Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

Since Warner Bros has been doing their live action DC films in the 2010s, it's safe to say how much of a wildcard those works have been both behind the scenes and in their risky concepts. Between attempting to rush a cinematic universe, production problems, and executions that can lead to a divisive reception, they end up becoming more interesting more than the Marvel Cinematic Universe as you know what to expect from the latter compared to the former. One of the beloved earlier bright spots was Wonder Woman, which inspired hope in audiences for better things to come at that time...which took longer than expected. This brings us to the anticipated follow-up, Wonder Woman 1984, which was directed by the returning Patty Jenkins, who was given more creative freedom this time. Unfortunately, it would face many delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though Patty was determined to keep a theatrical release on whichever date it would get. Ultimately it was simultaneously released in theaters and on HBO Max (the latter only for a 30 day period), which debuted to a polarized reaction. After watching it on HBO Max, I was disappointed by its good ideas poorly executed via the script (which was developed in 2017 after the first film and before Justice League).

My thoughts on Wonder Woman (2017): It's been a couple of years since my last rewatch of its predecessor and visiting it again reminded me of its delightful highs and dreadful lows. Learning about how studio interference got in the way of the third act, I could see how the smaller intended version of that would have fit for their god antagonist. It lost its value a bit after some passing time but its still worth appreciating for where it excelled. ⭑⭑1/4

What's it about? Taking place in 1984 during the Cold War, the story follows our titular heroine as she faces off against 2 new foes. There's a nice deal of potential here with the concept as it deals with elements such as a wish granting item. There are some nice moments of cheese that it begins that provides a path for it to follow in its story shenanigans. The effort and good intentions with its characters is present...and would have been better if it was effective.

Unfortunately, the experience becomes a disappointing letdown that falls prey to 2 big issues: the script and pacing. The screenplay is problematic with following one of my pet peeves in having few too many subplots to juggle with (3 in this case). Because it's dealing with 3 arcs (Diana Prince-Steve Trevor, Maxwell Lord, and Barbara Minvera), the pacing suffers from jumping back and forth between them as well as struggles to make any of them have meaningful impact. Taking out one of those arcs (either removing Barbara or Steve) would have cleared more room to flesh it all out. The intentional lack of action sequences, overusing cliches, and the badly jumbled 3rd act drags it down in quality. 

 

How are the actors? In regards to story importance, the actors to focus on are Gal Gadot and Pedro Pascal. Despite her reduced screen time due to the surrounding arcs, Gal does a decent performance but doesn't shine as she could as a result of the script. Pedro gives the best acting that balances between suave manipulating charm and determined greedy frustrations, even though his villain role also needed more fleshing out. Honorable mentions go to Chris Pine and Kristen Wiig for doing their best with the limits of their rush roles, it should be noted that Gal doesn't care much chemistry with the latter in scenes where their characters should be bonding. Dishonorable mentions go to Lucian Perez and 

 

Overall Consensus: Wonder Woman 1984 squanders its potential with a problematic screenplay, terrible pacing, and lack of emotional impact in its arcs but attempts to balance it out with some solid acting and cute cheesy moments. ⭑⭑⭑ Runtime: 2 hours 31 minutes PG-13

 

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or director Patty Jenkins. You are curious about this divisive followup. You are just interested to see how they use the 1980s era and don't care much about the story. You want to see how it compares to the 2017 predecessor. You don't mind exposition of something introduced at the last minute. You don't mind predictable plots and cliches in superhero flicks. You are interested in spotting some Easter Eggs related to the titular heroin.

 

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or director Patty Jenkins. You are hoping for plenty of action sequences. You prefer the seriousness of the 2017 predecessor. You are annoyed with having exposition of something introduced at the last minute. You dislike predictable plots and cliches in superhero flicks. You aren't interested in the Easter Eggs related to the titular heroin