Wonder Woman 1984 2020

Wonder Woman 1984 (WW84) is the highly-anticipated sequel to 2017's Wonder Woman, which was a critical and financial success for DC. The story takes place in the 1980s, and finds Diana Prince (played by Gal Gadot) facing off against the villainous duo of businessman Max Lord (Pascal) and geologist-turned-supervillain Barbara Minerva/Cheetah (Wiig). The plot centers around a magical Dreamstone that can grant wishes, but at a cost, and this MacGuffin is what brings Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) back into the picture. Although the movie has some enjoyable moments and good performances, especially from Gal Gadot, it falls short in terms of heart, soul and pacing. The themes raised and subplots introduced are not fully developed, making the movie feel uninspired, and the climax and pacing feels janky and plodding. The action is decent, but fails to make up for the lack of emotional depth. Overall, WW84 is not a bad movie, but it fails to live up to the expectations set by the first installment and comes across as a bit pointless.

Wonder Woman 1984 (WW84) es la muy esperada secuela de Wonder Woman de 2017, que fue un éxito crítico y financiero para DC. La historia tiene lugar en la década de 1980 y encuentra a Diana Prince (interpretada por Gal Gadot) enfrentándose al dúo de villanos del empresario Max Lord (Pascal) y la geóloga convertida en supervillana Barbara Minerva/Cheetah (Wiig). La trama se centra en una Piedra del Sueño mágica que puede conceder deseos, pero a un costo, y este MacGuffin es lo que hace que Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) vuelva a la escena. Aunque la película tiene algunos momentos agradables y buenas actuaciones, especialmente de Gal Gadot, se queda corta en términos de corazón, alma y ritmo. Los temas planteados y las subtramas presentadas no están completamente desarrollados, lo que hace que la película se sienta sin inspiración, y el clímax y el ritmo se sienten torpes y laboriosos. La acción es decente, pero no logra compensar la falta de profundidad emocional. En general, WW84 no es una mala película, pero no cumple con las expectativas establecidas por la primera entrega y parece un poco inútil.

To start with something positive: I still think Gal Gadot fits perfectly well to role of Wonder Woman and I think she should continue to portrait that character. Unfortunately that one of only a few positive things I've to say to about that movie. What really bugs me around is that there are so many things that literate make no sense or did not contribute to the movie at all. To name a few:

The title: Wonder Woman 1984 - ok, why 1984? 80's are cool? Tribute to Eric Arthur Blair? I might have missed a fact but why use an 80's setting if there is no reason to do so?
The plot: Without going into the details this is a typical plot for a super hero movie. The problem is: They made the worst out of it you could do. It is just boring and it feels like that there are no main characters. And why the hell would you bring back Chris Pine just to grin into the camera and say "Oh wow I'm back and now I'm gone"?
The villains: Just one example here that really hits rock bottom: Barbara Minerva after her metamorphosis to that trashy cat thing. I mean what is this? "Hey mom can we watch the musical Cats? No we have Cats at home."

Other facts like sound(track), camera etc. are all fine but especially in contrast to the first movie it remains a huge disappointment.

To be frank, and I suppose unpleasant, this film is a mess. The opening scenes not only seem to have literally nothing to do with the rest of the story but also make little to no sense. I did not understand what the ‘games’ were about and why on earth did thousands of whooping and fist-pumping (funny how that evolved in a civilisation cut off from the rest of the world) spectators cram into a huge arena to sit whilst A running, jumping, throwing, riding race took place far away from the venue that they could not see or hear, they got brightly coloured banners to tell them who won though. Not only that but a 12-year-old took part against fully grown women and beat them. I get Wonder Women is supposed to be superior even amongst her peers but this was beating everyone around the head with that message to the point of utter wibbly-wobbly dumbness that the whole film never recovered from. I just did not see the point of the opening part of this film.

The action set piece of the mall-store robbery seemed to be for comic effect although it supposedly had a plot point, but once again dumb and badly staged.

