Wonder Woman 1984

It isn't as easy as saying 'Wonder Woman 1984' is a good or bad movie. The pieces are there, and there are moments I adore, but it does come across as a bit of a mess, even though the action sequences are breathtaking. If you're a fan of the original film, you'll be more willing to take the ride, but for those more indifferent, it may be a bit of a blander sit. If you can and are planning to watch it, the theatrical experience is the way to go - there is nothing like seeing these stunning sets, fun action scenes and hearing Zimmer's jaw-dropping score like on the big screen.
- Chris dos Santos

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The superhero genre has been growing exponentially during the last decade, so it's bizarre to go through an entire year with only Birds of Prey and The New Mutants instead of literally dozens of films from both Marvel and DC. Thankfully, Warner Bros. decided to release Wonder Woman 1984 before the year's end, but not without a catch. Most people will only have the possibility of watching one of the few blockbusters of 2020 through HBO Max, a streaming service only available in a couple of countries, while some incredibly lucky moviegoers might have the chance of seeing this visually epic film in theaters, depending on the country's pandemic rules.

Fortunately, I'm one of those lucky people who got the opportunity to end 2020 on a positively immersive note by watching Patty Jenkins' latest flick in an almost empty IMAX theater (paradise). If you've been following me for some time, you know I'm a firm believer and defender of the so-called "theater experience", and I can't hide the fact that I felt extremely emotional going into one of the best, biggest theaters in Portugal to witness one of my Most Anticipated Movies of 2020. Until 2017, DCEU struggled to deliver a massively loved installment, and Wonder Woman came to the rescue. It was one of my favorite films of the respective year, so I was obviously excited for its sequel, even more having in mind the circumstances we're all living in.

In my opinion, this sequel stands close to its predecessor. With a lengthy runtime known for being associated with absolutely epic movies, I was confident that WW84 could deliver a solid film with great villains for a change. Well, Kristen Wigg and Pedro Pascal are definitely two of the indisputable standouts. Patty Jenkins, Geoff Johns, and David Callaham made the right decision in dedicating a significant portion of the screenplay to Barbara Minerva and Max Lord. Their arcs are far from being groundbreaking, but they're a thousand times more effective than the "CG punch bag" narrative.

Barbara follows the "lonely, insignificant, no one cares about me" archetype, and Wiig does a surprisingly remarkable job in portraying this character, but the script is what really makes her shine. At first, her comedic mannerisms left me a bit dubious about the eventual character's likeness. However, as time flies by, it's almost inevitable to feel sorry for Barbara, making her future motivations understandable and perfectly natural. On the other hand, Max Lord is apparently exploding with conviction, but his life is not as amazing as everyone might think. This time, it's Pedro Pascal who ends up elevating the character, delivering a brilliant performance with just the right amount of over-the-top expressions.

Even though these two are magnificent, Gal Gadot continues to prove that she's one of the best casting choices of the millennium, interpreting Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman. I seriously cannot imagine another actress wearing that costume, throwing that Lasso of Truth, incorporating the character's essence as seamless as Gadot. In this movie, she was able to perform highly emotional scenes, nailing every single one. Her chemistry with Chris Pine (Steve Trevor) is palpable on the other side of the world, and their interactions go through every zone of the emotion spectrum. Regarding Steve, I'm not going to spoil how he comes back or anything concerning his arc, but I can safely write that his presence in the film is both necessary and logical.

The biggest compliment I'll offer this sequel concerns its screenplay and direction. Finally, I can confidently write that the DCEU is capable of producing a well-structured, well-developed story with well-written characters. It doesn't have as much action as the original, but I still didn't feel the 151 minutes. WW84 flows incredibly well due to Jenkins' ability to fill up the runtime (almost) only with important scenes. There's a slight "over-persistence" in the attempt at sending a certain message (I'll get there), but story-wise, I sincerely wouldn't take a second out. Even the comic relief moments, particularly with Pine (who plays some sort of parallelism with the first movie's Diana), are welcome and timely.

The action scenes might be low on quantity, but the few that the audience gets are long, complex, and technically challenging to pull off. The opening sequence alone almost made me tear up due to its epicness. Hans Zimmer's powerful score, Richard Pearson's clean editing, and Matthew Jensen's camera work all work together to present a lengthy, grand, wide view of an Olympics-style obstacle course with young Diana. Throughout the entire film, the action is colorful, vibrant, fun, and entertaining… except for the (supposedly) climactic clash.

Well, to be fair, there are two climaxes during the last thirty minutes since WW84 owns two antagonists to play with. One of them is closed in perfect fashion, with the emotional stakes at their highest. Great job there, no complaints whatsoever. However, the main fight sequence inexplicably contrasts with the rest of the movie's action. The vibrant colors disappear and are replaced by a dull grey, which makes one of the characters involved (who shares the same color tone) hard to notice, transforming an epic final battle into an underwhelming, barely comprehensible collection of awkward cuts, punches, and screams. Gadot's golden suit is way less exciting (and poorly lit) than her original costume, and Barbara's arc ends without real closure.

