Good evening everyone! Welcome to yet another session of movie reviewing! Tonight, we are going to be talking about one of the more recent films to get released in theaters for the first time in a long while. Not only that, but it is one of the very first films that was released by Warner Bros., as well as in a line of films that are made by the company that are getting released over the course of this year, if not also the years after, to be released in both theaters, and on HBO Max. Presenting the very sequel to it’s 2017 predecessor, Wonder Woman 1984.
Plot: Set in the year 1984, years after Diana Prince (aka Wonder Woman, and played by Gal Gadot), and her boyfriend Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) helped the American soldiers win WWII, Wonder Woman now faces a new threat. The threat comes in the form of a businessman named Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal), who steals a magical stone called the Dreamstone. He begins to use this stone to grant wishes to anyone, and causing negative consequences as a result. Because of this, it is up to Wonder Woman, Steve, and new friend Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig) to thwart Lord’s plans to grant unnecessary wishes, and put an end to the chaos that he begins to create once and for all.
Now, as I’m sure we are aware, this film was supposed to come out back in June of this past year, but got delayed first to October, and then finally to Christmas Day of this past year. Now, the question is, “Was it worth the wait one way, or the other in the end?” For the most part, yes. However, unlike the first film that came out in 2017, and was practically a masterpiece, this sequel seemed to fall short of it. Oh yes, it’s still very good, but this film probably could have improved in a few areas. First of all, there were points in time where some of the characters were lacking development for themselves. Not only that, but there were times, where there could have maybe been slightly better foreshadowing for certain character arcs, as well as certain events that were to occur. Yes, there was some of that foreshadowing in there. It just could have been better. It’s shocking that this ended up being the case for a film that’s two, and a half hours long. Could this be a result of certain action sequences, or even some scenes period seeming to drag a little longer than they should have in the end? Most likely! Well, in addition to this, there were some plot holes that were scattered throughout this film as well, especially around the middle to end. And another thing! You know how in the first Wonder Woman movie, you seem to really feel the good versus evil battle? Here, however, we don’t seem to really feel that battle as much. Yes, we still have that feel to a degree. It’s just that it seemed to be handled better in the first movie from 2017. One other flaw that’s worth noting is that the end may have felt a little too rushed. I mean before the credits, along the mid-credits scene occurred, the ending itself could have probably been expanded upon in order for certain events, relationships, and things like that to be built up a little better. We’re talking maybe an extra five to ten minutes, give or take.
But now with those things out of the way, what are the things that make this movie good, if any? Well, for one, there is the score by Hans Zimmer. Wow, especially in the beginning of this film, he makes a really good soundtrack. I mean his score throughout this film is good too. However, with the beginning in particular, it’s almost like the music seems to have a feel for say the music from 2009’s Avatar, or some film like that. Now about some of the character building. As I mentioned before, some of the character buildup could have definitely been a little better than they were in the end. However, that doesn’t mean that most of them, especially the main ones, didn’t had any at all. In fact, most of them still do stand out to a degree, even if they could have done a somewhat better job in that regard. In addition to these, the costume designs are also really spectacular, including a new design for the main character, Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. What’s more is that there are times where you could likely want to watch this film in 3D, if those theater sections of movie theaters still do exist. So much so that you might wish that there was a Wonder Woman attraction if some kind at either Universal Studios, or even at a Warner Bros. amusement park, if that were to ever exist. There was also some really excellent creativity with some of the story, some of the new moves that were made by characters like Wonder Woman, and things like that. Chris Pine, and Gal Gadot also have some really good chemistry with their respective characters onscreen. The rest of the acting is great too. Sure, there was some acting from one, or two of the characters that could have been tweaked to a degree. However, besides that, the acting was phenomenal. There are also some good takeaways from this film as well. First off, there’s the lesson that we cannot always have what we wish for in life. I heard someone once say that, and I quote, “Not getting what you want can be a blessing.” Now yes, that may feel frustrating when we don’t always get certain things that we want in life. However, when that happens, then I guess the best thing to do is to realize that it may be for the better in some cases, eh? Also, going along the lines of this is that this movie dies an excellent job of teaching kids, and adults alike, that we need to learn to sacrifice our personal desires if it means fighting for what’s right, and the greater good being the ultimate result. Okay, that may not make sense immediately, but it likely will in time. Anyway, the point being that there are times where this film is really good at portraying that message.
And that’s my review for Wonder Woman 1984. Sure, it probably won’t go down as a newer Classic in the newer DC Universe film library like the first film did. Still, even if this movie has more flaws than the first film, there’s still heart to some of the characters, the story does a great job with expanding more often than not, and there are some potentially interesting lessons to learn from this film. Again, much like Croods 2, if you can see this film in theaters instead of just on HBO Max, then make it a point to. That is unless movie theaters by your area are still on lockdown. However, if that is not the case for some of you, definitely go to the theater to see this one. Wonder Woman 1984 is yet another example of why going to the theater to see movies proves to be a much better experience than just watching it on HBO Max on a smaller television screen.
Final Grade: B
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 