DC Comics hit the jackpot when they released the greatly entertaining Wonder Woman, so the expectations were sky-high for a worthy sequel. Wonder Woman 1984, alas, is not it.
Clocking in at over two-and-a-half hours, I'd say only the last 45 minutes or so are worth saving. The first part feels useless, rambling, and even boring.
The initial sequence, about Diana's competition prowess, seems far fetched, considering that she might understandably have some additional powers than the other Amazons, but they're all grown up warriors with plenty of experience. It's hard to believe she'd best all of them for so long.
The following section seems to serve the purpose of immersing the audience into the '80s era, but just feels kitschy. Diana looks like is randomly stumbling from one day into the next, kind of like one scene follows the other in this movie.
Pedro Pascal, an excellent actor in Game of Thrones, gives it his all as the villain, but the premise is so flimsy, he often looks ridiculous more than menacing.
Honestly, Kristen Wiig is the best thing about this movie. She gets to play two very different kinds of women, and shines in both. Gal Gadot still embodies Diana Prince, but somehow feels diminished this time around.
It really seems incredible that Patty Jenkins directed both movies, because there's a chasm between the two. As usual, it comes down to the script, which was written by Jenkins herself, while Zack Snyder, one of the best creative forces behind the DC Universe movies, was one of the scribes of the first one.
If DC Comics and Warner Bros. have any hopes of catching up to Marvel Studios and the heights of their Marvel Cinematic Universe, they better up their game. This is a pretty bad stumble.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Can't really recommend this movie because it's such a letdown from the original. Jenkins is also slated to write and direct the next Wonder Woman movie, so I guess we can only hope it's better than this one.
Grade: 5
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