“Wonder Woman 1984” DCEU Movie Review by Brooke Daugherty : Pop Culture Leftovers

“Wonder Woman 1984” DCEU Movie Review by Brooke Daugherty

January 9, 2021 9:42 am |

Diana Prince lives quietly among mortals in the vibrant, sleek 1980s — an era of excess driven by the pursuit of having it all. Though she’s come into her full powers, she maintains a low profile by curating ancient artifacts, and only performing heroic acts incognito. But soon, Diana will have to muster all of her strength, wisdom and courage as she finds herself squaring off against Maxwell Lord and the Cheetah, a villainess who possesses superhuman strength and agility.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!

For the sequel to the hit 2017 Wonder Woman movie, Patty Jenkins wrote the story with Geoff Johns, writer and former CCO of DC entertainment. Dave Callaham helped out when the pair set out to do the teleplay. Wonder Woman 1984 feels like a superhero movie found in the back of Warner Brothers’ archive, not seen in nearly 40 years, not necessarily in a good way. Problems are compounded with a runtime of 151 minutes. If you would like to avoid spoilers, they have been labeled towards the end of this review.

WW84 once again stars Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman and Chris Pine as Steve Treavor. This time we have two villains in Pedro Pascal as Max Lord and Kristen Wiig as Barbara Minerva/Cheetah. Gadot and Pine’s performances were solid as to be expected from the last film. Kristen Wiig may have surprised a few people with her portrayal of Barbara. She excelled as the awkward geologist and a woman with new found confidence. Pedro Pascal channelled over the top 80s villains for Max Lord’s public persona, chewing the scenery and even some of the actors in the process. Where he describes his performance aptly as “schm-acting” for those over the top scenes, Pascal gives Max Lord a third dimension. There is a vulnerability in some scenes that would be lost in the otherwise exaggerated depiction.

The film has the look and feel of an 80s movie. The clothes, the tropes, the low definition. We get bumbling 2D criminals and some unrealistic fight scenes, but we get the heart of Wonder Woman and some beautiful shots. Diana keeps to her prime directive to fight crime and hurt as few as possible. She believes love can save all, but it can’t save this movie. We also get some visual effects not up to par with many today, but slightly better than the original. The best looking effects, not surprisingly, were the practical effects and live stunts.

Also hurting this movie was the 80s expectation of unlimited suspension of disbelief. Parts of the plot had no type of exposition or story, making it hard to want to believe what was happening. Plenty of books and films have used magical realism but WW84 falls short.

CAUTION: Spoilers Ahead.

My biggest qualm with the film is one of the 80s biggest tropes. We get Steve Trevor back, but not out of nowhere. He is brought back in the body of another man and proceeds to have sex with Diana. The consciousness in charge might have consented, but the guy whose body it was did not. If you think it’s fine because she is attractive, I ask you to never read any of my reviews again. Non consensual sex in 80s movies has always been problematic, making it a bad trope to use. Instead, a lesson could be learned and righted.

SPOILERS OVER

If you skipped to the end, here is a recap: Wonder Woman 1984 isn’t a perfect film or the best DC film even, but it has good performances and the heart of Diana Prince. The tropes and 2 hour and 35 minute runtime bring it down. Watch if you already have HBO Max or on a $5 day where theaters are open. Taste It.

PCL Rating: Taste It

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: FRESH

Review by Brooke Daugherty