Wonder Woman 84: Film Review

Cast: Gal Gadot, Pedro Pascal, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Natasha Rothwell
Director: Patty Jenkins

Be careful what you wish for seems like both a good maxim for this film - and also ironically about it too.

After what seems an eternity thanks to the cinematic ravaging by Covid-19 to the release schedule, Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman 84 finally arrives on the big screen.

And it's a wonderfully uncynical piece that's clearly more about uplifting spirits than providing something deep and aimed at moving the DC world forward.

In 1984, Gal Gadot's Diana Prince is working at the Smithsonian Museum, but still stuck in the past pining for the love of her life Steve Trevor. Into her world comes the klutzy Barbara Minerva (Wiig, who seriously impresses with the mix of drama and comedy before the usual superhero blur sets in) and also Pedro Pascal's apparent televangelist Maxwell Lord who promises that what you want can come true if you believe.

But as with everything, it all comes at a price...

Wonder Woman 84 opens with a sequence of wonder as a young Amazonian Diana takes on a challenge, and ends up with a scene that feels like Love Actually crossed onto its set and was responsible for a reshoot to add something in for the festive season.

In between all of this is a mixed pot of both good, and bad. 

From Patty Jenkins' unfussy action sequences that unfold with ease and clarity (bar one final showdown) to a heart that beats loudly in scenes with Pine and Gadot that ripple with chemistry (especially in a scene with a plane in fireworks), there's much that will keep the casual DC fan happy. From the wonder and joy of Pine's comedy chops as he wonders at his out-of-time second life, to Barbara Minerva's gradual opening up, the film has its sense of purpose and mission statement high on its own agenda.

And yet, it also falters into an unusual mix of a film that's not quite sure it has what it takes to break out from the mold of the genre. From Pedro Pascal's hamminess as the ghoul of greed who really has nothing much to do to the 150 minutes oddly feeling like it's padded out via way of a MacGuffin that's barely anything, there's a distinct feeling of indifference that settles into the second act of the movie that's hard to shake. Central to some of that is Gadot, who never clearly seems to deliver lines, and exists mainly to assume the mantle of a model shot in slow mo for various action moments.

In among the kitsch opening, and the 80s nostalgia, it's easy to see why Wonder Woman 84 would have been a surefire thing - there's a comfort to the film's central messages and it would take a hard heart to not give in to the feelings of loss early on, the feeling of wonder in the opening scenes and the take on female friendship.

But this throwback film doesn't quite hit all the right beats, and Wonder Woman 84 is frankly, less of a wonder this time around, more a feeling of the formulaic and rote. It has moments of joy, but the pleasures feel more fleeting and the earnest heart which made so much of the 2017 film and its story arc beat with a vibrant life is noticeably missing.