Wonder Woman 1984 — Review Thread

I'm never okay.


::INTERNALLY SCREAMING::

12 Star Wars movies turned out to be 17% decent.

I watch Wonder Woman 1984 movie by last week. It's just okay. Isn't too bad at all.

No.  No we do not like Birds of Prey.  It was crap.

I'd call its reception "mixed."

OK, but Gal-fapping aside, we all disliked WW1984, right??

It's 2021, and this movie still sucks.

Nice.

I liked it.

Wonder Woman 1984 premiered to streaming and general disappointment back in December so I went in with fairly low expectations. That turned out to be beneficial as I ended up having a good time. The film is unapologetically silly - much more so than its predecessor in fact - but it also really owns its silliness. The mall action scene sets the tone pretty firmly and the film doesn't waver much from it. This is a story about a magical artifact that can grant wishes after all, I don't think corniness is really wrong. Moreover, while the film is silly, Patty Jenkins and her cast still treat the material with sincerity. For all the absurdity, the emotions of the story are taken seriously and that mix really worked for me. One moment in particular where the camera sticks with Diana after making a difficult choice and then tracks into an action beat is really strong. Pedro Pascal is also wonderful as the film's villain, at times chewing the scenery to excellent effect while still bringing real pathos. The film also generally delivers in its action and spectacle, particularly in the Cairo chase scene and White House fight.

Beat for beat, I found Wonder Woman 1984 pretty darn entertaining, delivering what I want from a superhero movie in 2020 and having a bit of a unique plot within the genre. That all said, this movie is not perfect. Most of the issues surround the Barbara Minerva, aka Cheetah. Her storyline is basically the same as Electro in Amazing Spider-Man 2, put-upon nerd who the hero is nice to once and then is quickly rushed into super-villainy when they get superpowers. I enjoyed Wig's performance, but the character's friendship and fallout with Diana are very rushed, resulting in some incredibly basic dialogue. Also, the big reveal of Barbara as Cheetah is mostly just lame. I'm not sure what the benefit of transforming was, especially since Wonder Woman seems to take her down without much trouble. The film's climax is also a bit off. I like the notion of a hero inspiring the world in a very literal way, but the resolution doesn't feel earned and could have been translated more clearly.

Many others seemed to object to the film's plot holes and the fact that it doesn't really fit into the DCEU's timeline, but none of those really bothered me. Granted, the story does get pretty sloppy at points and I certainly felt the length. Much as I enjoyed the story, I'm not sure it really warranted two and a half hours, especially when elements like the prologue feel superfluous. Overall, Wonder Woman 1984 is no classic, and nothing really compares to the "No Man's Land" scene from the first Wonder Woman, but it's a pretty enjoyable film and I'm a bit surprised it's been so poorly received.

B-