Wonder Woman 1984 Review: Great Performances Almost Save a Wonky Story

Wonder Woman 1984 is a step back from 2017’s Wonder Woman.

The sequel isn’t a disaster. Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Pedro Pascal and Kristen Wiig each turn in strong performances. The first 20 minutes of the movie are outstanding and Patty Jenkins’s eye for 1980s Washington, DC is clear..There is a Richard Donner/Superman-like warmth that comes through during some moment but gets lost in the meandering story

Unfortunately, the performances aren’t enough to carry the messy narrative created by Geoff Johns, David Callahan and Jenkins. It’s worth mentioning neither of these writers wrote the first film. The action scenes while well shot are few and far between. Wonder Woman 1984’s tone is drastically different from the first film, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The problem is the tonal shift that occurs within the movie itself. Outside of Diana Prince, Steve Trevor and occasionally Barbara Minerva, all of the performances are cartoonishly over-the-top.

The positives and negatives results in a middle-of-the-road DCEU film. WW 84 is much better than Justice League and Suicide Squad, while also not in the same league as Man of Steel, Wonder Woman or Shazam. Wonder Woman 1984 sits alongside Aquaman and Birds of Prey as entertaining, but ultimately forgettable by the time the next comic book adaptation releases.

Please note there may be some minor spoilers from this point forward.

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Tones Clash in Wonder Woman 1984

Wonder Woman 1984 begins on Themyscira with a young Diana. I’m not going to spoil the sequence, but this opening is phenomenal. The action, Hans Zimmer’s score and the emotional resonance of this opening represent the best elements of the entire film and it’s not close. In fact, the only two DCEU sequences that are better than this opening is the No Man’s Land scene in the first Wonder Woman movie and Superman’s first flight in Man of Steel. The sequence almost feels like it belongs in a different film.

In the first Wonder Woman film, when Diana leaves Themyscira, her mother tells Diana that mankind doesn’t deserve her [Diana]. The rest of Wonder Woman continues to show the depravity of man through the scope of World War I. In 84, Diana is given differents words of wisdom, which are just a poignant as her Mom’s words in the first film. However, the message gets lost in the convoluted story taking place in the sequel.

This wonderful [pun very much intended] scene is followed up by an immediate transition to 1984 Washington, DC. Wonder Woman is shown saving various people and eventually ends up at a mall. She stops a robbery attempt and saves a girl who is being dangled over a ledge by one of the would-be thieves. Diana makes the save, but the acting by the thieves is so ludicrously over-the-top that it would make Arnold Schwarzenegger say that’s a little too big.

The over-the-top tone could have worked for this film, but starting the film with such a cathartic sequence in Themyscira, then transitioning to this cheesy beginning was janky.

Role Reversal

The story in Wonder Woman 84 that binds Diana Price, Steve Trevor, Maxwell Lord and Barbara Minerva all center around the same MacGuffin. The problem is the way the MacGuffin works is poorly explained. There’s never a moment where the rules of this MacGuffin are established. For example, in Avengers: Endgame, the MacGuffin is time travel. There are multiple scenes throughout the film that explain how time travel works. In WW 84, they never explain how the MacGuffin knows each person’s weaknesses. There are times when people have to say what they want out loud and other times it’s implicit.

The way Steve Trevor returns to the film is problematic. I won’t reveal exactly how he returns, but suffice it to say there were multiple avenues they could have used given the MacGuffin in place, but sadly Johns, Jenkins and Callahan chose the laziest version. However, once Trevor is back, the chemistry between Gadot and Pine is as palpable as ever.

Gal Gadot continues to get better as Diana Prince. Her facial expressions are terrific throughout the film. Whether she’s winking at a child or the look of despair on her face as she begins to feel physically more vulnerable, Gadot rises to the occasions every time. There are times throughout the film where Gadot can be a little stiff with a line, but she gets better with every outing.

Chris Pine was the best part of the 2017 film and he’s even better here. In many ways, he is the conscience of the film. Despite loving Diana, he’s apprehensive about being alive again. PIne has a beautiful moment in the cockpit of a plane. The tears of joy and pure exhilaration on his face is one of the best acting moments in any superhero film.

Diana is shown essentially just existing in the world. She doesn’t have a television, no friends and while she saves people she continues to hide her nature from the world.

In the first Wonder Woman film, Trevor introduced Diana to the world of men in 20th century London. In WW 84, Diana introduces Steve to 1984’s fashion, technology and culture. The chemistry during these scenes is the best part of the film. However, once the MacGuffin kicks in, even their chemistry gets bogged down in the plot’s grasp.

Diana’s character is surprisingly selfish throughout the bulk of the film. Similar to the ending of the first film, Trevor is the one who constantly urges Diana to do the right thing. To be fair, Diana’s still trying to save people, but the solution to her problem is evident pretty early on in the film and she just refuses to solve the actual problem.

Wondrous Actors Almost Save Wonder Woman 1984

Kristen Wiig does a great job of portraying the nerdy side of Barbara Minerva and her transition to Cheetah. The scenes between Gadot and Wiig are well done. Wonder Woman 1984 should of focused more time on developing the friendship between Diana and Barbara, which would have made Minerva’s heel turn more effective.

Jenkins, John and Callahan’s decision to focus on Maxwell Lord as the main villain doesn’t work. Pedro Pascal does a great job with the role he’s given and chews all of the scenery he can, but Diana has so few scenes with Lord that the conflict between the so-called main villain and hero just isn’t very interesting. The focus on Lord means that Minerva spends large sections of the film off the screen.

Unfortunately, the weird story decisions make it hard to care about the characters in this film. After the Themyscira opening, there are maybe 4 major action sequences. These scenes are solid but don’t set the world on fire for action films either. Cheetah’s CGI is bad, not Cats level, but still unacceptable in this age of superhero films. Shooting the Cheetah sequences in the dark does help a bit.

Where’s the Continuity?

Another noticeable difference between WW84 and the first film is the lack of direct involvement between the gods and Wonder Woman. In the first film, Ares (The God of War) was directly involved in the events of the film. With Wonder Woman 1984, there is an indirect involvement between gods and the events of the film. Ares was the main reason that Wonder Woman decided to intervene in World War I. WW84’s story could have been more effective by having a God draw Diana out of the shadows to keep that through-line alive.

In Batman v Superman, we are told that Wonder Woman hasn’t been seen since World War I. However, it’s impossible to believe that the events of this film would have been forgotten. Diana being a complete recluse who is forced to confront a god who is granting wishes would have worked much better for continuity.

Final Thoughts

Wonder Woman 1984 has similar strengths and weaknesses to Birds of Prey. The convoluted and at times nonsensical storytelling undermines the strong performances. However, there are moments of brilliance that shine through. Namely the first 20 minutes and Zimmer’s score fits every moment.

Here’s hoping that the already announced Wonder Woman 3 returns the Amazons to the spotlight they deserve.

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