Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

★★

THE GIST

Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) investigates a strange, powerful force that brings Steve (Chris Pine) back from the dead and grants others their heart's desire. 

ONE SENTENCE REVIEW

Despite the thought-provoking theme and strong start, WW84 fails to overcome its cartoonishness, nonsensical plot, and unconvincing ending.

WHO'S THIS FOR?

See this if you, like me, are tired of seeing new releases on your couch or if you were a huge fan of the previous film.

THE GOOD

The Opening Scene

As with the first Wonder Woman, the first act of WW84 is by far the best part of the film.  The story begins with a flashback to Diana's childhood in Thermiscyra, the Amazonian homeworld.  She competes in a sort of decathlon against older Amazon women in which she takes a shortcut and almost wins until her mother stops her at the last second.  Diana learns here that taking the shortcut to success comes at a cost.  It's a fun sequence and sets up the film's message rather well.

The Theme

The theme—that there are no shortcuts in life—permeates the movie and actually works fairly well.  Everyone has contemplated what to do would do with a single wish.  The movie's message is the same as the classic Rolling Stones hit, "You can't always get what you want / But if you try sometimes, well, you just might find / You get what you need."  The characters in WW84 must grapple with whether what they want is actually what's best for them.  Spoiler: it's not.

The Comedic Cast

Besides the film's central message, the "man out of time" humor with Chris Pine is the best part of the movie.  He carries Gadot's somewhat flat performance.  Kristen Wiig is also quite good in a part-comedic, part-dramatic role.  I wish the film had maintained its comedic tone throughout—it would have worked so much better as a "dramedy" rather than a silly action movie that takes itself too seriously.

THE BAD

Ooh, boy, where to begin . . .

The Plot is an Unmitigated Mess

Let's start with the mess of a plot (WARNING: mild spoilers ahead).  Everything centers around the Dreamstone, a magic rock with the power to grant the holder a single wish.  Magic rocks are nothing new in the realm of comic book movies—Marvel has a half-dozen movies about magic rocks.  But, unlike the Marvel movies, WW84 barely touches on where this rock comes from or how it works.  The Dreamstone is a McGuffin with unclear rules that require physical touch, except when it doesn't; and grants only one wish per person, except when it doesn't. 

Where's the 80s Stuff???

On top of an incoherent plot, there is almost no reason this movie needs to be set in the 80s despite being marketed as an 80s nostalgia film.  Besides a couple of outfits, some Cold War politics, and the opening scene taking place in a mall, WW84 could have taken place in the present day.  Even a single "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" or "Pour Some Sugar on Me" needle drop would have significantly improved the film.

No Real Bad Guy

WW84 also shares a problem with the first film—the lack of a compelling villain.  The "bad guys" aren't bad enough to be taken seriously.  Wiig's character's motives—to keep her powers—are understandable but not ultimately the driving force in the film.  Pascal's character doesn't appear to have good reasons for his actions other than some vague desire to be more powerful.  There's no counterbalance to Diana's strong sense of truth and justice, which ultimately hurts the film's ending.

The CGI and Action Make Me Sad

This is a 200 MILLION DOLLAR movie, but at times the CGI looks like it was imported from the 70s Wonder Woman TV show.  The flying scenes and big car chase in Egpyt are particularly bad.  Diana's lasso looks far worse than the lightsabers from 40+ years ago in Star Wars.  I'm not sure how a film with such a big budget can have such amateur special effects.

THE WEIRD

What Movie Am I Watching?

The film begins with a lighthearted and humorous tone that worked really well.  I'm not sure why this tone gets abandoned as soon as the plot begins to develop.  Superhero movies are usually inherently silly.  What Marvel has done well is acknowledge this silliness in its films through humor—think of Ant-Man and Spider-Man entering the fight in Captain America: Civil War.  About halfway through WW84, all the situational comedy witty quips are cast aside in favor of mediocre action and inexplicable plot.  This film doesn't know what it wants to be, and so it finishes with a whimper.

Pedro Pascal is Really Going For It

Pedro Pascal is playing the opposite of his Mandalorian character here, exchanging subtlety and stoic demeanor for mania and bombastic energy.  I sort of enjoyed it at first, but it was a little much by the end.  No matter what you think of the performance, Pascal is certainly one of the most charismatic actors working today.  

VERDICT

This movie is a mess.  It's no wonder that Warner Brothers felt comfortable releasing this film both in theaters and on HBO Max.  I don't want to hate on this movie too much though since it gave me a reason to go to a movie theater for only the second time since March.  It's worth seeing if only to experience big movies on the big screen, something that may not be around in the years to come.