It has been quite some time since we last saw a new comic book movie get released. It has been the most popular genre for this entire century and it had to take a backseat once the pandemic hit. The one that seems to have been hit the hardest has been Wonder Woman 1984. It has finally arrived after a long delay, but was the wait worth it? Not at all. I was really hoping for something special here but Wonder Woman 1984 is everything people fear with a superhero sequel. A less inspired version of something we cherished that feels like they ran out of ideas but just had to put something out.
Wonder Woman 1984 picks up many years later from when the original came out. Diana Prince has gone about her life-saving individuals on a daily basis while also recovering from the loss of her love Steve Trevor. There is a hole in her heart she never has been able to fill. When an object with the ability to grant your greatest desires comes along, it brings back everything Diana once loved, as well as those who also come in contact with it. However, it is a classic case of “be careful what you wish for” and things don’t go as they expect leaving Diana to make a difficult choice and be the hero she set out to be. The original film from 2017 was such a breath of fresh air became a real cultural phenomenon that has lasted up until today. This sequel takes all the goodwill the original had and just smothers it with more of everything and less heart. The original had something to say and this sequel just felt as if they were collecting a paycheck and blows my mind that the same creative team behind the first also made this. The passion is gone and we are left with the same cheesy superhero film that gave the genre a bad name back in the 1990s and ironically, the 80’s.
These comic book films require you to suspend your disbelief quite often. Whether it be stones that can destroy everything or a talking raccoon, we can usually get behind everything if done right. But when you give me a Pedro Pascal mixing himself with a wishing rock, you have lost me. It’s not even the concept that is ridiculous from the beginning, it’s the execution. If the movie doesn’t want to follow it’s own rules, then why should I give it a pass? Consistently this film introduces us to rules and then goes on to break them and expects us not to question anything. For example, in order for one to use the wishing rock, you must touch it. However, the film decides touch isn’t necessary if it’s not convenient to the plot towards the end. That is just one of many examples. After a couple of moments that make you question logic, you begin to get frustrated and question everything.
What might be one of the most confusing aspects of Wonder Woman 1984 is its lack of interest in Wonder Woman herself. It is really more about Maxwell Lord played wonderfully by Pedro Pascal. He has all the charm and charisma to keep this film from being stale and even when he morphs into a cheesy, over the top bad guy in the third act, you forgive it because of the goodwill he built up in the beginning. Gal Gadot as Diana Prince is fine, but she never took that leap you expect actors to make from film to film with the same character. Diana really never goes through a journey throughout and even when she has to make a difficult choice, there isn’t that emotional weight there because there is little to no development. Gal deserved better material for this character. The best stuff in here is everything with her and Chris Pine as Steve Trevor. Their chemistry only got better and when they are separated, there is a drastic difference in the quality of the film. Finally, Kristen Wiig is great as Barbara Minerva, but the film rushes her conclusion in the third act and you forget about her for a large chunk of the film. Again and again, decisions are made by the creative team that makes you wonder how the same people made this film and the original.
I was really hoping for a return to form for the comic book genre with Wonder Woman 1984 but if anything, this film made me want to have a break again. It is a lazy, overlong, uninspired sequel that only hurts its impeccable predecessor. It is a Wonder Woman film that barely has anything to do with Wonder Woman and nothing to do with the year 1984. I love the character and what she stands for, but she and Gal deserve better, and if they make a third film, which increasingly seems like a massive “if”, I hope they think everything through more thoroughly.
The Verdict