When the original Wonder Woman hit theaters it was praised for its intense action sequences and a strong performance from Gal Gadot. It’s understandable that fans were quite excited at the prospect of a sequel, their hunger for Diana’s next quest increasing with each delay that plagued the movie’s chances of release due to theater closures in the face of COVID-19. It comes as no surprise that excitement spiked when Warner Bros. announced that it would release Wonder Woman 1984 directly on to HBO Max, giving everyone a Christmas present that capped off 2020.
The movie doesn’t hit the highs of the first, taking more of a comic-like, campy tone through most of the film. That’s not to say it’s a bad movie by any means, but despite an all-star cast, the script just doesn’t adhere to the same quality threshold as the original. This hasn’t stopped Warner Bros. from pushing for the film to receive Oscar nominations in several categories. But does the film deserve such nominations and how does it compare to past films within the superhero genre? A closer look at particular elements of Wonder Woman 1984 is warranted before making such a judgment call.
It wouldn’t be that surprising to see Wonder Woman 1984 earn a Best Actor after giving the cast a quick glance. There’s a handful of talented actors here that have had success in their own right, including Gal Gadot, Pedro Pascal, and Kristen Wiig. The movie just doesn’t meet the quality of its actors.
Gadot’s performance is largely on par with the first film, not really giving a ton of additional depth to her portrayal as Wonder Woman. Pedro Pascal’s performance has more cheese to it than a grocery store dairy section. Kristen Wiig’s character is essentially the female equivalent of Jamie Foxx’s Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. It’s not their performances are bad, it’s just that it’s clear they’re all being held back by the film’s script.
Speaking of the script, Wonder Woman 1984 is mostly let down by its script. The problem is that the movie decides to make some truly odd choices. Starting with the Dream Stone, which is essentially a monkey’s paw version of the Infinity Stones combined into one object. Pedro Pascal’s character is able to grant any wish using this item, which is supposed to take away something from those who make wishes upon it. For example, Diana is given back Steve Trevor but her powers are weakened as a result.
That’s another odd point: Steve Trevor, played by Chris Pine, is actually inhabiting the body of another person. However, the movie opts to show the audience Chris Pine for the entirety of the movie, not really making it clear if that’s how he actually appears at first until his reflection is seen later on in the movie as well. It may be a bit of a nit-pick, but it just seems a little unnecessary to bring this character back after his story was already so satisfyingly concluded in the first film. If Diana is a being that is essentially immortal, it would have been more of a statement to have her go through a character arc that doesn’t require the involvement of an old flame. Or, to take another angle on this the film could have explored how Diana has to deal with the loss of those around her and the constantly changing times, especially with the film’s 1980’s setting.
To its credit, Wonder Woman 1984 starts out on a high note. The opening scene depicts young Diana participating in a sort of Amazonian Olympic challenge. It’s a thrilling sequence that has the best visuals of the film. It does something strange though by introducing a plot element in which Diana tries to take a shortcut but then is stopped at the finish line for cheating. This seems to serve to introduce her cool golden battle suit from late on in the film and doesn’t really tie into the rest of the film all that much thematically. It could be argued in some way that the use of the Dream Stone is a cheat, and that true happiness and success is achieved on one’s own merits. But the inclusion of the Dream Stone in the script is itself a cheat, an all-powerful way to allow for the conflicts of the film to be set up without any logical foundation.
Despite the incredible opening sequence, the tone of the movie is actually set by the mall sequence following the opening of the movie. Wonder Woman shows up to the mall and saves the day, swinging her whip around and flinging little girls into giant teddy bears. It feels like something directly lifted from the comics of yore.
It almost seems like the film will have success in achieving the camp of something along the lines of Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man film, which is a highly exciting prospect. The rest of the film devolves into more of the kind of cheese commonly associated with films like Batman and Robin. As a result, it fails to establish a serious enough tone to have the audience feel seriously invested.
Wonder Woman 1984 might be one of the best films of the year due to the limited release schedule of 2020, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it deserves an Oscar. Especially when compared to some of the better superhero films that have come out in recent years, like Avengers: Endgame or Black Panther, the movie fails to match the quality of story or special effects the these movies have. The setting is not crucial to the plot, seeming to pander to 80s fads more than trying to actually say anything about our hero.
Again, that doesn’t mean the movie isn’t good: a fun if somewhat muddled movie. The best way to enjoy the movie is not to think about it too much and just enjoy it. Oscar-worthy movies typically have a level of depth to them that this film just simply does not have, as dissecting it or analyzing it makes its flaws more apparent. It’s a great slice of entertainment and anyone with an HBO Max account should check it out, but as far as awards go, it should try again with Wonder Woman 3 or 4.
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