The reviews for Wonder Woman 1984 have rolled in, and it’s time to see how the next DC film is going to fare. Lets take a look and see.
Some minor flaws aside, Wonder Woman 1984 definitely doesn’t disappoint. It’s a fine addition to the growing stable of DCEU movies, and Jenkins continues to be the perfect filmmaker to bring Diana’s story to the big screen. With some real emotional stakes at its core, the sequel feels like a very different superhero movie, and that’s no bad thing. This will really tug at your heartstrings, and the fact Jenkins so easily gets us invested in Diana and Steve’s romance (all while Lord is trying to take over the world and Barbara is transforming into a monster) is a testament to what an incredible storyteller she is.
It all makes sense that, if you are going to go down the path of a sequel, it should be in another time and place than the first one. Shrewdly, the filmmakers set this one smack in the middle of the Gordon Gekko Greed-Is-Good ’80s, an era that subscribed to the idea that you can never get enough for yourself. Diana aka WW is the perfect antithesis for that as she believes in good and love over bad and evil, and in the end, her philosophy is what is needed to find our better selves. It is a good message right about now for a movie whose main aim is just to entertain. Thanks to Gadot and company, they do just that.
Wonder Woman 1984 is a worthy and great successor to the first which holds a very special place in this reviewer’s heart. It is and will continue to be a momentous task to overtake Wonder Woman. However, the sequel lives up to the anticipation and delivers about everything to the highest of degrees. Gal Gadot is one more, absolutely enchanting and is cemented forever in the Hall of Justice as one of the greatest portrayals of a superhero ever.
Not unlike its predecessor, this film’s finale is overwrought, its stakes overdrawn — even though, maddeningly, they really don’t need to be when the essential conflict is so clear and compelling. Perhaps inevitably, Jenkins herself did not prove immune to the excess that she spent her ambitious 150-minute-long movie denouncing; that runtime alone is more than a little self-indulgent. But hey, if this year has taught us anything, it’s to give each other a break — and to allow ourselves our indulgences. Maybe Wonder Woman will be the one to save us, after all.
Wonder Woman 1984 is something special. From its breathtaking opening sequence to the refreshingly original final act, there is much to rejoice in. This is a joyful and thrillingly engaging sequel, one that manages to connect to everything that worked the first time around. Yet it still feels fresh. Gal Gadot brings such incredible grace and heroism to the role, and it’s more than evident that she enjoys playing the character as much as fans enjoy watching. This is a spectacular sequel. And while it is certainly disappointing that many of us cannot currently enjoy it with a large audience in a packed theatre, you’re still in for a massive adventure that is at times, quite intimate and effective. Whether you can make it out to a theatre, or you plan on enjoying it in the safety of your home on HBO MAX, WW84 is everything it could have been and more.
Thanks to this action-packed second installment – an antidote to a truly awful year – it’s safe to assume that it won’t be too long before Wonder Woman is back our screens again, doing her bit to save the world.
The biggest problem with “1984” is there’s just too much of, well, everything. An extended Amazons-centric opening featuring kid Diana is cool but takes too long to get the movie humming, and some iffy visual effects mar the more massive, blockbuster-ready scenes.
Still, the action-packed, heartwarming flick hits more than it misses, especially for fans waiting through a year full of release delays. And fortunately, Jenkins is the resident Santa Claus, gifting us this holiday season – even those stuck at home – with an action-packed, heartwarming flick full of grace, goodness and a tank-flipping, whip-smacking, baddie-bashing Gadot.
You can find further reviews for Wonder Woman 1984 on Metacritic and on Rotten Tomatoes.
Wonder Woman 1984 will release in theaters and on HBO Max in the U.S. on Dec. 25. Select international locations will see the film released on Dec. 16.