Pointing out the scenes that were badly set up or pointless or Basil Exposition heavy in itself is a redundant exercise but from my point of view there were far too many in WW84.

The film is set in 1984 – so instead of just subtly referencing it at points throughout the film we are in fact battered about the head with it, constantly, and childishly. The reason the film is set in 1984? Presumably so they could make as many lame jokes as they could shoe-horn in and because mobile phones make so many perilous situations superfluous.

I really enjoyed Wonder Women, the same director, the same actors, so why does this film looks like someone who is new to directing and producing made it is beyond me. Gal Gadot is lovely to look at, although a bit too unattainable skinny for my liking, and although she will never be award-worthy her acting was okay, in WW84 it is awful and wooden. Perhaps it was the on-the-head clunkers she had spout to make plot and social commentary points throughout the running time. Funnily enough the sentiments and ideology behind the film probably line up more with mine than agin them. After all men have made countless films where they are the hero and women are either love-interest or worse still not in it much at all, female directors are now still only just coming to the fore, superheroes should stand up for all that is fair and right in the whole world and protect the weak and vulnerable from others and themselves. We know in the real world that is never going to happen and probably never will for the rest of the time that humans exist. Having said that just because the story and motives are a bit hokey does not mean that you can make your film a big pile of unwashed pants. Let us make it grounded in some sort of world we know.
Plots holes are to be found in every film, often not because writers and directors do not realise they are there, but because they need to get to point C from point A to tell the story and they hope that the majority of film-goers will not notice due to the film’s overall strength. If your film is weak and uninteresting and full of plot holes, then everyone falls down them. I got tired of climbing out of one only to tumble down the next in WW84. Wonder Women’s powers, when she did not have them weakened to add more peril, seemed to vacillate between indestructible and then a bit crap, the way the ‘lasso of truth’ was presented in the story actually meant she did not need to do anything else but just fling it about here, there and everywhere from her apartment balcony, it could go a long way and was indestructible. She could literally lasso clouds.

I often say, as I am unoriginal and repetitive, that good actors can hold together a weak film like some strong bonding glue. Chris Pine is a good actor, within his range, likewise Kristen Wiig, although my personal jury is out on Pedro Pascal but in this film they all seem to be coasting. Kristen Wiig is good in comedic roles, the slight underdog or overlooked person and clearly that is why she is cast as Barbara Minerva, including the most cliched and horrible, drop my briefcase full of papers signpost early on, then ever colleague and person she meets being really horrible to her, but as a villain she sort of does not cut it. I am hoping Mr Pascal was told to eat every single bit of scenery and play his character as kids Saturday morning show baddy – he seemed to have escaped the clutches of the Power Rangers only to fall into the path of Wonder Women. If he plays Joel in the upcoming Last of US TV like this let’s hope he gets to play golf early on. There is little chemistry on the screen between Pine and Gadot and although he tries desperately to inject some off-kilter humour in his role a lot of it falls flat. Frankly when they are together in romantic scenes they both look a tad bored.

What you see on the screen is not much better. The battles and set pieces are crashy-bashy which is exactly what you want from your super-hero movies but actually I was hoping for more, which is rare for me, some of the CGI is ropey (no pun intended) to say the least. I also had a problem with it being 1984 we had crazy bum-bag fashions and hairstyle thrust into our face and then other characters seemed to have some rather modern style clothing that did not make them look silly when it suited them. The whole feel of the story was off and odd.

The story, well I can rant on about that, but Gal Gadot summed it up near the end of the film. It is the Monkey’s Paw stretched out over two and a half hours.

Anyone who reads my opinions on films, you know who you are, all two of you, will know that superhero films are not my cup of tea. I understand the feel the makers are going for, the audience they need to appeal to, the atheistic of the stories, but how about using some different size and style brushes other than ‘Flat Size 20’? For example, the end of the story the final scenes, I nearly got diabetes watching it. What world was Diane living in, what city or country, it seemed almost to shot deliberately for laughs, as pastiche. It was not.

