Written by Patty Jenkins & Geoff Johns & David Callaham
Directed by Patty Jenkins
Diana (to Barbara): "Nothing good is born from lies."
Well, this is an awkward situation. For many places, cinemas have unfortunately shut, and even I was lucky that I was able to get to a cinema to see this one. Not to mention US audiences will have to wait until Christmas Day to view this on HBO Max if they can't get to a movie theatre. I'm going to do my best here not to spoil things but I did put a warning in the title because some things I really do want to go in depth as best I can. Without further ado, here goes.
It's been no doubt that while the DCEU still has a way to go before it can truly capture the public's goodwill that the shining beacon from this franchise has been Gal Gadot. Zack Snyder, for many of his flaws absolutely nailed it when he cast her as Wonder Woman and Patty Jenkins did too, considering that Diana's first big screen solo outing is the most loved DCEU movie we've had.
Sequels are always a tricky task. You don't want to tread the same ground as the first one but at the same time, you don't want to stray too far from what audiences enjoyed either. Patty Jenkins clearly understands that but at the same time, there's no doubt that tonally things are somewhat different here.
Opening with a sequence on Themyscira, we see a young Diana (Lily Aspell) taking part in the Amazon Games - a tribute to a noble warrior named Asteria. Diana cheats at the games and gets reprimanded by Antiope (Robin Wright), who gives the young girl a life lesson, that Hippolyta (Connie Nielson) also reinforces for good measure.
We then cut to 1984 where our Diana (Gal Gadot) swoops in to foil a robbery of some precious artifacts at a shopping mall and if you want a clear demonstration of the shifting tones between movies, then the sheer cheesiness of this scene alone highlights that Jenkins has no problem being more playful and camp second time around.
Diana's life in this time seems to be a mixed bag. She's saving people, but she's also trying to do it in secret while also working at the Smithsonian and striking up a friendship with the somewhat messy but charming Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig). It's through this friendship that the pair also encounter a wish stone and this of course becomes the root of this entire movie's plot.
The stone comes from a god of lies and wishes have consequences. In this movie, three of our four main characters wish for stuff that comes at a cost. Diana for example wished to be reunited with Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). The latter returned her, taking on the body of another man (Kristoffer Poloha) but Diana only sees Steve and it's an interesting reunion.
I'm glad that Steve was able to return for this movie and while this was an odd way of him to reappear, there's no denying the chemistry between Gadot and Pine as their loved up characters are given plenty of romantic and beautiful moments before once again, a sacrifice has to be made in order for Diana to save the day. The consequence of Steve's return was Diana slowly losing her strength and durability. Renouncing her wish, though taking a while do so made sure that she was back to her normal self.
While Diana struggled to renounce her wish, we saw the consequences of Barbara's own wishing. She wanted to be like Diana and enjoyed the newfound strength she got, even at the price of losing her humanity. There's a comparison to be made to Michelle Pfeiffer's depiction of Selina Kyle and Catwoman to Wiig's eventual turn as Cheetah and it's a fairly apt one too.
Speaking of Cheetah - overall, I liked the look of the character, but she's not the main villain here, more of a henchwoman and the movie spends more time with Wiig as Barbara that Cheetah herself has less than five minutes of screen time, which undeniably is disappointing. Also the way in which Barbara becomes Cheetah should be obvious from the general premise of the movie but will likely disappoint those who prefer the character's origins in the comics. It's still a strong performance from Kristen Wiig though.
However the performance in the movie for me, outside of Gadot herself was of course, Pedro Pascal as struggling oil baron/media personality, Maxwell Lord. It might sound hyperbolic but Pascal truly steals the movie at times. For those fearing that he might be a glorified parody of a certain exiting President, I won't lie, there are moments that feel that way but Maxwell Lord is a more complex character than that.
I'd even go as far as to say that Maxwell Lord comes across as more desperate than evil. He's losing money and sees the wish stone as a means of ensuring power and having his son be proud of him. He wastes no time in seducing Barbara to get the stone and then when he has it, a lot of chaos happens throughout the movie, down to his desperation.
However it's his "defeat" that really made this movie for me. If you want a look at Diana's true compassion, that scene will absolutely floor you. I was in tears watching that scene and I love that Lord himself was treated as a more complex villain. Overall, he's a bigger success than Cheetah but both characters are truly engaging to watch.
As for Diana, she learned a lesson twice over on the concept of cheating and lies but on top of that, I loved the backstory surrounding the golden armor she used during the third act and while the sword and shield were retired, there was plenty of fun to be had with the lasso and it's many uses. Not to mention the scenes with an invisible jet and with her flying were magical to watch. Jenkins have kept the first movie relatively grounded but she clearly had fun embracing the more whimsical elements of Diana's mythos to great effect here.
- SPOILER ALERT: The mid-credit scene saw Asteria alive in the present day and just wait until you see who they cast in that role. You're gonna love it.
- There's an actual nod to something from Superman VI: Quest For Peace very early in the movie if you can spot it.
- Nice pics of Diana with Etta, Charlie, Sameer and the Chief to fill in some gaps between movies.
- Both Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins family members briefly cameo in the movie.
- Standout music: Hans Zimmer knocked it out the park with his score choices, including the use of a certain piece of music from Batman V Superman, which got used to stunning effect here.
- Chronology: July 1984 for most of this movie, with a flashforward to Christmas where Diana briefly encountered the man whose body Steve took over. He's credited as Handsome Man.
Wonder Woman 1984 admittedly starts off slow, it's very cheesy in parts and for some, it might feel like a tonal whiplash compared to the first movie, but for me, it's every bit as excellent as the first movie. The actions sequences might not be as many as you'd like for a lengthy movie but they all deliver when seen, the emotional bits definitely deliver as do the funny moment. The main cast are on excellent form, there's a nice hook for another movie and overall, I just loved this movie to bits. However you see it, this is definitely one of the best sequels to any movie.
Rating: 10 out of 10
