Wonder Woman 1984 Movie Review

Wonder Woman 1984 Movie Review 

After being delayed three times in the year 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 has released in theaters and on HBO Max. It took me a couple of days to get around to watch it, so here is my review for Wonder Woman 1984. Also, remember I did reviews for the previous 8 DCEU movies leading to the release of this movie. 

The Good: 

The cast and the characters were the best aspect of this movie in my opinion. They give each of the main four characters these arcs through out the movie. The arcs for each character are what they are lacking in life, and they do that with of the characters in different ways. One of the best aspects of the original movie was the dynamic between Diana Prince and Steve Trevor, and we get to see more of this dynamic in this movie. Pedro Pascal is another stand-out as one of the two villains, he can be so evil but Pascal plays with some likability about him. Also, if you didn’t know Pedro Pascal is The Mandalorian on the TV show...The Mandlorian. So it was to fun to see him in big franchise. I was a bit skeptical of the casting of Kristen Wiig, because is a comedic actress that has really only starred in comedies. But I thought she did a good job as Cheetah in the movie. 

I thought the action in the movie was great action inside of it. That was one of the best aspects of the original movie, and Patty Jenkins continues to make great action in her movies. The opening scene is this tournament and it is shot in a unique and cool way. But, the best action scene is this car chase in the desert with cars. The camera is also moving in motion, and is shot in a way that looks very cool. It’s just fun to see Wonder Woman destroy a ton of cars. And they released a clip of a fight scene in the White House, and that is another fun action scene. 

This is also a movie that is very fun and funny. It moves at a nice brisk pace so I was never bored while I was watching this movie. There is always a joke, action, or something interesting going on to keep you invested. It’s also very funny, there is a small sequence with Chris Pine learning about the 80s clothes and the different things that happened in the 80s. So a movie that I found to be very entertaining. 

Since this movie takes place in the 80s, they used that setting for the movies advantage. It’s not with a bunch of pop culture references about movies or whatever. No, it’s just odd little things here and there that make it feel like it was in the 80s but it’s not overplayed as you go through-out the movie. 

Finally, this movie tries to have a lot of big and bombastic ideas. Patty Jenkins set out to make an ambitious superhero movie. So, I appreciated that they tried to be a big movie. But...I did said that they tried, and I have view issues with that. 

The Bad: 

The big issue with this movie was that tried a lot of big ideas but I don’t think worked a lot of them. The main plot line involves a stone that grant people any wish that they want. And that plot line requires you to suspend a lot of disbelief and I just couldn’t get there. I know that we are in a world with a woman that flies around in an american flag suit and a lasso that can tell the truth. But, I don’t know why, I just couldn’t buy into that plot line of the movie. 

And the plot line with stone, wasn’t the only thing that I didn’t buy into. There were a number of things in this movie that in order to go along with it, you had to believe it. And I didn’t. In the trailers, we saw Steve Trevor flying a plane with Diana. But that doesn’t make sense because he lived in the 1910s, so how could he fly a jet from the 1980s. And a few moments like that I couldn’t buy into it. 

Also, without giving to much away I wasn’t a big fan of what they did with the villains in the third act. I was tricking along with them for the 70%-75% of the movie but once the third act happens, it went to far with what they were going for. 

And I found the third act to be so weird and bonkers, that it kind of pulled me out of the movie. An event happens that they just skipped over and acted like it wasn't a big idea. But, something bad was about to happen and the movie didn't breath to discuss what happened. So a bit odd in the regard.

Finally, there is a post credit scene, and in the post credit scene is a cameo from a former DC actress. And the cameo felt to much like fan service, and getting people exciting to see this actress back. So, I’m not sure if they will do anything with that in a third movie. But it felt to off from the rest of the movie. 

Overall Thoughts: 

Wonder Woman 1984 is a good movie and a solid sequel to the original movie. It’s entering, funny, has great action, and uses it’s characters very nicely. But there are a few story issues in it that hold it back from being a great movie. Remember, I did a re-review series of the previous 8 DCEU movies, and I will be ranking the DCEU movies tomorrow. 

The Score: 8.2/10 (B)