Also, and it might have been my Blu-Ray, but all the dialogue seemed dubbed, like the entire film’s dialogue was ADRed and then very badly synched. I was distracted. I wear hearing aids I was hoping they had not gone wrong.

I keep reading and hearing the superhero comic book films are for all ages but more adult orientated than others thing. If that is the case WW84 was written and made for those aged about ten.

I cannot recommend this film.

Wonder Woman 1984, it's fair to say, has received something of a mixed reaction. When the initial reviews came in, the critics loved it, but as more and more set their eyes on the film the enthusiasm waned. Even general audiences have been a little divided, with some appreciating the movie's aims and others taking issue with some of the ideas presented within the screenplay.

Personally I enjoyed it. Whilst it may not have quite reached the heights of the first Wonder Woman, there's plenty to appreciate here. The opening sequence, for one, is stunning. This sees a young Diana Prince competing in a major sporting event in her home land of Themyscira. It's a really breathtaking segment that draws you into the movie from the start, and the accompanying narration by Gal Gadot as the Adult Diana works well with the imagery.

Similarly the opening battle of the film in the shopping centre makes for a thrilling action sequence. I always like it when we see a superhero fight what is essentially an everyday crook for them, as it shows that they have their own mundane days in their field of work. It's not always big universe-shattering events, sometimes it's just a pair of thieves. There's a greater meaning too behind seeing Wonder Woman save a kid being dangled from a shopping centre balcony rather than an entire world or nation. It's a more personal touch, and it helps to ground the heroics significantly.

The bigger threats do come later into the film however, as Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) gets his hands on the mysterious wishing stone, and wishes to become the stone itself. Maxwell is a fun character; he's a TV personality who craves power, and takes it from those who cross his path. He's kind of what I'd imagine an evil Stephen Mulhern would be like, if his TV persona wasn't an act he obviously put on for the cameras. I really like the monkey's paw aspect of the wishing stone, and its human embodiment; the idea that you get what you wish for but at a cost always holds for some great dramatic potential, especially when our hero is granted her wish, at the cost of her powers weakening.

Talking of Diana's wish, this is an element I have seen some critique over. The base of her wish fulfilment involves her boyfriend from the previous film Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) returning from his death - albeit in a different man's body - but as mentioned, the price paid is her powers growing weaker. Some have taken issue with how Steve is essentially using a random stranger as a vehicle, which means that when Diana and Steve sleep together she is essentially doing stuff to his body without his consent. I don't see it that way however. The body, in my view, is the vessel, it's not the person inside. When Diana was with Steve, she wasn't with a random stranger. She was with Steve. Diana wasn't, therefore, forcing herself upon anyone.

The Steve aspect of the narrative is overall a lot of fun. Essentially you get the same fish out of water aspect from the first film, although this time the roles are reversed. This time it's Steve out of his comfort zone, in a different time period he is used to, and it's very entertaining seeing his reaction to 80s clothes or escalators. I'm always a sucker for that kind of fish out of water stuff, so personally I got a lot of enjoyment from watching Steve's perspective on this new world.

I do feel it would have worked better narratively speaking, however, had Steve not been played by the same actor from the previous film. We are told Steve looks different, and that he's a different man - but he spends the majority of the film looking exactly the same, precisely because it's Chris Pine. I get that the film is told from Diana's perspective, so it's essentially what she is seeing, but it does just make you wonder why they even bothered with the Steve Trevor body swap if they weren't going to do anything with the concept. We get the odd glimpses of the stranger - played by Kristoffer Polhala - such as when Steve is looking in the mirror, but the point that in reality he doesn't look the same as the Steve Diana knew isn't really shown to us enough as the audience. In fact, you end up even forgetting that Steve Trevor is using another man's body. Instead of telling us that this is Steve in a different man's body, how about showing us by having Kristoffer Polhala effectively playing Steve Trevor, with odd flashes of Chris Pine instead? In any story the idea should be to 'show, don't tell'. But here it's 'tell, don't show'.

