Review: Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

After months and months of waiting, Wonder Woman 1984 has finally arrived! Admittedly, under quite different conditions than we thought, but either way, at least we finally got that eagerly awaited film.

Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins return as an acting/directing duo that three and a half years ago gave us perhaps the most successful DC film since Nolan’s Batman trilogy.

This eagerly awaited sequel showed great potential with fantastic marketing and trailers that promised a superhero spectacle! But did this sequel manage to justify that potential and expectation?

We’ll tell you right away, the WW84 is generally weaker than its predecessor, but that by no means means that the film will disappoint you, although it could be below what you might have expected from it.

In short, the film has some fantastic segments that put it ahead of its predecessor for a moment, but it also has some mistakes that dragged it back, and when it all adds up and subtracts, in terms of overall quality, in the end, this sequel is still behind the original. Not much behind, but it is nonetheless.

First of all, it is important to know that the film was made on a significantly different mold than the original, which was to be expected.

However, this change of ambiance will make it easier for some viewers, harder for others. In the same way that the original conveyed the persuasiveness and turbulence of the First World War, the sequel now conveyed the ambiance of the 1980s resulting in the addition of certain variegation to that ambiance.

The perception created in the 80s worked very well, but as I said, to some viewers this type of atmosphere may not suit like a whirlwind of war from its predecessor.

The next thing that was quite emphasized compared to its predecessor was the addition of extra humor which is likable, although sometimes it seems forcibly inserted just to satisfy that segment, which honestly reminded me of those tiny but noticeable tricks we saw in Aquaman.

Now, after these few sentences of weighing, here are the first real compliments. The movie itself started out fantastic!

I have to especially commend the introductory spike that Jenkins created modeled after Snyder’s introductory spikes like say the one in Batman V Superman.

Right from the start, we get an amazing eye-candy in the shape of a Themyscire landscape that looked even more impressive than in the first movie, although that sequence lasted significantly shorter compared to the first film.

Also, all the genius of the composer Hans Zimmer can be seen in his fantastic music that is actually an incredibly important spice to the whole atmosphere of this film, especially in scenes when his famous song Is she with you? is used, which we listened to back in Batman V Superman and which is still Wonder Woman’s trademark music number.

The next thing, as far as the concept of the story itself is concerned, we admit that there are great things there, but also some that have remained a thorn in our eye.

We’re not going to lie to you, we were actually quite disappointed when we initially discovered the nature of Steve Trevor’s return as Chris Pine, but with the further development of the plot we only actually understood why this story concept is so important so let’s turn a blind eye to it.

We have to commend the concept that actually put together a story in which both the main character and the villains are actually put to the same test.

This is not a classic story in which a good heroine has to stop pure evil, but a heroine who has to examine herself and in a way even put herself in the shoes of the bad guys in order to understand the essence of the whole problem.

When we mentioned the bad guys, first of all, we have to praise Pedro Pascal, the well-known Mandalorian, as Maxwell Lord, who played this famous egomaniac superbly.

Also, we can’t forget Kristen Wiig as Cheetah, who is known as one of Wonder Woman’s arch-enemies. But while Wiig played the role very well, and her conversion to Cheetah was also well done, unfortunately, we have to admit that Kristen as Cheetah herself during the film’s climax was simply too little (and defeated too quickly) to feel that, despite good initial development, the complete potential of such a cult character remained untapped, which is a great pity.

What we could actually say at the outset, and what probably doesn’t need much emphasis, is Gal Gadot who simply shines in the title role, and Chris Pine as Steve Trevor did a solid performance.

Still, although their chemistry is at an enviable level here as it was in the first movie, and actually gives it that emotional flavor, somehow at first it seemed to us that the movie insisted on it too much, but the very good thing is that the rest of the movie still managed to fill with action segments that prevented the film from turning into a soap opera.

When we mentioned the action, we heard from a fellow critic who gave the film a negative rating that the film has “10% action and 90% romance,” and honestly, we don’t know if he really watched the same film as us.

Yes, the film may have squeezed the gas with those romantic segments compared to the previous film, but the action is by no means lacking and is still fantastic.

In fact, all the beauty of Jenkins’ directing can be seen in these action scenes, and when we add the already mentioned Zimmer’s music, we guarantee that the action scenes will not disappoint you.

In this context, I absolutely have to emphasize the beautiful scene among the clouds which, to be brutally honest, amazed me even more than that also excellent scene of the first Superman flight from Man of Steel.

Yet what we need to single out in a not-so-positive light is the segment of the story that concerns Diana’s Golden Eagle Armor.

Although this armor looks great, and the story of its origin itself is beautifully portrayed in the flashback scene, the way Diana came to it honestly turned out to be lazy-writing.

I won’t go on about it, but the idea that sounded so ingenious in the announcement, at the end it turned out that it was done just for the sake of things.

Another complaint is in the roles of Connie Nielsen and Robin Wright, who unfortunately had almost nothing more than cameo roles. Nielsen had an even bigger role as Hippolyta in the Justice League than here.

Now, there’s another small segment of the plot that makes me burn with the desire to mention it, but it’s literally a spoiler in just one word so I’ll have to keep it to myself for now.

Speaking of which, I warmly recommend that you stay in your seats even when the last scene ends, you won’t be disappointed. Although, I sincerely hope that this is a set-up for the sequel because it would be a shame to turn out that this was done just for the sake of things.

And what to say now for the end? Look, if you were expecting the ultimate superhero spectacle from WW84, it’s possible you’ll be disappointed in some dose.

But while this is not the epitome of the perfect superhero movie, we still unquestionably enjoyed the overall WW84 experience. Although the film has its drawbacks that, hand on heart, could have been easily avoided, its advantages still make it a satisfying movie that should satisfy all fans of Wonder Woman.

The fanatical Gal has once again shown all the beauty and cordiality of this mega-popular character and we can’t wait to find out how her DCEU story will continue.

Conclusion:

Although it is generally weaker than its predecessor and contains some sloppy flaws that mainly concern the concept of the story and a different ambiance, WW84 is still quite a compact sequel that returns Gal Gadot to us in the role of favorite heroine in the same good light as we remembered from the first movie.
Despite certain sloppiness in the script, Patty Jenkinsic’s direction was done at a very high level, and an additional spice is the fantastic music of Hans Zimmer.
Pedro Pascal as Maxwell Lord is excellent. Kristen Wiig as Cheetah also did a very good job, but the full potential of the character is still not completed in the end.
The change of ambiance added a bit of color to the movie and an additional emphasis was placed on humor, but none of that is excessive. After all, it is clear that the target audience of this movie are DC fans, Gal Gadot fans, and superhero fanatics in general. If you are just one of those three, just go ahead and watch Wonder Woman 1984, you will not be disappointed.

RATING: 8/10