Intro

‘Wonder Woman: 1984’ is an underwhelming and disappointing sequel. Simply put, it fails to meet the standards set by its predecessor. I loved ‘Wonder Woman’ and I was so excited to see what would unfold upon the release of this film. That excitement turned to a mixture of confusion and disappointment rather quickly. Honestly, I could stop the review right there, but I have a lot to say about this movie. 

The Good

There are some good things about the movie. The first act is actually very entertaining. It is well paced and super fun to watch. I honestly wish the first act set the tone for the rest of the film, but it does not. The acting, for the most part, is also pretty good. Kristen Wig especially surprised me as Barbara Minerva, aka Cheetah, Pedro Pascal did what he could, and Chris Pine is always great because he is Chris Pine. The film also has some really good music courtesy of Hans Zimmer. Unfortunately, these good things could not redeem this film. 

The Weird Story

The plot of this film is kind of insane. I do not want to spoil it, but I am confused at why the filmmakers went in the direction they did. Don’t you just wish there were books and novels one could turn to for guidance when making comic book movies. Don’t you just wish these filmmakers had access to famous stories of certain characters that would be very entertaining to see on screen. Wait a minute…they do! Instead of doing just that, they came up with this plot and story that is in a word: weird. It has more in common with ‘Aladdin’ than it does with the previous ‘Wonder Woman’. The first movie had an incredibly fun and well-thought-out story. This film just misses the mark in that regard. 

The Little Things

This movie is poorly paced. Many scenes drag on and feel super long. I mean super, super long. I found myself feeling bored and uninvested on multiple occasions. The editing is also very odd, with some scenes feeling out of place. Also, the special effects do not look great throughout this film which is usually a strength of superhero films. They look like special effects that were made in 1984. Pacing, editing, and special effects are all little aspects of modern day film that can make a big difference, and this movie does not do the little things well. 

Verdict

My family and I were over the moon for this film. My sister is a huge Wonder Woman fan, and as we watched this film, I could see how sad she was by the end. You wanted to see this movie do well. In a male dominated industry, it is always incredible to see a great female-led action movie. But this film does so many things wrong, and comes nowhere close to the first installment. All we can do as fans is hope that the next film will be twice as good.