One of my favourite aspects of this film is Kristen Wiig as Barbara/Cheetah, and in a largely straight role for an actor largely known for her comedic roles, Kristen Wiig totally knocks it out the park. She is endearingly awkward as Barbara before she makes her wish, and later shockingly cold when she loses her humanity as the cost for her wish to be like Diana. You really buy into Barbara's wish to possess the strength and confidence of Diana Prince, and it's hard not to agree with her to an extent when she asks Diana why she should be forced to give her newfound strength back. Kristen Wiig was a very solid casting choice for sure.

If the film is let down by anything, it's how surprisingly little there actually is of Diana Prince fighting as Wonder Woman. For a film entitled 'Wonder Woman 1984', Diana actually doesn't do that much vigilante work. Whilst this decision does mean we get some great character moments that help to build further on the relationship dynamics between Diana and Steve, it does mean that most of the action is stuff that was already shown in the trailers or on The Graham Norton Show. The film could perhaps have introduced more moments for Diana Prince to show off her skills, and give us more of the 'Wonder Woman' that the title promises.

On a more positive note, Wonder Woman 1984 has perhaps one of the best mid-credits scenes of any film to date. This features the original Wonder Woman Lynda Carter as the 'Golden Warrior' Asteria, and it's a very cool moment for sure. It does make you wonder if they're planning for Lynda Carter to have a major role in the upcoming third Wonder Woman film, as this mid-credits sequence seems to suggest. Could two Wonder Woman actors collide?

Overall, Wonder Woman 1984 is a highly enjoyable follow-up to the first movie. Whilst it perhaps doesn't feature as much 'Wonder Woman' action as you would typically expect, and the decision to keep Chris Pine as Steve Trevor in the context of the film may seem a little strange considering the body swap concept, it features some truly stunning sequences, and two great villains in Maxwell and Barbara. Wonder Woman 1984 is a film that doesn't quite reach the heights of the original, but it gives it a damn good try.

I'd watched the trailer of this movie, and I knew it was gonna be boring. Boy was i not wrong. So lame. Made such a lovable character of the justice league so lame, if you ask me. Just DC things I guess. I had really been looking forward to Flashpoint after Justice League, but after watching this, I'm not getting my hopes up.

Kristen, who played the part of Barbara was really good in the first half, I felt. The makeover, especially. But the transition from semi-villain to full villain was so bad. But that's not on her, it's because of the story. The same old ugly plot of heroes pleading with the villains to do the right thing is really getting annoying now, absolutely ruins any movie. I'd have given it lesser of a rating if it weren't for Gal Gadot. Her looks and accent and costume made me keep it interesting a little bit, but I'm not much of a fan of the acting there. Again, can't really say it's about her, the story was crap. Also the stupid plot about bringing back the old bf Steve, was again a cheap plot. And also, one of the lamest villains I've seen across MCU & DCU

Please don't be fooled by the poster; the movie isn't as vibrant as it seems. It still looks good, but it did not pop out as much as I expected.

The movie could have worked if the plot was structured and had a logic that made sense. It just felt like ideas that seemed good were thrown in without taking a good look at it.

Some characters did not need to be in the movie for sure. Chris Pine’s character felt super forced, and morally it made wonder woman look not so great. Superheroes have their flaws, but this seemed yikes it reminded me of the ending of the lovely bones and how it's similar and problematic. Kristin Wiggs is a good actor, and it felt like a disservice giving her a character that wasn't fully developed, and if you cut out her parts, it wouldn't make a difference.

Pedro Pascal’s back must have hurt lifting all the weight from carrying this movie; he's genuinely the one redeeming the movie.

