Film Review by RL: Wonder Woman 1984

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

Rating: 2/5
Director: Patty Jenkins
Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Pedro Pascal, Kristen Wiig

In this review there will be no spoilers for 2020’s Wonder Woman 1984 (WW84). But there will be spoilers for Wonder Woman (2017), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Justice League (2017), and the official trailer for WW84 (2020). 
To know where WW84 went wrong, we should examine the successful previous appearances by Gal Gadot’s Dianna. 
Wonder Woman and BvS introduced a character that evolved over the course of the films. From idealistic naiveté to acceptance of grim consequences grounded in the reality of war. Or from a jaded self exiled despondence to making the choice to rise and stand guard for the innocent. In both these films we watch as Dianna acknowledges a truth (incidentally covered in the previous article of MacroMicroCosm, for sale on here , yes a shameless plug), choosing to be a bystander is a choice which allows evil to roam free. 
While WW84 does have a central theme it grows murky and oddly empty. The weight of the theme loses its gravitas with lackluster emotional investment. Along with this, the journey of the hero does not resonate with the audience, while following a superhero trope that is overused and performed both better and worse in other movies. 
In previous appearances, Dianna interacts with supporting characters that could easily be described as two dimensional. But the cast are able to convey enough charisma into their roles to become memorable. 
WW84 has five characters you will remember with the rest being filler that escape your recollection the moment their character is no longer on screen. 
In the end WW84 fails to deliver on the fun ride the trailer promised, breaks continuity for the ‘later’ films, introduces plot devices and macguffins that are meaningless, attempts to re-ignite chemistry unsuccessfully, and makes the same mistakes with its villains as all the others have. The only possible saving grace is the performance of Pedro Pascal who was unable to deliver a truly masterful villain because of the alterations to the comic book character. 

If you get the urge to watch a Wonder Woman film, choose the first. Or even BvS and the Justice League.

“Review originally published for Vraeyda Media: MacrocMicroCosm Online”
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