Wonder Woman 1984 Review!

 Alright! So today I saw the sequel to 2017's critically acclaimed, groundbreaking, $822 million making Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman 1984. And... it's really good? Surprisingly so? And, dare I say it, even better than the first? 

I liked a lot of things about this movie. I liked the colors. I liked the fight scenes. I liked Patty Jenkins' direction. I liked all of the cast. And I thought that for a two and a half hour movie, it actually moved pretty well. 

The movie starts off with a 10-minute scene of the Amazons completing some triathlon thing. This wasn't really needed for the movie's overall plot, but it was really fun to watch. It had some of the scale and sheer spectacle that'll get people back to movie theaters. 

The rest of the movie is surprisingly... emotional? Exciting? I loved this movie. It's as simple as that. I only had one major complaint about it (And a few nitpicks), but I really liked the movie for the most part. 

One thing I absolutely loved about the movie was the message. Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman is so pure and full of hope it's a refreshing change of pace from the doom and gloom of most movies. This is the most unapologetic, unabashedly "There is good within all humans" message I've ever seen in a movie, and I was here for it. It's a heartwarming movie above all else. 

Another thing I loved about the movie were the villains. Minor spoilers here, but Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) plays such a great villain it hurts. His motivation is understandable, his acting is impeccable, and his story of a washed-up businessman turned power-hungry god is surprisingly cohesive. And no, he was not a Trump stand-in. He was just a wealthy blond businessman, he didn't even have any stakes in real estate. 

Pedro Pascal absolutely killed it. He carries this movie so hard. Like, if superhero movies got Oscars and if this was an oscar-type of the movie, Pedro Pascal would win Best Supporting Actor or something. Actually, let's make that a reality. Is it too early to start a campaign? 

I wasn't a huge fan of Cheetah in the movie. I mean, it wasn't like Aquaman where they introduced his archnemesis, Black Manta, and then dropped him halfway through the movie to be saved for a sequel. Wonder Woman 1984 was able to balance two main villains extremely well, even if Barbara Minerva's transition from dorky lady to trying to kill her BFF was a bit of a leap.

One thing I wasn't a fan of was Barbara's appearance. They pulled out every trick in the book to give her the "Insecure and shy lady" who's actually played by a very attractive actress. I mean, messy hair, dropping papers, baggy clothes, oversized glasses... every trope you could think of they did. And the CGI for Barbara's Cheetah form had... much to be desired. They kept the final fight at night to make you wonder if it was just night vision or bad CGI, and I'm pretty sure it was just bad CGI. I would've preferred her to stay at her dope leopard print jacket outfit she sported halfway through the film.

This was peak Cheetah without going full Cheetah. 

Actually, one of my only faults with the movie was the CGI. The CGI, especially when Diana runs or swings on her lassos, is downright terrible. Something about the camera angle and physics of the run/swing just makes it awful to look at.

An extremely minor thing I disliked about WW84 was how they had the President, but it wasn't Ronald Reagan. It was just some random dude. Would it really have been hard to cast someone as Ronald Reagan? It took me out of the moment, but it is, again, an extremely minor nitpick.

While it's not a flaw with the movie and just the premise in general, why exactly did this take place in 1984? There was literally no reason to. Nothing in the movie is specifically 80s, there's no fun pop soundtrack full of Sweet Dreams and synthesizers, there's nothing. Just a few odd references to the strange fashion choices of that decade. The two reasons I can think of is that 1) Jenkins and co. didn't want to deal with a giant interconnected universe where superheroes like Superman or Batman would show up to help Diana, or 2) Almost having a nuclear war between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. is a lot safer than the U.S. and China or the U.S. and North Korea. 

Like, I was expecting the movie to be similar in tone to Thor: Ragnarok and Superman II because of its 80s setting. And it starts out that way with a mall scene pulled straight out of a Donner Superman movie, but never really does anything after that. From there it may as well be set in the 2010s. 

Something I wasn't expecting about the movie was to actually like Steve Trevor's return. It seemed gimmicky and mostly there for the "What'd I miss?" laughs. And while there was plenty of that to go around, Steve Trevor actually connects to the story and Diana's emotional arc in a meaningful and emotionally resonant way. It was really well done. Bravo to Mrs. Jenkins. 

But his return wasn't perfect. Like, why did he come back by possessing another person's body? Would it really have been hard to say he just magically showed up? And doesn't that mean Diana was doing the do with a complete stranger? Who approved that? But they kind of breeze over the body control and technically forced lovemaking of a random dude, so whatever. 

But overall I really loved this movie. I even liked it better than the first, which was more or less a regular superhero origin story starring a woman that happened to be a period piece. And I loved how they threw in the invisible jet. Logic checked out, even if I wouldn't let the pilot who's been out of the loop for 66 years fly the jet. 

And something you'll hear a lot of online is "If Wonder Woman could fly, why didn't she do it in Batman v Superman or Justice League?" Honestly, that's mostly people looking to hate on the movie or Snyder fanboys annoyed at the inconsistencies. I didn't mind.

This was a movie full of hope, full of love, and full of a genuine belief that humans can do better (Even if the finale stretched that idea too far). Gal Gadot is the perfect Wonder Woman, Kristen Wiig does excellently as Cheetah, and Pedro Pascal steals literally every scene and the heart of the movie. It's an all-around beautiful movie, even if it's extremely uneven and has a very, very strange ending, where the entire world gives up their one desire in exchange for world peace... like that would happen. 

And technically, if Max Lord giving up his wish turned Cheetah back into a regular person, what was the point of the big speech Diana gives? Just get Lord to revoke the wish and everything would've returned to normal. And a helpful mind-wipe here and there wouldn't hurt. 

Overall, I give Wonder Woman 1984 a 6/10. "Full to the brim with hope, love, and a genuine belief in the good of humanity, Wonder Woman 1984 isn't a perfect movie, but is very much enjoyable, mostly thanks to Pedro Pascal's incredible performance."