This weekend like half of all HBO Max subscribers (according to their numbers) I watched Wonder Woman 1984. Truth be told, I’m still not comfortable sitting in a theater with a bunch of people I don’t know in a time where local hospitals have a 0% capacity for new patients. I was thrilled to be able to watch Wonder Woman 1984 from home.
The plot is fairly simple, and like most comic books movies there are some plot holes. For those who haven’t seen the film yet, maybe skip this part because there will be a few spoilers below. The story follows Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman, who has been doing some rescuing on the side. When we first see her, she’s reflecting on her childhood and an Olympic-style trial that she participated in when she was super young. This part does drag a bit, and we realize that the main message is that cheating, even if you’re an Amazon, is not allowed. Truth must rule out over all. We then fast forward to Wonder Woman breaking up an attempted heist at a local Washington DC Mall. It’s super 80s. You’re not going to doubt what decade in America they are going for, trust me. We are soon introduced to Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig), who falls under the infamous comic movie trope of highly intelligent nerd with glasses that goes evil with a taste of power and beauty. We are also introduced to Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal) who supposedly is going to donate a whole bunch of money to the Smithsonian. He’s fabulously wealthy, right? Not quite. We find out pretty quickly thanks to a cameo with Simon Stagg, that Lord’s business hasn’t done a dang thing and is quickly going to go under. So what delightful plot device do we discover? One of the items that was almost stolen during the heist was a citrine crystal with an inscription on it from the gods, granting wishes, for a price. Minerva wishes to be more like Diana, Diana wishes for Steve Trevor, Maxwell Lord wishes to become the stone…and chaos ensues.
The film is first and foremost a comic book movie. Let’s state that again: this is a comic book movie. It’s not meant to be an epic ala Boris Pasternak’s Doctor Zhivago. You’re not meant to right some horrific wrong like the first time you watch the TV miniseries Roots. This is a comic book movie, and it should be treated as such. Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins are a good team, and while Wonder Woman 1984 wasn’t as jaw-dropping and powerful as the first in the franchise, it’s a comfortable and successful sequel. There are clichés and fan service, because again this is a comic book movie. Viewers have come to expect this in everything from Doctor Who to Star Wars (yes, even the Mandalorian).
You are allowed to dislike this movie. You are allowed to have an opinion that you wish Wonder Woman 1984 hadn’t done Barbara Minerva dirty. You can even question those weird contacts Pedro Pascal wears when it looks like his eyes are bleeding. What you can’t do is try to make this an Oscar contender in your mind and be disappointed when it isn’t. Wonder Woman 1984 isn’t perfect, but it’s an enjoyable way to zone out for a couple hours and plan impossible cosplays while the world around us suffers. Frankly, I’ll take the break.
