‘Wonder Woman 1984’ review: A disappointing and unnecessary sequel

I’d consider this Wonder Woman 1984 review to be spoiler-free, but if you don’t want to know any details at all about the plot, then maybe stop reading here.

So….it pains me to write this review because I love the franchise so much. But WW1984 was disappointing and unnecessary. (There, I said it.)

Just to give a brief overview of the movie, it’s about Diana Prince living and working in DC as a curator of antiquities in the year 1984, where she comes across an ancient stone that she later learns can actually make people’s wishes come true. After unknowingly bringing Steve Trevor back to life, the stone falls into the wrong hands with a man named Maxwell Lord, and they must find a way to get it back before he destroys the world. Gal Gadot and Chris Pine return, as Kristen Wiig and Pedro Pascal join the cast as Barbara Minerva and Maxwell Lord. Patty Jenkins returned to direct.

Missed opportunities

I’m not saying the movie was terrible. I enjoyed it overall and it was fun to be back in the world of Wonder Woman. But it was still pretty disappointing, with so many missed opportunities to show us a different side of Diana and really raise the stakes to show her growth as a superhero. It would have been nice, for example, to see a journey of self-discovery, with Diana trying to fit in and meet new people as she adjusts to living in this new world alone. Something that could shape her as a character, and help us get to know who she is now.

Instead, the movie came out as kind of like a bottle episode on a poorly written TV show: It doesn’t really add anything to the conversation, and it has no affect on the overall plot or character development. It’s essentially just a side-story, and the stakes just aren’t high enough, no matter how much they try to convince us otherwise (even when it doesn’t make any sense).

The action sequences are also a bit disappointing. I kept waiting for that big moment when she was really about to kick some ass, and it never came. She was so fierce in the first movie but she was never at 100% in this movie.

Steve Trevor

To keep this review spoiler-free, I won’t talk about how Steve Trevor is back. But I’ve seen some people say that it’s almost like they don’t know how to write Diana Prince as a character without Steve Trevor, and I wonder if that’s true.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Chris Pine as Steve Trevor. He adds levity to every scene, he has so much charisma, and he’s so much fun to watch. He and Gal have wonderful chemistry and it’s always great to see them together. And the best fight scene of the movie involves him.

However, I don’t think they should have brought him back. I would’ve preferred to see Diana make some new friends instead. Or just progress forward in some meaningful way, instead of living in the past. And I’m sure that’s what the movie was trying to do, show that Diana is finally ready to move forward now after this movie. But the message just wasn’t clear enough.

Final thoughts

I don’t think Wonder Woman 1984 is as bad as some people are saying. I feel like a few negative reviews started coming in, and people just piled on after that. But it is honestly disappointing and I was expecting so much more after such a fantastic first film.

I think what it comes down to is that first movie was so amazing that it didn’t even need a sequel, at least not one set in the past, and this movie proves it.

Wonder Woman 3 has already been greenlit and fast-tracked for production with Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot set to return, and I’m actually really excited. I they can turn this franchise around and give Diana Prince the kind of sequel she deserves.