Wonder Woman 1984 Movie Review : Is this a joke?

Director: Patty Jenkins

Writer: Patty Jenkins, Geoff Johns

Producer : Patty Jenkins, Gal Gadot, Zack Snyder, Charles Roven

Cast : Gal Gadot (Diana Prince, Wonder Woman), Chris Pine (Steve Trevor), Christen Wiig (Barbara Minerva), Pedro Pascal (Maxwell Lord)

Music : Hans Zimmer

Budget : $200 million USD

Synopsis:

Set in 1984, the movie shows how Diana Prince a.k.a Wonder Woman has learnt to live a low-profile life. Along with Steve Trevor, both have to face Maxwell Lord whose desires seem to never end and Barbara who has got her powers and become Cheetah.

Review:

The movie begins with a normal entry of Wonder Woman. Now, I would have been totally okay with this if the movie would have actually been released in 1984 and if the background score hadn’t been done by Hans Zimmer.

The story then builds up with Barbara getting a chance to showcase her expertise on the magical stone and Diana making her wish. Suddenly, Steve Trevor is back. Also, Barbara who’s showcased as a clumsy, innocent girl starts getting a personality development. Then there’s the villain Max Lord who’s shown to have been getting his hands on this magical stone for the long time.

There’s no explanation behind the working of the stone except the fairy tale fact that “Everything comes at a price”. Including the first scene there are only four action scenes. The second action scene has a bit of a flaw but I can let that go. That leaves only two action or rather fight scenes. This is why the audience is actually watching the movie.

Despite the previous part of Wonder Woman being good, this movie offers nothing in terms of action. I felt like the writer held on to the fact of Wonder Woman being a goddess so strong that she hardly landed any punches.

The climax of the movie where Diana wears the armor of the referenced female warrior Asteria was a disappointment too. I honestly felt that Diana would do some real fighting but all she did was defend. Maybe, that scene meant that Asteria did the same thing but then what was the point of wearing the armor? The only action scene of Wonder Woman grabbing Cheetah and throwing her on the ground was already there in the trailer. Another question that arises for DC is “Why show all your tricks in a free demo and have nothing left up your sleeve for a paid performance?”

Just after the climax is over everything is back to normal. Without any information about how Maxwell Lord came to know about the stone in the first place. Honestly, there’s no villain in this movie. There are just two people in this movie obsessed with what they want and how their obsession creates problems for others.

The only good thing about this movie is the strong connection; the cringing feeling for Diana and Steve. The first part of the movie shows how Diana longs for Steve and feels lonely at times. But this is not why DC fans are watching this movie.

Then there’s the post credit scene showcasing Asteria which I think is a reference to the third movie. Asteria will have some kind of role in the third wonder woman movie. The post credit scene was intelligently filmed because rest of the DC projects are just a few announcements and hence showcasing another character would only have raised further questions.

So far, I’ve torn this movie apart. But I didn’t feel that this movie was up to the superhero movie standards especially when your rival(MCU) has raised the bar. In Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice, when Wonder Woman was introduced, she was in her full form. Her performance was a treat to the eye. Now, when DC’s diving deeper in her story, they’re offering the audience nothing in terms of action. This is a fact which fail to understand. Also, this kind of poor performance is least expected when other solo movies of DC have done well previously.

This movie didn’t deserve to be watched in cinemas and is only meant for kids. If anyone misses this film, that’s totally fine.