Warning: Spoilers!
Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman / Picture Credit: Warner Bros. Ent & DC
DC hasn’t given us the best films, we can all probably agree on that. With exceptions like The Dark Knight trilogy, Wonder Woman, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the company hasn’t given us much to write home about.
One of their most recent ventures was of course Wonder Woman 1984 (WW84), and this too seemed to have missed the mark.
It must be said that this movie isn’t bad, it’s just disappointing. The hype for Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) to return as the powerful heroine known as Wonder Woman was rather overshot.
The casting was brilliant however, as Kristen Wiig does a phenomenal job as Barbara Minerva, Diana’s colleague at The Smithsonian. Her turn from shy and concealed to suave and sexy is fantastic; her performance in this film is one of the best things about it for sure.
Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) is back once again. Diana makes a wish while holding an ancient stone which allows her beloved boyfriend from World War One to come back to life – in another man’s body.
The fact that she seems totally fine with Steve, and everyone else, seeing him as some other guy whose body has been taken over, is a little unsettling to be honest.
She prides herself on always doing the right thing and while she didn’t know Steve would come back like this, or even at all, her being okay with it is just weird.
The plot is also a little flaky, to say the least. The stone which brought Steve back is the object of desire for Max Lord (Pedro Pascal), who decides to absorb its power in order for any wish he makes to come true. Sounds a little like a fairytale if you ask us.
Lord, in spite of the odd narrative, is actually doing a decent job as a villain and pushing the world into chaos, and Barbara is right at his side making sure that Diana cannot get in the way of her and her new cat-like abilities she got from the stone that is now inside Lord.
The premise of the film just doesn’t invoke worry; you’re not really wondering if Diana can save the world, and that’s kind of the whole point in watching these flicks, right?
The only saving grace for this movie is Wiig’s outstanding performance as Barbara, aka Cheetah, as she uses her wish to essentially grow a spine. Her shy demeanour is taken over by a strong-headed woman.
While it is a shame to see Barbara’s innocence stripped away, it is also great to see her stand up for herself and become a tougher, more resilient version of herself.
Despite the film’s lack of intrigue, there is one scene that stands out. When Diana and Steve realise that in order to save the world, she must renounce the wish that brought Steve back.
In wishing for her lover’s return, this took her powers from her. She gets shot a few times and actually bleeds; in order to stop Lord and the anarchy he has caused, she must let Steve go – again.
Seeing Diana cry and just lose any poise she had and have it be replaced with tears and stuttering, is actually brilliant to see. She has held onto him for decades, and to see her have to let go of the one thing she had for herself - for the second time - is actually heartbreaking.
Patty Jenkins, the director, did a great job at upholding the strong female character we see in Diana, and the new strength we see in Barbara.
Overall, this film is worth the watch; if only to see Barbara kick some ass and take hold of her powers. Gadot of course did a great job as Wonder Woman once again, but Cheetah’s story is just that bit more intriguing.
The whole idea of a film in the DC Extended Universe, the darker of the movie multiverses out there, being based on wishes is a little far-fetched. While any idea is a good idea when done right, this film unfortunately did not hit the spot.
Written by Melissa, who you can follow on Twitter @melissajournal
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