Review of Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) by Thatsthefrench — 24 Jan 2021

WW1984 starts off with a really strong first half hour. Strong character introductions, an exciting and fun flashback, reflection by the protagonist, and earned callbacks to previous films in the DC franchise. Fun stuff.

Then, the movie takes a sharp nosedive into the absurd. Coincidences abound, completely unexplained motivations, bizarre reveals, and uncomfortable dialogue riddles the second act and by the time Wonder Woman hits you with its biggest action scene, you feel completely overwhelmed with just how many utterly absurd and annoyingly ridiculous things had to happen to get the characters to the setting for their fight. I really wanted to like this movie, and honestly, I'd watch the beginning of it again through the lens of a failed pilot episode. Overall, WW1984 falls flat, to the point where I think a third film wouldn't even be able to save the reputation of the second by cleaning up its mess. The series should be dead with the sequel, as Wonder Woman's second solo film has made this iteration of the character completely unsalvageable.