Wonder Woman 1984

The follow-up chapter to Wonder Woman and the ninth instalment in the DC Extended Universe, Wonder Woman 1984 is devoid of everything that was refreshing about the original. Poorly envisioned, shoddily scripted & lazily directed, the film neither has the heart nor the honesty of its predecessor, and is a bland, banal & bloated mess that's further marred by its soulless drama, insipid action, cartoonish effects & lame performances.

Co-written & directed by Patty Jenkins, there are far too many cracks in the script that the writers never bother to remedy, and the sloppy execution on screen only results in a nightmare that's all over the place. Despite the plot being set in the 1980s, the era's vibrant spirit is nowhere to be found in the final print and the gleefully fun vibe & escapist qualities that the trailers promised is sorely missing as well. Jenkins does aim for it but her attempts simply fall flat.

Its 151 mins runtime is strongly felt and is in no way justified. The new characters are thinly sketched, have no meat on their arcs, and are never for once convincing. Gal Gadot utters her lines as if reading from the script for the first time and while that helped add to Diana's cluelessness in the first film, it only exposes Gadot's limited range in this sequel. Kristen Wiig however tries to make something of her sidelined role while Pedro Pascal just decides to have fun in return for an easy payday.

Overall, Wonder Woman 1984 is vastly inferior to the first film and is undeniably amongst the weakest entries in the DCEU. Just about nothing works in this latest addition to the franchise, for the plot is dull & derivative, the direction is sluggish, the action is uninspiring, the CGI is cringeworthy, the pacing is tedious, the acting is forgettable, and even Hans Zimmer fails to deliver the goods. In short, Wonder Woman 1984 is a Suicide Squad-level offering wrapped in bright colours. One of the dullest films of 2020.

For me this was unwatchable really good actors who let the director turn this franchise into a joke

Wonder Woman 1984, directed by Patty Jenkins, significantly underperforms compared to its predecessor, delivering a sequel that lacks the coherence and emotional depth of the original. Despite its vibrant 1980s setting and a promising premise, the film struggles with a convoluted plot, uneven pacing, and underwhelming character development.

The story follows Diana Prince, played by Gal Gadot, living in 1984 Washington, D. C., working at the Smithsonian and performing heroic deeds in secret. The plot centers around the Dreamstone, an artifact that grants wishes but at a significant cost. Diana's wish brings back her deceased lover, Steve Trevor, played by Chris Pine, whose return feels forced and undermines Diana's independence, making him a "masculine crutch" rather than a supportive character like Peggy Carter in the Captain America films.

Gal Gadot continues to shine as Wonder Woman, but even her strong performance cannot save the film from its narrative flaws. The script fails to give Diana the same level of complexity and growth seen in the first film, reducing her to a more passive figure. The return of Chris Pine's Steve Trevor, while charming, dominates the storyline unnecessarily and detracts from Diana's heroism.

Kristen Wiig's portrayal of Barbara Minerva/Cheetah and Pedro Pascal's Maxwell Lord add some intrigue but ultimately fall flat. Wiig's transformation from a meek scientist to a powerful villain is one of the more interesting arcs, but it is rushed and lacks depth. Pascal's Maxwell Lord starts strong but becomes increasingly cartoonish, failing to provide a compelling adversary.

The film's pacing is uneven, with long stretches of exposition and meandering subplots that detract from the main narrative. Key themes about truth and the consequences of wish fulfillment are lost in the cluttered storyline. The over-reliance on CGI, especially in the climactic battle scenes, makes the action feel less grounded and more cartoonish compared to the original.

Visually, the film has its moments, with vibrant colors and some well-executed action sequences, but these are not enough to compensate for the lack of a cohesive and engaging story. The opening sequence featuring a young Diana in an athletic competition is a standout, but nothing else in the film matches its visual cohesion or emotional impact.

Wonder Woman 1984 is a disappointing sequel that fails to capture the magic of the original. The film's convoluted plot, underdeveloped characters, and uneven pacing result in a lackluster viewing experience. While Gal Gadot's performance and the nostalgic 1980s aesthetic provide some highlights, they are not enough to overcome the film's significant weaknesses. Wonder Woman 1984 earns a 4 out of 10 for its missed potential and overall execution, leaving fans yearning for the brilliance of the first film.

I am no expert in comic books myself, but what I expect from a comic book movie is to be striking, visual, stereotypical and above all, consistent with its past and its planned future. WW84 was neither of these! It wasn't awful for a random movie made by students, but it was really bad for a film made by a major studio and starring talented people and having so much material to draw inspiration from.

First of all, Gal Gadot had a supporting role in this film. She may save the day at the end (well, sort of), but the main character of the story was Max, the villain. Then every other supporting cast member had a development arc, while Gadot had about half of one if I am being generous. Second, the story pushed in the invisible jet and that Wonder Woman can fly (!?) in a clunky and hard to stomach way. You almost saw the outline of the executive shouting "she needs to fly in the next movie!!!". And third I am wondering if this film was misandric or not. Men were consistently portrayed as weak, abusive, violent, lacking impulse control and heartless. If it weren't for three male characters whose only quality was they were not evil - and that includes Steve Trevor and the random guy he inhabited, I would have seriously felt under attack the entire film.

The result was something that felt like a draft story for a writer class, with bad CGI, improbable deus ex solutions to problems that were hard to swallow in the first place, underwhelming characters, poor action scenes, pointless Trevor appearance, unnecessarily physical solutions to problems that could have been tackled by simply talking to a person on a phone or something and so on. And the ending was about how nice the holiday season is after a catastrophe that affected every person on the planet and almost destroyed the world!

So no. No! I am not taking it anymore. I am tired of movies that are not made for children but assume I am one, and a dumb one to boot. I want good stories, I want compelling characters, I want people who do their damn jobs!

The first one was fun and well played out. This sequel is a total misfire. Not because it follows the trend of having women being the alpha characters and portraying men as either weak or stupid, but simply because it's a lazy effort. Except a couple of scenes, and hilarious over-the-top acting by Pedro Pascal, I found nothing here. It has "straight-to-DVD" written all over it.