Wonder Woman 1984
2020 Film Review
The sequel to the 2017s hit Wonder Woman. This journey of destiny takes place half a century into her future, where humanity has evolved from the post-WW1 era towards the more ‘modern’ techno-1980s climate surrounded by the undertones of the Cold War. A great action-adventure awaits.
Characters
There were four primary characters, each surrounded with a compelling storyline. They also had an equally strong backstory:
- Diana / Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) — The central character of the story, Diana - the mighty superhero herself. She possesses the power of the Amazonian merged with Greek mythological figures which are the basis of her fantastical abilities.
- Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) — A veteran of the first world war who supposedly died decades ago, Steve Trevor is the love-interest of Diana. He is an expert pilot and Diana really loves him with full conviction.
- Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig) — An awkward but optimistic Barbara quickly befriends Diana in a museum. She is eccentric and always cheerful to all those around her, though she does not receive the recognition she deserves.
- Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) — The eccentric villain with my mighty ambitions, Max is a successful businessman (or he wishes to be) who desires nothing more short than the entire world. No head explosions this time.
Story
The story centers on Diana, Wonder Woman herself. She resides within DC Washington, capital of the U.S. The film starts off with Wonder Woman fighting off thieves in a 1980s mall, with hints of her being responsible of fighting off a variety of criminals in the wider area of the capital.
Her life is seemingly perfect, working in a museum with enjoyment and plenty of colleagues who respect and envy her. There, she comes across Barbara for the first time and after an awkward meetup, the two quickly bond and a friendship is established.
Meanwhile, Maxwell Lord is attempting to establish his reputation as a youthful entrepreneur with ambitions to create a mighty company to be proud of and set an example to others. In reality, he is struggling to uphold his stature and trying to become the ‘number one’. He has a great character development over the course of his journey.
But, Diana is missing companionship. She is invited to a party where a few men to try to establish contact, but she is simply not interested. For her, there is only man. The one man who died a lifetime ago. Since WW1, mankind has changed very significantly. The middle class emerged, automobile became widespread, WWII happened, Korean wars ensured, JFK was assassinated and humanity landed on the moon. Yet, she had no other companionship. She still loves Trevor with all her heart. That, is true love.
Even though he is clearly dead. Or she thinks. And then, there he is…
World-Building
Wonder Woman 1984 has a rich world-building. Everything feels authentic, from the customs of the society to the technological-oriented societies of the 1980s, all under the looming threat during the Cold War. The journey primarily takes place in the Washington D.C, but it also travels far towards Egypt and Central America. It was aesthetically realistic. The character of Steve provides useful exposition where he compares the cultures and society of this world to what he was previously accustomed with.
There are also limited fantastical elements. She has the ability of super-strength, as per a typical superhero. She still uses her ‘truth whip’, primarily for logistical advantages during combat. The story itself revolves around a precious stone with perceived supernatural abilities.
Summary
In brief:
- Diana is the central character. She has a seemingly perfect life, but has flaws and vulnerabilities.
- Steve Trevor inexplicably appears and it provides a good vector of comparison between the societies of the 1918s and 1980s.
- The central villain is Maxwell Lord, who has a great character arc which allows the audience to sympathise with.
- A stone with fantastical abilities is the originator of the plot of the entire movie.
- There was a decent blend of realism and fantasy. It pinned towards to the realistic category (ish) and the story flowed well.
Critique
The movie was pretty fun and enjoyable. There was decent balance between action and dialogue as well as realism and fantasy. I loved the dynamics between Diana and Steve as well as the progression of the journey of Maxwell Lord as well as a similar but opposite turn of events regarding Barbara Minevera. The society was portrayed well and the movie too, whilst primarily based in America, also took viewers to a journey towards North Africa and Central America.
Some people did not like the movies due to the pacing and length of the movie and because it was not action-packed as the first movie. This was never an issue to me, since I appreciate a variety types of films. I enjoy quick fast-paced action movies, whilst at the same I have a fondness/appreciation of more slow-paced philosophical-based movies which really get you thinking, such as the Blade Runner Collection. Of course, Woman Woman 1984 is nowhere near as close to those movies, but my diverse range of tastes is the most likely reason why I enjoyed this movie whereas many others might have had an issue.
To an extent, some people took an issue with the contradicting wish-granting plotholes as well as other factors such as:
- How did Steve accustom himself to an 1980s fighter pilot when the controls are totally different from a WWI-era plane?
- Steve managed to instantly turn on the combat aircraft and take off in less than 2 minutes. In real life, I recently heard (courtesy of Midnight’s Edge) that it actually takes a long time between turning on the aircraft and actually taking off. I think it was around 43 minutes and that is the reason why some aircrafts are always online, so they maintain a state of combat readiness. How did Steve pull this off with an offline plane?
- How did Steve fly all the way from America to Egypt, over the Atlantic, without any fuel breaks?
- Why did Steve decide to fly over the fireworks?
- Wonder Woman was relatively unknown until the Batman VS Superman movie, which does not take place until a couple of decades later. How did she maintain her anonymity when she publicly took down the thieves in the beginning at the mall and when it was implied she has done this quite a few times before?
These were some of the many issues which eagled-eyed individuals recognised in the movie. As I watched the film, I was too hooked into it, so these plots did not bother me too much and they do not bother me now either. I still had a fun experience nonetheless.
Furthermore, the lead actress and director were paid bonuses under the assumption this film would have made a billion dollars in a healthy theatrical environment. Judging by the recent reactions, this might not have not been the case after all, although it did recently manage to make reasonable amount of money pandemic-wise. I believe it’s largely thanks to HBO Max as to why this movie managed to reach the popularity it has achieved so far.
Wonder Woman 1984’ broke records and exceeded our expectations across all of our key viewing and subscriber metrics in its first 24 hours on the service, and the interest and momentum we’re seeing indicates this will likely continue well beyond the weekend — Andy Forssell [WarnerMedia’s Head of Direct-to-Consumer]
This is why I believe the upcoming Warner Bros Dune movie should premier via HBO Max. I believe this would be it’s best chance:
Afterwords
Overall, this was a great movie for me and I would recommend to anyone wishing for a fun time to watch the movie. Ignore the plotholes if that affects you and appreciate the visuals and stories. Unlike critics and a significant portion of the general audience, I enjoyed this movie very much and would definitely watch this again.
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