Film Review: "Wonder Woman 1984" is an appalling misfire
Wonder Woman (2017) the superhero origin story that depicted the titular demi god’s foray into man’s world was a surprising success. The World War I setting provided an interesting, often underrepresented setting, and Gal Gadot’s limitations as an actress (her line readings can be...fascinating, to say the least) were offset by an earnest portrayal of the character’s pure heart. Her winning chemistry with Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) also provided a good deal of warmth and levity.
There was no reason to think a sequel couldn’t improve on things, especially with director Patty Jenkins’ back at the helm. Unfortunately, Wonder Woman 1984 is a huge downgrade in every way. It’s lethargically paced and the entirely too goofy plot entirely doesn’t take advantage of Wonder Woman’s brand of mythic heroism. Diana Prince, Princess of the Amazons, is bigger than life, an angelic warrior, and they have her bonking silly crooks on the head in a shopping mall. Unconvincingly, I might add. The rest of the film’s action is equally blandly staged and poorly rendered. How, I was often thinking to myself, could this look so cheap and carelessly slapped together?
Just on a superficial level, WW84 is so boring and unambitious. I often forgot that this was, you know, a superhero movie. More often than not, it played like a sexless rom-com Holiday-themed movie. Just endless improv-y dialogue in office settings and board rooms and blah blah blah who cares. Maybe it would’ve worked if the characters had a bit of substance. Pedro Pascal and Kristen Wiig star as villains Max Lord and Barbara Minerva, respectively. Try as they might, they are left in the lurch here. They are neither menacing nor compelling. Wonder Woman herself often feels like a passenger in her own movie. Ordinarily, this would all be merely disappointing. But actually, it’s so, so much worse than that.
Through a plot device that grants wishes, Wonder Woman wishes her boyfriend Steve Trevor back. If I’m thinking as a greedy Hollywood hack, I can see the logic behind this - after all, that love story was such a success the first time and Chris Pine is so good in the role. But the execution of it is so off here, as Steve comes back into the body of...some poor schmuck. So Steve’s consciousness has downloaded, I guess, into some unsuspecting innocent’s brain. Why did they go this route? It’s not like the movie interrogates the ethics of this, either. So I can only conclude that the filmmakers couldn’t see what I saw immediately; that they have unwittingly turned Wonder Woman, this feminist icon, the ambassador of love and peace, into an unrepentant rapist. It’s outrageous enough to make my blood boil and I only count myself as a very casual fan of the character.
The 80s setting isn’t inspired either and does nothing to enhance the film’s ham-handed message. Yes, the 1984 title automatically conjures some comparison to George Orwell’s literary Dystopian classic. If you think Wonder Woman 1984 would even go there though, I’d have to laugh.
Look, at this point, I’m just listing grievances. It’s truly a challenge to think of anything redeemable. All I’ll say is the character deserves better and we deserve better.