61% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 352 reviews)
Runtime: 151 minutes
Directed by: Patty Jenkins
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, Robin Wright
From: Warner Bros.
How ironic that the Coca-Cola Zero “Finally, a sequel that doesn't disappoint” ad played before THIS.
This will be longer than usual... it has to be that way for all those that started following me in the past year or so. For those that are unaware, most superhero movies of the 21st century I haven't seen as such things usually do not interest me. I have seen some from DC and some from Marvel... as said many times previously, I have no preference between the two. The first Wonder Woman from a few years ago was seen by me and even with some silliness (especially in the final act) I still rated it 3 ½ stars as it was still enjoyable and the World War I setting was nice. That had to be clarified and not just to reassure anyone who may think that “sexism” played any part in my sour opinion. Instead of paying for HBO Max, the decision was made to see this at a smaller theatre chain; it was one of those places which also serves you food so I also had a late dinner as a movie w/ bad buzz was viewed. Going in, seeing something which was terrible was not in the cards, yet that is what occurred.
Thing is, the first 20 to 30 minutes I did not hate. At times it felt like Superman: The Movie; if only it did not turn into Superman III or Superman IV: The Quest for Peace... there were no major complaints as the story was set up and the new characters were introduced. The relationship between Diana Prince and Barbara Minerva, let's just say I am sure there's already been fan fiction written about the two and how they were implied lovers in this universe! As for Pedro Pascal as Max Lord: from what I heard and also his appearance, his name might as well have been “Ronald Crump.” That said, his behavior wasn't really that so at least did not get political in that sense and automatically alienate a decent amount of the potential audience. Max Lord... it's a shame now that if there's ever The Expendables 4, the lead bad guy can't be named that now. By the end of 1984, you realize that Lord's name is along the same throughput as Van Damme being named Jean Villain in The Expendables 2.
Anyhow, once this gets going and I realized what the film was all about, it became quite juvenile and just plain stupid, with plot holes and logical fallacies galore. When the realization came that Lord could have easily handled his Wonder Woman problem w/ the powers he had and yet it doesn't happen & the reasons why it wasn't attempted is never addressed... that broke the movie and made me glad this wasn't seen on HBO Max-I might have shut it off in disgust before the end credits rolled. The way that Chris Pine was brought back... what a contrivance. I did not even enjoy the action as it wasn't as good & the final battles are laughably bad. Honestly, the movie is just incredibly juvenile and simplistic. The messages it presents aren't bad ones at all (especially for children) yet it is presented in such an ingenuous way and the plot was such a mess, any joy in this was lost long before it limped to its flaccid conclusion.
The 80's setting more often than not seems superfluous. While I did not mind that it wasn't wall to wall neon aesthetic and filled with period songs, there still should have been more period songs than what little was heard. At least I can give props for the Frankie Goes to Hollywood song they used... and it wasn't the overexposed Relax. Overall, I won't fault those that liked or even loved Wonder Woman 1984. Personally-for someone who doesn't watch much in the genre-this seemed like the worst excesses and faults that are stereotypically applied to comic book movies, whether or not it is fair or true. To reiterate, how blockheaded and foolish this was totally killed any fun and joy I was having beforehand; this is why my rating is so harsh. The scene a minute into the end credits was cute and all but that did not brighten my mood.
To give a spoiler because it's an interesting anecdote... if you don't want to read it, feel free to stop here. Those that have seen this already or don't care about it being spoiled:
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A few days ago in a tweet I saw this compared to WISHMASTER; yes, the 1997 horror movie produced by Wes Craven. I was gobsmacked; the whole “dream stone” aspect was completely unknown to me before last night. The fact that this comparison was actually astute... amazing, although not as much as how ham-fisted that whole plot device was used in the film.
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