We at DCTV were very fortunate to get the chance to participate in an advanced screening of the upcoming Wonder Woman 1984. Below, you will find our review of the movie, which will include some spoilers, so if you want to go in with fresh eyes, be warned! Lastly, make sure to check out the credits for a bit, there might be a small scene that's worth watching! Onto our review.

After the massive success and critical acclaim of 2017’s Wonder Woman, there were remarkably high expectations for the follow up. Wonder Woman 1984 attempted to deliver on those expectations, and resulted in a fun, enjoyable sequel that serves as the perfect amount of escapism after a dark and dismal year. 

Wonder Woman 1984 opens with a flashback in lush Themyscira, during a tournament where a young Diana (Lilly Aspell) competes against the best of the Amazonian warriors. She is kept from winning this tournament when she is chided for having taken a shortcut during the competition and reminded that success does not come from the easy way out, setting the tone for the moral lesson later on. 

The film cuts forward several years to the 80’s. While ‘undercover’ as Wonder Woman, Diana (Gal Gadot) stops a gang from conducting a heist of important artifacts in a bustling mall. One of these artifacts becomes the key point of the film, as it is an ancient wishing stone that grants the beholder exactly one wish; but at a price. Unaware of the latter consequence, Diana wishes for the return of her old love Steve, a loss that still haunts her several decades after the fact. 

Meanwhile, Diana befriends the bumbling Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig), who uses the stone to wish to be more like Diana (who can blame her?), and we’re introduced to the primary antagonist of the film, the sleazy TV personality turned oil prospector: Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal). While Lord gets his hands on the wishing stone, Diana is reunited with Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). 

However, all these wishes come with some personal sacrifices. Barbara loses her kindness and humanity, and slowly transforms into the secondary antagonist, Cheetah. Lord loses his health (and, one could argue, his sanity). Diana loses the magnitude of her powers, which is displayed in a humiliating fight in Cairo. As the film continues, Diana comes face to face with the agonizing realization that in order to restore her powers to their former glory, she must say goodbye to Trevor; for good.

The cast, both returning and new, are one of the highlights of the film. Gadot continues to breathe life into Diana Prince, offsetting her cool and elegant demeanor with a new, human desire for her departed love. Steve continues to be a (tragically underused) delight, thanks in part to Pine’s work. Wiig is perfect as the clumsy, awkward Barbara who slowly transforms into the more serious and cruel Cheetah. While Lord’s character is a little much to take in, this is only accredited to how well Pascal manages to play the unlikeable character. We also have to give our heartfelt congratulations to Patty Jenkins on another great movie with the beloved superhero, and we have to commend Hans Zimmer on the spectacular soundtrack, where the music really helped to tie everything together.

As for the setting, we wish that the film maintained a little more of the ‘heart’ of the 80’s. To give it credit, Wonder Woman 1984 makes use of the bright and colorful visuals that serve as a stark contrast to the more darker and muted tones from the first movie. The costumes are playful, and the bustling, nostalgically retro mall gives excellent context to the time. Unfortunately, beyond that, the film doesn’t make use of the decade to its full potential, and we were left longing for more. 

There's also some great insight into some of Wonder Woman mythos, such as her invisible jet, and her powers of flight, which were great to see. Of course, for all of the great stuff that we saw, there were a few moments that detracted from the story, and made certain aspects of the movie harder to follow, such as how wish-granting works, and what Diana’s been doing for the past 65+ years, barring some photographs we wished that the movie would've delved a little bit deeper into. At times, despite the longer run-time, the movie felt like it skipped or glossed over some details that could have used some more time to explain. Overall, the movie was a welcome and solid follow-up to Wonder Woman, and shows that superheroes don’t have to be just all about the blockbuster fights (though the movie does have its share of those), but also in humanity and appealing to the better nature of people.

Wonder Woman 1984 will be released on HBO Max for the US on December 25th, and showing in movie theaters worldwide the same day. Let us know your thoughts below and in our forum! Don't forget to follow us on Twitter for breaking news!

Reviewed by Ariel Horn & Melissa K.

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