When “Wonder Woman” was released in movie theaters in 2017, fans and newcomers alike went crazy for the captivating, engaging film that told the story of the powerful heroine Diana Prince (Gal Gadot). “Wonder Woman 1984” hit DC Extended Universe fans’ screen on Christmas day, hoping to meet the same energy and reignite the marvel felt towards the first movie. Unfortunately, even with endless opportunities for success, “Wonder Woman 1984” fell from the high pedestal that had been raised, and now I’m shrouded in confusion and disappointment.
“Wonder Woman 1984” is set about 66 years in the future from the first film which was set during World War I. The Amazon warrior continues to fight crime and evil, hiding under the cover as a worker at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. It is there where she meets her two new foes, Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) and Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig), who, along with other challenges, take her on a journey of pain, struggle, and love.
The movie opens up with a scene from Diana’s childhood back in Themyscira. While this scene brings back nostalgia from the first film, it lacks any other necessity in the movie in terms of plot, background, or characters. Little did I know, this would set the tone for the rest of the movie.
Although Gadot, Pascal and Wiig give their best efforts to bring value to their characters and their role in the film, the character’s storylines and journeys make no sense. For the most part, Diana is just there for the fight and pain, and no other purpose is made clear on why her return through this sequel is necessary. Following up with this, Diana’s love interest Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) seems to be thrown into the film with no purpose but to add a little bit of emotion. While he accomplishes this (I did actually cry during one of his scenes), he doesn’t add much else and makes one question why he was brought back in the first place.
Meanwhile, the rise of the villains in the film is equally confusing. It is difficult to determine their motives throughout the plot and it almost seems as if they go from zero to 100 in terms of craziness in the span of 5 minutes. Max Lord is given some backstory to fuel his power-hungry rampage but his actions throughout the film have no depth and are extremely cliché, making him a sorrowful main villain. Then there’s Barbara, who’s fall into evil is even more mind boggling than Max Lord’s. She feels like a side character added last minute into the movie who’s scenes you wait through in annoyance in hopes to get back to the actual movie.
Along with the characters, the whole rest of the film seemed thrown together in careless spurts. Different scenes, obstacles and plot points are patched together like a toddler trying to match puzzle pieces. Additionally, like Max Lord as a villain, much of the film is painfully cliché, making originality a quality to be desired.
By the end of the film, I sat in utter confusion by the point of the entire movie. The previous movie left so many opportunities open for an engaging sequel, yet this disappointing excuse for a DC film completely bombed it. Don’t even get me started on the Hallmark Christmas movie scene that attempted to tie up the movie. Now at that point, I was laughing realizing that nothing in the last few minutes of the movie could save it from that cringe-worthy scene.
I hold many strange emotions towards this new movie but the one I can most understand right now is disappointment. “Wonder Woman” set the bar up to the moon and left so many possibilities for its next in line. With this in the background, it’s hard to believe that this film failed so miserably. Now, all I want to do is rewatch the first film to remember the glory of Wonder Woman’s original story and life, the glory that this sequel tarnished.