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COVID-19 Special: 'Wonder Woman 1984' (12)



Director: Patty Jenkins

Cast: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal

Where can I watch?: Wonder Woman 1984 is streaming on HBO Max.

Rating: 3.5/5

Review: 2020 has been light on blockbuster action, with neither a Marvel or Star Wars film to engross audiences for the first time in years. After the confusing melee of Tenet, Wonder Woman 1984's delayed Christmas release seems perfectly primed to wrap up this tumultuous year in a blaze of superhero glory... Only, it doesn't quite manage it. Reprising her role as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince, Gal Gadot joins forces again with director Patty Jenkins in this slightly chaotic outing which combines big 80s hair with a wish-fulfilling stone and a tragic love story (again). Bewigged, suited, booted and demonstrating his most maniacal side is Pedro Pascal as Maxwell Lord, an wannabe oil tycoon who finds his wish for success warped into global devastation. Then there's Kristen Wiig as Barbara, an overlooked colleague of Diana's who aspires to be just like her. Unfortunately, the dynamic between Barbara and Diana is criminally under-developed, when it could have tackled some interesting and timely topics, and the focus quickly shifts to that tried and tested heterosexual couple formula. That's not to say that the return of Diana's long-lost love, Steve (Chris Pine) is unwelcome - far from it, in fact, as Pine continues to be a very likeable screen presence - it's just that something new could have been developed instead. For me, one of the main downfalls of the film itself comes from Wonder Woman's very character - so good, so pure, so truthful and altruistic is she that it makes it almost impossible for her to develop any kind of meaningful character arch: when she's asked to make the ultimate sacrifice to save humanity, she does so without a moment's hesitation, and when it comes to (not a spoiler - this is a comic book movie, after all) the world-saving climax, you can be sure that her inhuman goodness plays a significant part. The length of the film (coming in a just over two and a half hours) doesn't help either - it really does take a good while for the story to get going in earnest, and even then, there's definitely some fat that could have been trimmed from the overall runtime: was the Egypt segment just included so that an action scene could be shoehorned in? It certainly feels like it! However, maybe it's the time of year or 2020 as a whole, but I have to admit that I did find myself having a proper sob on more than one occasion, so Wonder Woman 1984 must have got under my skin at least a little...

A COVID-19 Must-Watch?: I'll start off by saying straight away that Wonder Woman 1984 is very much the difficult 'second album' (there will undoubtedly be a third film here) and rather pales into insignificance when compared with the first outing. Overly long (it really does take a while to get going) and definitely verging on soppy in some places, it feels as though there are too many narrative strands going on at once, which inevitably means none of them get the justice they deserve. That said, I did find myself welling up a couple of times, and there's something undeniably uplifting about seeing a female superhero in action. 

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