremely short and visually hard to follow due to poor lighting. Not to mention that Diana literally defeated Maxwell Lord with a motivational TED Talk.
The movie does have good moral messages that are applicable to real-life situations. Sometimes what we want, isn’t what we can or should have, and the movie does expand this notion quite beautifully. The moral dilemma of Wonder Woman, choosing between her superpowers or her resurrected love Steve was exemplary.
Overall, Wonder Woman (2017) was more engaging and had a stronger plotline, which keeps its edge over its sequel.
The Patty Jenkins directed movie has good highs and some real lows but overall is definitely worth the watch.
Final Verdict: 3 stars (out of 5)
