Wonder Woman 1984 review

WONDER WOMAN 1984: 

GAL GADOT’S RETURN AS DC’S AMAZON WARRIOR IS EXACTLY WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS IN THIS ACTION-PACKED AND CHARMING SUPERHERO SEQUEL!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

WARNER BROS. PICTURES

Gal Gadot is back in Wonder Woman 1984

 

            Gal Gadot (Fast & Furious franchise, Triple 9, Ralph Breaks the Internet) returns as the Amazon princess of DC Comics in Wonder Woman 1984, the latest installment of the DC Extended Universe and follow-up to the 2017 Wonder Woman film. The first movie was hailed by many as the first truly great DCEU film and a huge critical and commercial success that breathed new life into a mediocre franchise that at the time only consisted of Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Suicide Squad, all of which were polarizing among fans and extremely subpar compared to the first two Superman movies or the Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan Batman movies. 

            Thanks to a compelling story, likable characters, a director who knew what she was doing in the form of Patty Jenkins, and a very charming performance by Gal Gadot, Wonder Woman successfully avoided all the DCEU trappings with flying colors…that slightly took a dive in the November of that year with Justice League, but was eventually made up for with the releases of other good DCEU films like Aquaman, Shazam!, and Birds of Prey. 

            Now, Gadot and Patty Jenkins (Monster) have reunited for Diana Prince/Wonder Woman’s next big adventure with Wonder Woman 1984 which was originally intended for a Summer 2020 release, but due to COVID-19 the film was constantly delayed and pushed back until finally getting a simultaneous theatrical release and premiere on HBO Max on Christmas Day. So, after all the hype surrounding it, is Wonder Woman 1984 a worthy follow-up? I think it is, though it doesn’t quite live up to the high bar set by its predecessor, it’s still a very enjoyable and uplifting movie whether you’re watching it on the big screen or the small screen, Wonder Woman is here to make everyone happy during these hard times that we’re all going through right now. 

            Set in the year 1984, the film follows Diana Prince/Wonder Woman (Gadot) living among mortals for decades since World War I and a double life as an anthropologist at the Smithsonian Institute and as a superhero. But when Diana discovers an ancient stone that has the power to grant wishes known as the Dreamstone and her supposedly deceased old flame, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine-Star Trek (2009 trilogy), Unstoppable, Hell or High Water) mysteriously reappears in Diana’s life, she’ll have to muster all of her strength, wisdom, and courage as Diana is pitted against corrupt businessman Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal-Game of Thrones, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, The Mandalorian) and Cheetah (Kristen Wiig-Paul, Bridesmaids, The Skeleton Twins) who plan to use the Dreamstone to fulfill their evil deeds, one of them happens to be world domination. 

            The film also stars Robin Wright (The Princess Bride, Forrest Gump, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)) as Antiope, Connie Nielsen (The Devil’s Advocate, Gladiator, Nymphomaniac) as Hippolyta, and Natasha Rothwell (Love, Simon, Like a Boss, Sonic the Hedgehog) as Carol. 

            Overall, Wonder Woman 1984 isn’t quite on par with the first film, but it’s still a very enjoyable and inspiring superhero movie with plenty of action and a surprising amount of heart. Honestly, the Gal Gadot and Chris Pine scenes sort of overshadow the Wonder Woman superhero action, that was also one of the aspects I enjoyed a lot about the first movie because both Gadot and Pine have wonderful chemistry together and I just love watching and listening to them talk with each other, literally the whole movie could have just been them sitting in a room talking and I would have been perfectly fine with it. 

            The supporting characters are also portrayed very well, most notably Pedro Pascal as Maxwell Lord and Kristen Wiig as a co-worker of Diana’s named Barbara who over the course of the film transforms into the Cheetah. Both Pascal and Wiig seem to be having fun with their performances and I have to give Wiig a lot of credit that you don’t see her portray the villain that often, but she does a good job with her performance here. 

            The Wonder Woman action is still pretty epic and at times an improvement over the CGI overabundance during the final showdown in the first film. Also, how can you go wrong with Wonder Woman grabbing onto an in-air missile with her lasso and flying on it? Yeah, Wonder Woman gives Wile E. Coyote a run for his money. 

            If I have to point out some faults with Wonder Woman 1984, it’s the plot which isn’t bad but riddled with predictable clichés. I was able to easily figure out what several of the twists were going to be. 

            Wonder Woman 1984 is a fun time whether you’re in a theater or watching on HBO Max, this is one DC Extended Universe sequel definitely worth checking out. Grab your lasso and shield, hop into your Invisible Jet, and take flight.