Wonder Woman meets Generation X in this much-awaited sequel!
We open up on a young Diana participating in an Amazon sporting event. She’s caught cheating and is taught a lesson (I don’t even remember what it was, but you know this is a set-up for later). We cut to 1984 where Diana is working at the Smithsonian and is also fighting crime in secret (yet so very visible). She starts a friendship with Dr. Barbara Minerva. Meanwhile, Ponzi schemer Maxell Lord is trying to procure an ancient object that grants people’s wishes. Before Lord gets it, Diana wishes to find love again and Barbara wishes to be more like Diana. This wish causes Steve Trevor to come back to life and turns Barbara into an apex predator. All the while Lord gains more power with each wish granted. It’s up to Diana, as Wonder Woman, to save the day.
I went into this film with an open mind and walked away realizing how bad this film really is. Patty Jenkins once again directs this film, but she just does an awful job. In Wonder Woman, Jenkins was channeling Zack Synder, and we saw how bad that was. This time she’s channeling Richard Lester. Who’s Richard Lester? He’s the guy that directed Superman III and we all know how bad that was.
The plot for this film is all over the place, but then why wouldn’t it when you get comic book writer Geoff Johns on it. Hey, Johns was good at one point, but ever since Flash: Rebirth, he’s just plain sucked. And it shows in this film. I found myself really not caring for any of these characters. Johns learned all about filmmaking from Richard Donner, so he wants every film to be like the Christopher Reeves’ Superman. Not really a good thing.
Then there were things that just didn’t make any sense. There’s one scene where Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor need to get somewhere fast, so they steal an F16. Steve, who last flew a biplane in WWI, is able to figure out how to start up and fly the F16. It’s stuff like that that just bugs me.
The acting was way over the top as well. It hurt to see Pedro Pascal, who did such a phenomenal job as the Mandalorian, play a Gordon Gekko-ese, over the top, character. It was actually painful at times. And Kristen Wigg just seems to keep playing the same type of character. She plays Barbara Minerva, but I just didn’t like her portrayal of the character.
The entire film just did not work for me. The pacing was off and the story wasn’t that compelling or interesting. I’ll admit, I’m a comic book fan first. I’ve read about 80 years of Wonder Woman comics. At the same time, I understand that when it comes to these comics book movies, I am not the target audience. The target audience is a general audience. But as someone who also studied film, this was not a good film.
I’m not going to sit on my high horse and not tell you to watch the film. Like all things, opinions vary, and I gave you mine.
This film does have heart, but as my friend, Michael says “That’s like a participation trophy for movies.”
Wonder Woman 1984 opens in theaters and on HBO Max on December 25, Christmas Day
Newsdesk