Wonder Woman 1984 Review – Well Worth The Wait

I make no bones about the fact that the first Wonder Woman movie was not only my favorite superhero movie ever; it’s possibly my favorite movie ever. It’s a film that mixed the concepts of innocence, hope, love, war, loss, and more into something that made me well up when Steve Trevor died. Even my father was shocked by how moved I was by the film. I’ve been waiting literally years for Wonder Woman 1984 to come out, and while the first film is still better in my mind…there is so much to love in the sequel.

If you recall, the first Wonder Woman film left Gal Gadot’s Diana Prince trying to navigate a new world without the love of her life in Steve Trevor (played by Chris Pine). In Wonder Woman 1984 (after a wonderfully perfect Amazon scene), we see Diana roughly 7 decades after the first film’s events, and while she has moved on with part of her life…her past is still clinging to her in many ways.

We see her in her job as archaeologist and more and just trying to find something to latch onto…which introduces us to Barbara Minvera (Kristen Wiig), who is everything Diana is not in many ways. Slightly nerdy, lacks confidence, desperately wants people to notice her, and so on. Their opening scenes together are a highlight in many ways, but of course, good things rarely last.

Because as Diana, Barbara, and their soon-to-be “friend” Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) are about to find out, wishes are being granted, including one that brings Steve Trevor back to life…kind of. I won’t spoil all of it for you!

Seeing Diana and Steve back together is very much a highlight of Wonder Woman 1984. Gal and Chris put on a show that makes you think at times you’re watching a romantic comedy more than a superhero movie (which in this case isn’t a bad thing, they pull it off well), and you light up when you see Diana happier than she’s been in decades. As well as seeing Steve marvel at all the wonders that are in this world that he saved so many years ago.

But of course, this can’t last, not that anyone told Maxwell Lord that. As many comic fans will note, Max Lord is a major player in the comics and is the source of many memorable Justice League moments, including one with Wonder Woman that is still talked about to this day. This version…is NOT that version…it’s even better, and you can thank Pedro Pascal for that.

Seriously, you have to wonder if there’s a role this man can’t do. Because he well and truly steals the show in many ways. He comes in with a blaze of glory, has the rug pulled out from under him, recovers in gloriously evil fashion, and starts twisting expectations left and right until the final moments where you honestly can’t help but wish him well. Is he evil? Yeah, kind of. But it’s much deeper than that, and Pascal plays it all beautifully. There are even references to his comic book self in more ways than one if you know where to look.

Don’t get me wrong, though, Kristen Wiig did a great job as Barbara/Cheetah. And in fact, the slow-burn approach to her was made perfectly. Many people were wondering (including myself) how the Cheetah angle would be played, especially since it would have to be at least partially CGI. What we get is a beautiful arc of a friend turned power-loving foe as she finally gets everything she wants and she’d rather die than give it up. And the fact that we only see the Cheetah form in their final matchup helps seal the impact of it all.

Which perfectly leads us to the action sequences of the movie. You might be surprised by how few there are compared to other superhero movies, or even the first Wonder Woman film. And admittedly, none of them are as good as the now legendary “No Man’s Land” scene, but in all honesty…it wasn’t needed. Some great low-key and high-flying set pieces really drive certain points home, including a fun brawl in the White House and the now well-known “Mall Of America” scene. It’s enough to wet your whistle in between the deeper parts.

Because at its core, Wonder Woman 1984 isn’t about villains or fight scenes. It’s about the desires of the heart. And what we’re willing to give up in order to get “everything we desire.” Max Lord was willing to sacrifice it all to “not be a loser,” Barbara would shed her own human to “not be like anyone else,” and for Diana…she would rather lose being able to save everyone to be with Steve again.

Which on a certain level will sound incredibly cheesy, but as many people will attest to…we’ve also lost loves and would love to have them back. For Diana, Steve was what proved to her how worthy the human race was of her love, and you can’t help but shed a tear when Steve inevitably has to return to the realm beyond. The scene they do it in is truly heartbreaking because you see Diana, yet again helpless to save the man she loves.

But even more than that, even more than that moral is the one about the truth, and how while the truth may be savage, and the truth may kill us on the inside — it’s the truth that sets us free. It’s the truth that helps us move on. In a world we live in right now where lies are said left and right, and we all wish for more and better things, the truth is that to make a better world…we need to do it ourselves in the right way, the truthful way, the heroic way.

The movie’s end will be divisive for some people because it’s not a typical superhero ending. The hero doesn’t kill the villains or force them to do anything. Diana tells the truth and asks them to see it and good things come from it. Because Diana knows that good people, true people, honest people…want to do the right thing, yes, they’re tempted, stray, and do bad things, but everyone wants to do good, even if they don’t realize it. That’s why Wonder Woman is such a great hero; she loves the world and wants to show the world the right way to do things.

Or, as one Twitter user noted, “To stop a crime, you send Batman, to stop a missile, you send Superman, to stop a war…you send in Wonder Woman.”

To be fair, some elements don’t work as much as many would like. Some CGI elements show in bad ways, there is some early overacting from extras, and as one friend of mine said after watching it, it may be “too smart” for some people to get the purity and love in the message.

But those are minimal complaints about a film that dares to be atypical, dares to shine in heartwarming ways, and wants nothing more than to be a film that people can watch and be inspired by.

It worked for me, and I hope it worked for you too.