When the Wonder Woman 1984 trailer released last year, it looked thrilling and revealed little of the plot which made me even more intrigued and excited to watch it. The action scenes looked just as well choreographed as the first, Steve is apparently back (?!), and Diana in that gold armor and wings was jaw-dropping! Plus it’s set in the 80’s and I was looking forward to the music and set designs. I’m an avid MCU fan and felt that DC movies could never compare but I was pleasantly surprised with how wonderful the first Wonder Woman movie was, and Aquaman’s release shortly after also did not disappoint.
Well, it’s safe to say that the trailer actually made the movie look so much better than it was. I watched WW84 on New Year’s Eve (yes, even after all the horrible reviews) because I convinced myself that the beautiful Gal Gadot would somehow save the movie. Enter in the choppy plot, weird pacing, horrible CGI, and cringe-worthy script…not even her charm and portrayal of Wonder Woman could save this disaster of a movie. Spoilers ahead…
The Acting
I’m starting off with the best part of the movie, and yes, it was the acting! There really was nothing wrong with the acting. In fact, I thought the cast was really solid. Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman was as stunning as ever and just as charming, compassionate, and confident as she was in the first. Chris Pine came back to reprise his role as the beloved Steve Trevor, Diana’s one and only true love. He brought back everything we loved about him in the first Wonder Woman — excellent comedic timing and Steve’s sound logic and big heart that keeps Diana grounded. Kristen Wiig played Barbara Minerva who becomes Cheetah. She’s the dorky girl-next-door with the glasses, pushed aside by much of society, and slowly harbors revenge once she gets a taste of what it’s like to be like Diana (strong, sexy, and basically the center of attention). Pedro Pascal played Max Lord (my brother could not stop laughing at his name the whole movie). He’s the villain with an insurmountable amount of greed which ultimately (almost) destroys him. I absolutely HATED his character, but I suppose that means he absolutely nailed it. He was so over the top, animated, and almost comical with how dramatically he played the role. Although the cast was strong, the cringey script overshadowed the superb acting. Because of how choppy the scenes were, it felt that not everyone in the cast was blended together. Steve and Diana had the same magnetic chemistry and played off each other well, but Max Lord and Diana seemed to be in two different worlds the whole movie.
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What happened to physics?
Okay now we’re getting into the spoilers. It looked like physics and gravity didn’t even exist in the movie, and paired with the horrible CGI it looked extremely amateur and unbelievable. For example, when Diana saves the kids who were playing in the middle of the road as a whole crew of army tanks were driving towards them, she swings with her lasso and catches 2 of them in her arms at what looks like 70mph and there is absolutely no impact. Then she runs out of grip on her lasso and tumbles on the kids head first from 10 feet up in the air. That would have killed, or at least seriously injured, those children. Also, the close-up shots of her running at high speed looks more like she’s floating rather than running.
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Plot Holes and More Plot Holes
I just couldn’t believe the movie got worse as it progressed. There were way too many plot holes that made absolutely no sense, I’m surprised a high-budget movie like this went into full production with THAT many plot holes.
I felt that the driving force behind the plot (which was people making wishes) was extremely weak and faulty. Exploring that point, if people’s wishes coming true could make things appear out of thin air, why did Steve Trevor have to come back in another man’s body? That choice was really odd and lent nothing to the actual plot.
Barbara wishing to be like Diana gave her more than what she wished for. To her surprise, she gained super strength and much of Diana’s godlike powers, but what this woman really wanted was just a good makeover and cute clothes. Let’s be honest.
That Mayan shaman who lived in a hole with an ancient Mayan book was a whole plot hole in itself. You’re telling me Diana and Steve went off that one shady encounter as the key to save the world?
Steve Trevor, a WW1 pilot somehow miraculously knows how to fly a modern fighter jet? Was this just thrown in there so that they could fly through fireworks for a romantic moment? And there were fireworks because it’s just suddenly the Fourth of July?
If you remember from the first Wonder Woman, Diana is revealed to be the godkiller and she literally goes into a one-on-one combat with Ares, the god of war. The amount of power she harnesses is insane, but fast forward to the climax of WW84 and she’s holding onto a wall because the gust of wind surrounding Max Lord, a human being, was too strong for her to handle. She gives up on fighting him then resorts to a mushy monologue in an attempt to save the world. What?
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That Atrocious Final Fight Scene
I’m ending the review with what I felt like was the biggest movie sin in WW84: the fight scene with Cheetah. This was the last major fight scene in the movie after Diana regains her powers. Even after sitting through two hours of plot holes and lazy writing, an amazing fight scene could have saved it a little but it was a wasted opportunity! The ending fight is when Diana appears with that stunning head-to-toe gold armor with the wings that belonged to Asteria, one of the greatest warriors who sacrificed her life to save the Amazonians. (Side note: This was an armor that was preserved for thousands of years and used to fight off thousands of men.) In this final fight scene, Barbara’s transformation into Cheetah is revealed and the two women duel it out in a very dark swampy looking setting. It was a shame how dimly lit the scenes were as we could barely even see what was happening. Then Diana spent a good minute just twirling around in the air with her lasso (when she can fly now so what was the point of that?) just for Cheetah to latch onto her leg. Cheetah also somehow manages to destroy Diana’s wings (again, these were wings worn by the great warrior Asteria and they were clawed away in minutes!). A very anticlimactic end to their fight happens as Cheetah and Diana land into a small body of water, and well, that was it.
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A Solid 3.5/10
Overall, Wonder Woman 1984 was definitely below average to me. It’s cheaper than watching it at the theaters (I believe it’s $14.99 to stream on HBO Max), but it was still 2.5 hours of my life I can’t get back. The movie had no business being that long. It was entertaining (as much as it was puzzling) and I added an extra point for the solid cast. There wasn’t a boring moment in the movie, but every moment led to a worse moment which ultimately became a plot hole. The director, Patty Jenkins, did such an amazing job and a great justice to the iconic Wonder Woman character in the first movie, I am genuinely shocked how it went from that to this.
The best part of the movie for me was Lynda Carter’s cameo in the post-credit scene (check it out below!):
Have you watched Wonder Woman or Wonder Woman 1984? What were your thoughts? Share with us below!
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