In addition to this, Jenkins insists too much on passing to the audience that greed brings horrible consequences. "Be careful what you wish for", "money and power can't buy happiness", "be thankful for what you have", and messages along these lines are repeated continuously (implicitly and explicitly). I admit that it might be a nitpick of mine and that not many people will feel like I did, but I couldn't help but feel that some moments sounded and/or seemed a bit preachy and way too repetitive. Also, it's a bit weird how the official premise mentions Wiig as Cheetah, but this word is not mentioned once in the entire film… Nevertheless, don't be mistaken: I'm thrilled that WW84 is the last flick I watch at a theater this year!

All in all, Wonder Woman 1984 proves that DC continues on the track of success by delivering a well-structured, well-developed DCEU installment without an absurd amount of overwhelming CGI and/or forgettable villains. Patty Jenkins, Geoff Johns, and David Callaham's impressively layered screenplay makes the lengthy runtime feel adequate not only by offering epic, exciting, technically superb action set pieces, but also due to the remarkably well-written heroes and antagonists. Gal Gadot and Chris Pine are outstanding together, but Kristen Wiig and Pedro Pascal steal the show as the newcomers. With two wonderful "villains", WW84 boasts a solid, elaborate narrative that I was lucky to witness on the big screen. Unfortunately, the climactic battle is disappointingly underwhelming and colorless, Barbara's arc ends abruptly without true closure, and Jenkins insists too much on the thematic message of the story. These issues may affect more viewers or not, but one thing's for sure: it's one of the most entertaining movies I've seen all year, worthy of being seen on a massive theater.

Rating: A-

Gal Gadot returns as Diana Prince in “Wonder Woman 1984” which has seen its release date shift a few times due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The film has started to open overseas and will arrive in the U.S. on Christmas day with a limited debut on HBO Max as well.

The story sees Diana now living in Washington D.C. in 1984. Diana is popular but has refused male companionship as she still longs for her late love Steve Trevor (Chris Pine).

Diana works in the Smithsonian Institute in antiquities and keeps her secret identity under wraps even when a daring mall heist forces her to leap into action.

A shy and passive employee named Barbara (Kirsten Wiig); who is afraid of her own shadow and largely ignored by her peers is befriended by Diana and they discover one item from the heist is inscribed with the ability to grant a wish. Unknowingly Diana wishes for Steve to return and Barbara wishes to be more like Diana which sets a chain of events into motion.

A shady business man named Maxwell Lord (Perdro Pascal) has his site on obtaining the relic as he believes having the ability to grant wishes will allow him to save his failing business and give him the power he craves.

With such a promising setup; the film ultimately does not deliver on its premise and becomes bogged down in drawn out sequences with surprisingly little action and gaps in logic that defy even standards for a comic book film.

The first 90 minutes of the film has roughly 10-15 minutes of action tops and we are instead given lengthy scenes of Steve trying to find an 80s fashion look; flying over fireworks, and Maxwell trashing from one locale to another without much needed continuity.

An action scene involving a convoy chase through the desert seems very inspired by “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and ultimately does not deliver especially with such a long gape between the action sequences.

The final act does attempt to redeem the film as seeing Barbara transform into her new persona is interesting and Wiig does a very solid job with the role. This sadly is undermined with a single line of dialogue which takes away a big part of the transformation that audiences deserved to see.

There was also a sequence where Diana races down the streets and takes to flight with her Lasso and then discovers she can fly like Superman. Not only is this not in keeping with the character; but we see this extended fast moving sequence where she is clearly heading away from D.C. at great speed only to arrive at a destination with an item which had been established to be back at her home in D.C. It is this sort of sloppiness that really detracts from the film. There is also the fact that Steve has to fly her around on a jet that even as a pilot he should not know how to fly as he has never flown a jet aircraft in his life.

When the big confrontation comes it is a letdown as it is not overly epic and the CGI really does not seem to mesh. What is an even bigger disappointment is that a certain character stands emoting for several minutes while Diana gives such a bland and extended speech that even my wife had to ask “who wrote these lines”.

The film was not a total disaster as the characters were interesting and worked well with one another making the film entertaining in parts despite being really disappointed with it.

The film strikes me as a product of the talented Patty Jenkins being able to do whatever she wanted after the success of the first film. Jenkins not only Directed but did the screenplay for it. Considering the amazing job she did writing “Monster” I had high expectations for the film but to me it seemed like it could have used a bit more attention to several aspects.

My summary would be the following… good cast, entertaining in parts, not much action over two hours, takes huge liberties with Diana and her abilities, massive gaps in logic even for a comic movie. It aims to be epic and comes up lacking. At least the mid. credit scene was worth it.

3 stars out of 5