It was a straightforward plot, and it's a scenario that shows what would go wrong if The secret by Rhonda Byrne came to life.

Overall, it's not a bad movie by any means, but it could've been so much more, and it is sucks because the first movie was pretty good.

Wow, this movie was really bad. I quite liked the first movie and I am amazed how the writer(s), apparently with Patty Jenkins in the lead, managed to turn this into a boring piece of crud.

The movie is just so boooooring and nonsensical.

Below are my notes when watching this movie (I had to do something while watching it to not get bored out of my mind) which pretty much speaks for itself.

What is it with the stupid beginning? It was just silly lecturing and did not really bring anything to the story.

Those clowns pretending to be robbers. Was it supposed to be funny? Well it was not. Bad start indeed.

25% and this is boring.

40% and this is still f... boring.

A guy used to fly ancient propeller planes can suddenly fly jet fighter planes. And she "forgot" about radar? Seriously?

Flying straight through exploding fireworks and no one saw them nor did the engines get clogged up? And did they not have a world to save instead of sightseeing by the way?

A fighter jet flying from the US to Cairo in one go? Yeah, right!

Finally at 60% there is some action which is of course dragged down by this silly wish stone's impact on Wonder Woman.

And here we go with the illogical emotional bullshit refusing to accept reality.

My God, the bad guy is such an unintelligent and stupid jerk. No charisma whatsoever. The script is really such a juvenile piece of crud that it is unbelievable.

85% and finally some superhero action. Pretty lousy action but at least some action.

Holy crap! Even the finale is boring and dragged out.
This entire movie could have been condensed into a 45 minutes TV show episode, and not a very good one at that.

Patty Jenkins is going on my watch list… for movies that I will avoid!

Pros :
- Challenging Demi-God Antagonist with stakes.
- Good character development. Diana overcame her grief, she taught Steve how to behave in the human world like he did in the 1st movie and she learnt to fly.
- Nice and original scenario overall where the antagonist is not clearly defined and no mcguffin. Sometimes risky. Almost the first gay relationship in a superhero movie that wouldn't have been too overdone.
- Exciting "God complex" scenes.

Cons :
- Actions scenes are cringe sometimes. Cheetah fight scene could have been way better
- Inconsistencies. Anachronisms. Lots of inconsistencies. The full fuel plane scene because steve doesn't have a passeport but he has. Or Diana sleeping with Steve in someone else body. The "book of the mayas" even though mayas didn't write books. The 3rd world war nuclear event before Batman Vs Superman. And Christmas ending. Seriously writers...
- The moral of the story is kinda off. Except for Diana, the world still sucks for everyone at the end (and we are supposed to accept it ?). The world is even worse than before with all the crazy shenanigans.
- "Meh" Ending. Stupid win. Max Lord was almost a God. He could have used a wish for his son instead of renouncing to his power.

I’m conflicted about this movie. So much so that I had to watch it again before I wrote this review. After my first viewing I was just disappointed and I needed to see it again to figure out why. A couple of reasons come to mind immediately: I was a huge fan of the first Wonder Woman movie (I thought DC had finally gotten it right with their big screen offerings) so my expectations were high and fuelled by the delayed gratification of postponed release dates; secondly, there was no cinematic release of this in my area, so I watched it as a Home Release on its opening day on my 50” TV and It just didn’t deliver the immersive experience you get when sitting in a dark theatre. (Some movies should only been seen in theatres. This was one.). Then there were the things with the movie itself: the first 20 minutes were epic but from there on it was uneven, slipping in and out between silliness and majesty. When it had the big beautiful scenes it hit its mark but it failed for me in between. I hate to say it, but Chris Pine brought nothing to the chemistry or the emotional tension. It just fell flat. The Barbara Minerva character was uneven. And, the final resolve was overlong, wordy and melodramatic. So, I guess I’m underwhelmed. I give the film a 6 (fair) out of 10. [Superhero Action]