SPOILERS FOR WONDER WOMAN 1984 AHEAD

While I am not going to spend time praising or attacking the DC Universe, it should be noted that their best film to date has been widely considered to be Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman. Generally seen as a successful film in terms of the story, tone, action and -although the villains were not the film’s strongest point- character development. Both Gal Gadot and Chris Pine have been praised for their performances, which is more noteworthy in the case of Gadot, who appears as the perfect choice to portray the character. Taking all of this into consideration, it is evident why the hype was so high for the release of the sequel Wonder Woman 1984.

However, no matter how good or bad the sequel turned out, as Wonder Woman 1984 -which due to the COVID-19 pandemic had to be postponed several times during the year until its premiere on December 2020- will be remembered for being the first of many Warner Bros. properties to have a limited theatrical release and a premiere on HBO Max, a highly controversial movement which has caused a monumental backlash in the industry, as it has been revealed that neither of the filmmakers and production companies were consulted.

Taking all of that aside, the film takes a page from sagas like the ones of Indiana Jones or James Bond as it is not a sequel that follows open threads from the first film. With a completely standalone story -obviously set in 1984-, we see how Diana’s life is and how she has adapted to a different reality after the events of the first film and, above all, the death of Steve Trevor -Pine-. It seems that she has settled to living a normal life while managing to help catch evildoers as Wonder Woman.

However, things take an unlikely strange turn when an antiquity -which is called Dreamstone and is later discovered to grant any possible wish- disappears and suddenly Max Lord -Pedro Pascal- starts becoming more and more powerful. As any wish could be fulfilled, Diana accidentally wishes to bring Steve back to live and, just like that the return of Chris Pine is justified. Thankfully, Pine’s return is somewhat realistic -within the realms of the film, let’s not forget he is occupying the body of a stranger- and it does not feel forced into the story, as his chemistry with Gadot is one of the best points of the film.

It is evident that the decision of setting the story in the mid 80’s allows Jenkins to have some fun with the characters as a direct result of the many excesses and fashion faux pas of that period. However, while that fun is not harmful in small doses, the film -as countless 80’s music bands- is victim of being too superficial for its own good, as the style trumps the substance.

An example of this is found in the villains. Both of them are not badly played by any means, however, in spite of the fact that they manage to avoid the cliches of having a uber powerful antagonist, neither of the villains appears as either original, strong or well-written. On the one hand, Kristen Wiig’s role as the nerdy, clumsy woman that turns into an eye-catching presence that always gets the attention of the room she is in, before ending up transforming into the villain Cheetah is nowhere near anything new or exciting. Her character arc is too predictable for its own good and is only remarkable as the choice of Wiig to play one of the villains of the film is an odd one and in certain aspects it pays off due to her talent.

On the other hand, if Wiig’s character was nothing new under the sun, the same should be said about Pedro Pascal’s role. Although it is clear he is having lots of fun with this character -granting wishes left, right and center and achieving unmeasurable power and suffering the consequences-, he is an epitome of the 80’s charismatically shady businessman, a cross between Gordon Gekko, Lex Luthor -played by Gene Hackman not by Jesse Eisenberg-, Harry Ellis from Die Hard and Nicolas Cage, who is obviously not a villain but has the same insanely manic behaviour and looks as one of them.

This kind of character is usually not the central villain of the story, but a second fiddle to a bigger antagonist. However, the film does not have the usual big evil boss that is so typical in superhero films, as it seems keen to avoid the final epic battle between the hero and the oddly and impersonally CGI shaped, powerful (except when it is defeated at the end) villain. The negative outcome of this decision is that at no moment in Wonder Woman 1984 she seems to be facing an impossible challenge, and the quiet denouement of the film seems slightly disconnected to the previous events.

All in all, Wonder Woman 1984, is a sequel that fails to keep up with the previous film, however it should be praised for having attempted something different and for not trying to repeat the same successful formula. It is a shame that the film favors entertainment instead of a better story or character development, as the final result will not be remembered as a good film, just an generally fun one which is designed for quick consumption -although it lasts two and a half hours it does not feel that long- and is forgotten as soon as it ends, just as one of those countless 80’s pop songs.